Author: Dai

Timber cubic pod

12×12 cubic pod I started about one year ago is now completed and my kids are moved in.

Ideas in behind this is that I can complete all interior feature include electric wiring and move and attach to the new house I will be building. Three pod in raw now but I am not sure how I can pass the building inspection. Not enough thinking.

Build high ceiling and place kind of loft will gain good amount of floor space. For kids, this would be bed. I also placed large storage compartment which is connected from both bed space that is using as play space. Lego’s and puzzles are all spread out but out of my sight so they can do whatever they want to do without me telling them to clean up.

Large sized windows were bay out and use the space as nook, electric floor heating in place with cork floor on top. Folding sliding door really opens up space so tightly 12×12 pod does not feel so closed up.

Drift wood deck

Willms family and me were at Valdes island last long weekend. This time, Kyle and I build intermediate deck between water edge to cabin. Idea is using available material which is drift wood.

Main member of this structure is post and double tie beam and floor joist beam on top. First, we went out and hunt some materials. Find that the size and shape are desirable. Drift wood is heavy because it wet and rocks are sloped and slippery so it is a bid hard work to gather all materials to the spot.

Drilling to rock was very easy. We cut up re-bar and epoxied into rock and wood. Structure are in rotation mode from the bottom of the post, post is in compression and fitting it in perpendicularity is the key so no shear strength applied to the pin. Beam connection to the rock is where the most force is getting and it is tension force. So made the pin location as far as it could from the end of the beam.

No tape measure or scribe, all cut by feeling and leveled by eye. Front face floor joist beam were placed with curved beam which makes three post angle in round shape as well. Find the most flat face and place up, other beams were straight but place the but and top of the logs to make the face of three logs to be as even as possible.  Front beam had a few high spot, middle beam were slightly higher than front and back so used straight board to guide all the way to shave the middle beam to achieve the flat. It worked out well.

We did not had enough decking materials so it is just placed on top so we could sit down and had beer!

Decorative rafter end

Exposed heavy timber rafters add great value to the look of the house. These rafter has slot on top that slide up to extended truss rafter end. Screw and glue to secure from the top.Perfect solution for rafter end.

Gable end truss

This is truss is used as non structure truss at gable end. It is totally capable to carry load. Steel in middle looks like structural component but it isn’t, it is design feature.

Play structure

We build play structure with WRC(Western Red Cedar) Structure were connected with monkey bar that is leaned to be stabilized. One long beam on top is notched in main structure and fastened with through bolt. This beam hangs tire swing one side and regular swing on other side. With adult hanging and play hard, structure can shake but with kids, this structure is stable as self standing, no anchor. Monkey bar were custom made, powered coated yellow, lots of accessory from Home Depot, all corner of timber were chamfered round, every hardware give consideration not to heart kids. After structure assembled, got kids decided where to place every single piece of accessory as I installed.

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Modern Horse Barn

When some one build barn, there are few reason why they like to build with timber frame. Basically, building does not require for insulation but open space, it has to build with post and beam style not stick frame. Usually it is high pitch roof with gable vent to release the moisture. In this design by Karl Willms, it has raised portion of frame that has window vent to release the moisture, keeping roof shape flat to match the main house which is under the construction at same time.

New quote system in place

It has been more than two years that I doubt the quote system we are using. All relate to volume of timber we use, this is very much industry standard. Yes, we had several pricing level to apply volume which evens out the variable over the year but some pays more and some pays less. Now, we have taking consideration of, rounded volume, final volume, total pieces and surface area and divided into ratio to apply much more accurate calculation to estimate the time it require for us to complete project.  With clear direction and lean manufacturing method, now our price is most competitive ever, I hope we can brake into wider market which we never been able to provide our product in a past. For those we have provide quote in a past, if your project is still idling, please contact me again for me to re-quote the project for you.

Great volunteers

Saturday 9th, I got to shop around 8:00 am, Kiyo Hagiwara and Eijiro Hara has been preparing this gate production on their own time for while and they were there already started preparing great day of volunteer. Hiroomi Yamaguchi showed up short while, giving hand to unload drink, T-shirts and clean up a bid of mess where bunch of foot prints would going to be made. About 6 sets of gates were already processed with machine, ready for guys to finish up and assembled. Yuki Ogita showed up around 9:00 I started warm up the machine. the day started.

