buying an import house

[Pocky-man]

any recomendations as to finding a reputable company, we did get some info through the post, they gave us an indrodutory DVD, looks good the way they do the insulator and double glazing.

www.bruce.co.jp

the price is cheap.

[japanguy]

We built an imported house from Canada last year and we love it. It is very warm in the winter and very quiet. The insulation and good quality windows keep the noise out. We used Selco Home. http://www.selcohome.co.jp/

They offer a variety of plans and have been in business for quite awhile have sold over 10,000 homes in Japan. They also offer solid wood floors and kitchen cabinets etc.

My last advice is that you can get a good home with many builders if you just tell them what you want. You can get a cheap built home or a very high quality home. Of course the price goes up with quality. But I think we got a lot of quality for less money by importing.

Good luck

[karamatsu]

Hello there

With all the talk about decaying Japanese forests in the Country Living thread, you might be hard pushed to find many people in this section recommending imported houses, but some of them are pretty good. If you want UPVC or wood windows, they're much cheaper than Japanese ones. North American houses are invariably insulated with rock wool/glass wool which performs well so long as it is properly installed and the sparky and plumber don't come along and mess it up. The R values on it are all a bit of a con though due to the way such values are tested. As for them being the best, I don't think they use such materials in Germany any more. They tend to use cellulose (old newspaper), solid insulation, sprays, or sheeps wool. There are plenty of Japanese builders who'll use them if that's what you want.

As for individual builders, have a look at houses they've built and see what you think. Remember that all the money a builder uses on sales is coming from their customers. I'd imagine that a show house will cost at least 15 million a year to operate. The average salesman at a big Japanese builder has a quota of only 10 or so houses a year. That means 1/10 of his/her salary is coming from your bill.

Japanguy mentioned it elsewhere, but you can save a lot of money by getting an itemized estimate and buying fittings like water heaters, toilets, and lights yourself off the Net. An ordinary builder will just go to his normal supplier. In the countryside, this kind of supplier will not deal with anything like the volume of a city-based discounter.

[johnElarue]

Hello there

With all the talk about decaying Japanese forests in the Country Living thread, you might be hard pushed to find many people in this section recommending imported houses, but some of them are pretty good. If you want UPVC or wood windows, they're much cheaper than Japanese ones. North American houses are invariably insulated with rock wool/glass wool which performs well so long as it is properly installed and the sparky and plumber don't come along and mess it up. The R values on it are all a bit of a con though due to the way such values are tested. As for them being the best, I don't think they use such materials in Germany any more. They tend to use cellulose (old newspaper), solid insulation, sprays, or sheeps wool. There are plenty of Japanese builders who'll use them if that's what you want.

As for individual builders, have a look at houses they've built and see what you think. Remember that all the money a builder uses on sales is coming from their customers. I'd imagine that a show house will cost at least 15 million a year to operate. The average salesman at a big Japanese builder has a quota of only 10 or so houses a year. That means 1/10 of his/her salary is coming from your bill.

Japanguy mentioned it elsewhere, but you can save a lot of money by getting an itemized estimate and buying fittings like water heaters, toilets, and lights yourself off the Net. An ordinary builder will just go to his normal supplier. In the countryside, this kind of supplier will not deal with anything like the volume of a city-based discounter.

Hi karamatsu,

Excellent advice, I wish I had read all this stuff BEFORE building.

Definately check out the builders previous work as well as his workshop to see whats up.

I wanted a log house so the domestic choices were few and expensive. I was very surprised to learn that Japanese cedars are basically unsuited for log homes, as they have too much taper. Unless you go with the very big logs, very expensive hand cut log home.

It's still hard to believe that imported wood is cheaper. I looked into the Ken run program of using 80% of local wood and getting a subsidy from them, but it was still MORE expensive. Even for post and beam, or 2X4 construction.

It's just inefficient to log one log at a time like they do here because of the terrain. So they use more fuel, labor etc.. or so they say.

SO...we got a Canadian machine cut log shell in 2 forty footers. The builder went over to BC to check it all out, I had him stuff extra goodies into the containers, wood stove, chimney, sinks, fixtures, doors , ceiling fan, tiles etc..., this would probably not fly with a large company though.

I recommend talking to people who have built or bought and finding out what mistakes they made, what they wish they could change now, what they do like etc......

Did I mention it's warm in winter too? Warm,WARM, VERY WARMsometimesHOTshortsandtshirthothahahahahahaahah hahhahahahah!

How can all this be more expensive? I still don't get it.

[KenElwood]

It's still hard to believe that imported wood is cheaper. I looked into the Ken run program of using 80% of local wood and getting a subsidy from them, but it was still MORE expensive. Even for post and beam, or 2X4 construction.

It's just inefficient to log one log at a time like they do here because of the terrain. So they use more fuel, labor etc.. or so they say.

John,

Nice curtains.

Let's just hope the Japanese don't get into domestic heli-logging (http://www.hayes.bc.ca/helicopter_services/indexhs.htm). I mean, yeah, wood could be cheaper here, but just to think about where they'll go to get it.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d0d_1189805975

[johnElarue]

John,

Nice curtains.

