From Daizen News, May 2013
A board burned ½-in. deep becomes naturally weather and insect resistant. Charring boards in this way was a common finish in the old days in Japan.
These days it’s more for an authentic look, but it’s functional, too.
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From Daizen News, May 2013
This project was designed by John Peter Sauter, a Calgary architect, for his sister. It is built on the lake property where they have spent summers since childhood.
The full timber frame structure was completely enclosed in structural insulated panels (SIPs), so that the interior walls and roof are SIPs. (The SIPs have drywall on their inner side.)
Notice that the posts and beams are fully exposed on the inside walls. The unusual timber color is stunning, and the very-well-chosen colors of the walls, ceiling, and beautiful furniture enhance our timber frame ten times over!
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Ii koto ga attara, warau no de ha nakute, waratte iru kara ii koto ga aru /
We do not smile because something good has happened; rather something good happens because we smile.
Read MoreFrom Daizen News, April 2013
We are pleased to announce that we have moved into a larger shop in a better location.
We are now about 20km east of Kamloops, near the Lafarge concrete
plant. The shop is big enough so that we can now fabricate two
projects at the same time.
Our new address:
2947 Shuswap Rd
Kamloops, BC V2H1S9
You can see a map on our website.
From Daizen News, April 2013
We would like to thank the people who stopped at our booth at the March BC Log Home, Timber Frame, and Country Living Show held in Abbotsford. Our display this year was to show the limits of how much we can bend timber. We have not yet assigned the use of this very curved display.
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From Daizen News, April 2013
Our new dust collection system is highly advanced—it creates a clean working environment and also makes our shavings into fire briquettes. We are working towards a zero-waste operation, and we just got a lot closer.
石の上に三年
ishi no ue ni san nen /
three years on the rock /
It takes a long time sitting on a stone before it warms up. Expect to work at something for three years before you see results.
From Daizen News, March 2013
The photo below shows a thermal image from a blow door test, superimposed over a shot of the house itself. A blow door test forces air through the house to determine where heat is escaping. The tongue-and-groove decking and, especially, one triangle
along the roof are areas of air leakage. Since they are in the upper part of the house, the heat loss is tremendous.
The air-tight joints with gaskets that we use prove that our joinery is not causing the heat loss. In one spot, where a beam intersects the roof plate via a wood housing, we thought a gasket was not needed. But the photo shows a distinct air leak. What we learned from this test result will change our frame joint details immediately; and with this knowledge, the leak was easy to fix.
More on an air-tight joint.
Read Morefrom Daizen News, March 2014
It’s been a focus for us to understand clearly how our timber frame building operation impacts the environment. Naturally, cutting trees seems like damaging the environment, but a B.C. Log and Timber Building Industry lifecycle assessment (PDF) shows that a timber frame can be environmental friendly if built right.
The key is to build a structure that will last a long time. Doing this captures (or sequesters) a significant amount of carbon in the timber.
Once a tree reaches, say, 100 years in age, it is close to the maximum amount of carbon it can hold.
Two interesting things from this report:
Sources of forest disturbance in Canada.
This tells us that, if we harvest trees arefully and, in that harvested area, continue to plant and grow trees, then harvesting a tree is not damaging the environment. Using the wood to build a long-lasting frame is a positive action, because it “saves” the carbon in the wood from being released into the atmosphere.
After the tree is harvested, how it’s processed is significant. A short-distance haul (and minimal use of fossil fuel for production) is the next factor to consider. Daizen uses mostly hydropower, with its computer-controlled minimum-input to maximum-output ratio.
Finally, the stain product used affects the environment the most in our operations.
Read MoreBy wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established.
—Proverbs 24:3