Eijiro and Omi started to map out each gate to four saw horses and Yuki started to chisel the corner of through mortise. Mike Neufeld from Calgary show up around 9:30, found the job himself and jumped on to work until all the gates assembled and took out for group picture. Tamotsu Hongu is gardener in Coquitlam and he shows up with his friend Simon Teixeira, Dominic Steverlynck, Kensuke Yamamoto, Koichi Hirokawa and Hayato Ogawa, Simon and Dominic grabbed palm sander and they committed to sand all the parts of gates the crew would chop and  fine-tuned to be ready assembled. Fight with fine dust, vibrations on hand all day, they did not complain single moment of this undesirable work.

Tamotsu took the work of chamfering the edge of pieces, all day, working on edge, height was not set for his comfort but he did not bother wasting time to set his environment work for him, instead, he just kept working, end of the day at the BBQ, he said to me ” It was very fun!” I know his back is soar.

Rick Hay show up also around same time, he knows how to run our shop also planer, he came to switch position from Kiyo, took over material preparation that feeds our monster CNC machine to fabricate the rest of gates, until our materials runs out.

Toshi Oiwa, KAN Terao, Kohei Kimura and Shuji Yamada stop at Nicola Log Works to pick up additional materials and arrive to my shop 10:30, shortly after Takayuki Nishio joined. Now, all members are arrived and line of skilled builder and gardener were into the work and gave the best of the best to this event. KAN and Shuji took the job to assemble the love and wish gate. they have completed assemble total 5 of those together. Tow mall guys worked quickly and achieved huge in a day.  Toshi looked around and figure out what the spot he could fit to made the production go smooth and assembled two Torri gate later the date.

Lunch arrived at 1:00pm, Takiko Hara and Chie Ogita, both has baby less than  one year old, Kids were on their back swing around, two of them had to prepare the lunch for 18 gangly man, it must been tough. We had no brake till late no chair to offer for crew but great curry lunch full filled our stomach, finally we made a little time to introduce us each other during lunch time.

After lunch, all of us got together and we pray for people Japan in silent and got back to work.

Gate designer Karl Willms showed up to join and talked to each guys. First gate buyer Evelyn Delaney also shows up with treat, Alfred and Kathy from World of wood also stopped to support us.

Production went much faster and productive than I expected, total of 11 gates were assembled and completed and we run out of materials to continue for Sunday.

Sign into logo flag and took the entire gate out for group picture. I really felt each one in this picture are real great parson who does get up and do the things.

I have no doubt about what we are doing is great things and this gates we are making are so valuable piece of evident that all great thought, work and split are implemented.

Thanks to all volunteers, you guys are really great, I hope we get together again and give it another shot.

All pictures of this date are shared in https://picasaweb.google.com/daimikimizukitaro/JapanTsunamiReliefVolunteerProduction#

Japan Tsunami Relief campaign kick off

Two weeks after we started to prepare this campaign, we have kicked off the campaign today. Web site for this campaign is http://www.japantsunamirelief.ca/

Japan Tsunami Relief

After this sad disaster happen, I got many calls from my friend all worried for our family. All the people I know in Japan is safe but that does not mean good.

It took me about one week to get up do something, now we have many people got together launching the campaign. I made up the campaign so create funds by not asking just donation. Instead, we came up with the product that is great to have in someones house at same time create the significant fund.

Launching effort is all 100% donation, Karl Willms came up with gate design, very quickly and great design as usual, John Boys jumped in cut up timbers with no time, Kevin Mattson entered all gate in CAD model also added one more gate design, now we have first set of gate is assembled and the rest will follow right after today. While this activity is going, Alfred and Kathy from World of Wood are cutting up and donating the timbers for another bunch of sets of gate, 5 cubic of logs were donated and deliver to Alfred by Robin Hood at Likely community forest.  Behind this, Neil at Pulse group came up with logo, Susan Witter is doing text for the web site and Jordan Klassen is preparing the web site to launch, Jim Funk is going to prepare the sign.

Next weekend, April 9th and 10th, many Japanese builder and gardener will be joining from lower mainland as well as local, start to produce the gate, hopefully, we can complete 30 sets of stairs. The volunteer builders are Toshi Oiwa and Kan from Big Rock Log homes, Tom Tongu at Toko Garden design, Kiyo Hagiwara and Eijiro Hara from Daizen, Yuki Ogata, probably much more will come after they here about this activity.

Our first public campaign will be at Kamloops Home Show in April 15-17. We still have some details to set such as price to sell, how to deliver, how to set up, administration and so on but train has been left now it is just matter of steering it right.

Thank you very very much for all contributors, big hugs on behalf of all Japanese people. Web site should be ready soon with all related information for this campaign at  www.myhelpjapan.com Up till then, please contact Dai at [email protected] for any further information.

Gate design by Karl Willms

Gate rendering

First gate assembled (Kevin Mattson design)

Logo by Pulse group