Tatemae Day 1 - Japanese Joinery Timber Frame Construction - House No. 1 - Part 4 in Hayama, Japan

Japanese House No. 1 - Timber Frame Construction Series - "Tatemae" - January 2021
In this series, we are in Hayama, Japan where we are participating in a new Japanese house build. The house design is a mix of traditional Japanese carpentry set on top of a modern concrete slab. This was done as per the request of the client and architect who decided on this style. The house is situated on a hillside overlooking picturesque Hayama.
House Information:
Land Area: ~310 sq. meters (~94 tsubo) (~3337 sq. feet)
Building Area: ~120 sq. meters (~36 tsubo) (~1292 sq. feet)
Total Living Area: ~102 sq. meters (~31 tsubo) (~1098 sq. feet)
The house has a living room/dining/kitchen open plan, 2 bedrooms with additional guest room, toilet room with vanity, washer/dressing room, Japanese split shower with bathtub, and an attached wooden deck.
In Part 4 of the House No. 1 build, we are getting into the exciting part of the build. It is a long and difficult build up until this day that carpenters call "Tatemae" (建前). All the measuring, cutting, carving, and double checking will soon come to a happy end where we get to see the fruits of all the labor. The atmosphere is a mixture of excitement and tension. There is often a lot of shouting on this day as there is usually a conductor of building activities who will be calling out the order in which to build up the structure. As we build up the house there is a lot of hammering with a rubber (dead blow - shockless) hammer which helps to prevent damage to the wood. We often use a sacrificial wood piece to lay on top of a piece of wood before hammering, however, in some case we it is unnecessary. Also, in this video we learn about two new tools that I thought was really interesting. The tools are common place in a house building site and they are used to square up the house after it has been built up to the point of the installation of the roof. You will also see some new words that we have learned during the process.
Special Thanks to:
Fujimoto Traditional Carpentry Company (ryofujimoto.com/)
Instagram: @ftc5610 @ryo5610
#woodworking #japanesewoodworking #carpentrylife
Videographers and Editing:
K. Yamashita / G. Leopardi
Equipment Used:
Olympus OMD EM-1 Mark iii (4k)
Sony ZV Log Camera (4k)
Apple iPhone 10 (4k)
Rode VideoMic NTG (Audio)
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[@gear8649]

Just found your channel and gotta say it opened up a whole new perspective for me regarding Japanese carpentry. Thank you for making such a cool video. Hopefully I will have a chance a visit the places you showed when Japan allows international travels.

[@mikebolin4311]

Is the house frame all cedar? Holy cow! Very nice work here. Thank you.

[@thecarpentrylife]

It is a mix of wood types. Pine, Cedar, and Cypress.

[@KamikazeeNYC]

AMAZING!!!!!!

[@catmeme7945]

Those carpenters foot wear always amazed me, most construction workers were required to have a safety shoes, but in japan you can wear those comfy shoes.

[@thecarpentrylife]

Yeah. The soles are really rubbery which helps with grip while walking along the beams. Your feet will bend around the wood giving you a great sense of stability.

[@MIKESTREED]

In America, carpenters are lazy and leave nails and boards with nails everywhere. Timberframing like this is an art and these types of builds use way less nails, and these artists don't leave hazards like that laying on the ground.

[@jjpellergene466]

Your channel is great, as a fan of japanese workmanship and engineering, culture etc. This channel is pretty new but since i saw your first video, ive been watching your journey as a japanese carpenter. As an Engineer i was really curious about japanese carpentry and tools and their techniques, Ive learned so much in just a while watching your videos. Kudos to you guys, this is a very informative channel.

[@thecarpentrylife]

Thank you!

[@rolandgdean]

6:30 American translation: "You gotta git it plumb, Bob!"

[@hwp69]

Where can I get one of the plumb-bob devices and what is it called? The extension device also, please. I just recently found your channel and love it!

[@REAL-UNKNOWN-SHINOBI]

Resilient to earthquakes. I'm still trying to figure out if it's resilient to tornadoes. Which is hard to figure out as tornadoes are rare in Japan and on the west coast of the US, that's why no one else has actually built these types of houses in the continental US. Except for on the West Coast

[@daveg5183]

👍

[@dr650dualsport]

Great channel. I love the Japanese carpentry. May I ask how the underside or crawlspace of the main floor on the house builds makes out as years go on? Do they get damp or are there other means to keep them dry and vented?

[@thecarpentrylife]

Thank you. We will explain that in the future video. Please be patient :)

[@dr650dualsport]

Tks again. Can’t wait to see more. You do a great job. Cheers

[@technocos]

Are all joints tight? Or do they use some spacing? On a previous video a saw some gaps between the joints of the foundation beams.

[@thecarpentrylife]

The joints are always mated tightly. The gaps you see are there to help aid in the assembly. If you were to join certain beams tightly there would be no wiggle room to stack or assemble another part of the structure easily. In the end they will remove some of the temporary blocks and other supports to allow the structure to settle into place. Also, the use of the Komisen (wooden peg) is used to bring the structure together at the joints. Wood is not perfect, but at the time that the lines (Sumitsuke) is done the measurements are perfect so the assumption is that once you bring it to the worksite then everything in theory should line up. If there is a mistake in the lines and carving of the joints it is more than often by a solid factor. I haven't personally seen this as they are very accurate with the measurements. I have heard pillars being cut too short and it is usually a solid factor like 5mm or 10mm off. In these scenarios the carpenters will either re-cut that pillar or add a decorative piece to give it the additional length. Thank you for watching.

[@dekonfrost7]

So what kind of wood is that cedar?

[@HenryLeslieGraham]

why were screws used in the joints? not very traditional? is it for earthquake safety?

[@thecarpentrylife]

It's because of the government regulations. The structure itself is strong enough but we have to follow it.

[@gary24752]

I like that plumb bob level. I cannot seem to find who makes it to get it. Is there a link?

[@thecarpentrylife]

The company is Sankyo Giken www.din.or.jp/~sankyo-g/framepage2.htm and I also attached the Amazon URL www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=%E4%B8%89%E5%85%B1%E6%8A%80%E7%A0%94&ref=bl_dp_s_web_0

[@gary24752]

@@thecarpentrylife The link goes to door hardware specifically a lockset.

[@gary24752]

@@thecarpentrylife The link takes me to a door lockset. I could not find anything regarding the company Sanykyo Geken selling tools. Is this thing considered a bazooka plumb bob?

[@michaelcoceski5442]

If it's not too personal, do you have any Japanese ancestry ?

[@user-of9li9wr8i]

いろんな建前の動画見てるけど、ここの木組みは他所と違う様に見える。他所より複雑に見える。