Let's just hope the Japanese don't get into domestic heli-logging (http://www.hayes.bc.ca/helicopter_services/indexhs.htm). I mean, yeah, wood could be cheaper here, but just to think about where they'll go to get it.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d0d_1189805975
Ken,

Thanks I like em too.

Actually I did see heli-logging once in Nara, can't remember where exactly.

A good alternative way to build your own place using domestic timber would be cordwood construction.

http://www.cordwoodmasonry.com/Cordwood.html

http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/DC_cordwood_masonry.htm

Sugi and Hinoki would be perfect. Abundant, insect resistant,light and insulative, easy to dry. The downfall is you need a large amount of mortar/cement, and it is time consuming. But, one person can do most of the labor.
As opposed to stacking logs of a traditional cabin.

[edin日本]

John

What about using a Stirling Engine to co-generate heat, electricity and hot water?

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/

[KenElwood]

Ken,

A good alternative way to build your own place using domestic timber would be cordwood construction.

http://www.cordwoodmasonry.com/Cordwood.html

http://www.daycreek.com/dc/html/DC_cordwood_masonry.htm

Sugi and Hinoki would be perfect. Abundant, insect resistant,light and insulative, easy to dry. The downfall is you need a large amount of mortar/cement, and it is time consuming. But, one person can do most of the labor.
As opposed to stacking logs of a traditional cabin.

Hi JohnE,

This is great!! Thanks so much for this. Time for a little research.

[johnElarue]

Do they make stirling engines that large?
If they do it'd be cool. Say you have a large stirling engine, the size of a pony. You have it outside your home like say a central wood boiler. I assume you're using wood to fire the pony. The flywheel has a belt to turn an alternator, there's your denki. The fire heating the cylinder can have a loop for radiant floor heating and hot water. There you go.

If your going to fire it with a solar: a solar reflector array, might as well just get solar panels for your denki and solar water heater, and a woodstove.

But if you can use onsen water you'd be already using that for hot water and heat, only need to make electricity.

What do you think?

[johnElarue]

Hi JohnE,

This is great!! Thanks so much for this. Time for a little research.


Ken,

No problem,

If you have the time and the space to store the wood, under a roof, it is a good way to go I think.

[edin日本]

Do they make stirling engines that large?
If they do it'd be cool. Say you have a large stirling engine, the size of a pony. You have it outside your home like say a central wood boiler. I assume you're using wood to fire the pony. The flywheel has a belt to turn an alternator, there's your denki. The fire heating the cylinder can have a loop for radiant floor heating and hot water. There you go.

If your going to fire it with a solar: a solar reflector array, might as well just get solar panels for your denki and solar water heater, and a woodstove.

But if you can use onsen water you'd be already using that for hot water and heat, only need to make electricity.

What do you think?

You can also use biodeisel or alcohol for fuel.

The onsen idea is a good one, a number of commercial fish farms in the US and Canada use that method to heat and run all their filters, pumps and lights. That would save quite a bit of money for you.

[ruserious]

Lumber is the #1 import from the U.S. to Japan.

Since I'm not a big fan of the U.S./Japan trade deficit getting even worse, please continue to buy American lumber.

Thanks for listening.

[ruserious]

wood fires are environmentally unfriendly


would be best to find a different heat source.

[karamatsu]

wood fires are environmentally unfriendly


would be best to find a different heat source.

For home heating, solar is best, then geothermal, which usually needs electricity for pumping.

Compared to most fuels though, surely wood is the best. Trees absorb CO2 while they grow and would emit it anyway if you allowed dead trees to decompose. By burning them, you're simply speeding the process up.

To show the jam we're in, this article from Peak Oil Central suggests sustainable wood use could only cover 6% of home heating in the USA. While you can get thinnings etc. for free now, the long-term potential for Japan must be miniscule.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2683

[kurogane]

wood fires are environmentally unfriendly
would be best to find a different heat source.

That's an urban-centred logic.

There is not enough population density in rural areas for it to be a problem.

[edin日本]

Lumber is the #1 import from the U.S. to Japan.

Since I'm not a big fan of the U.S./Japan trade deficit getting even worse, please continue to buy American lumber.

Thanks for listening.

BUY CANADIAN! Help support Kurogane by buying Canadian wood. That way he gets PAID to sing the Lumberjack Song...

[kurogane]

BUY CANADIAN! Help support Kurogane by buying Canadian wood. That way he gets PAID to sing the Lumberjack Song...

I didn't want to be barber anyway.................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg

[johnElarue]

You can also use biodeisel or alcohol for fuel.

The onsen idea is a good one, a number of commercial fish farms in the US and Canada use that method to heat and run all their filters, pumps and lights. That would save quite a bit of money for you.


Ed,

here's an interesting stirling based generator. Runs on gas or diesel/gasoline
http://www.whispergen.com/
wouldn't want to see the pricetag though, that looks about as high tech as they go outside of NASA

karamatsu,

great article on wood in the US, and I agree passive solar is the best, but too bad not suitable for most due to weather, geography etc.