I visited an architect's office.
After seeing his own house that appears in a magazine , I contacted him, and I met him at his office in Aoyama, Tokyo. My first impression of him: a rising architect , though the office was small. The architect is unexpectedly the same age as me. He had 2 assistants, and the meeting table was an acrylic board on concrete block. After I showed him the drawing of the land and asked him some questions, his answer is; let him do it. To tell the truth, I had another candidate who was a elderly leading figure, but the decision was him for his motivation. I bet him.
1996.1
Orientation from me (donor)
I showed the architect my clippings files that I collected for years, and told him what I wanted, specifically and also imaginatively. I wanted a house of bare concrete, with a stairwell and a garden inside. The answer was; he would examine.
1996.2
Presentation from architect
His presentation, with a huge model, was only one plan. The model was the biggest one that he ever made, he said. The highlight of the plan was the option demand that was contained in my orientation. It seemed to stimulate the architect's imagination, The plan was very adventurous, but I said "Go". Because other demands was fulfilled, and I also came to want to see the real house the plan finally would be built. Details or equipments were left to be considered.
1996.4
Applications were submitted to the public office.
Waiting for approval, we examined the details. Every day communication was fax, sometimes we had meetings.
1999.7
Application approval
Approval that is two months later for schedule, we were so anxious. A guidance to retreat from the road by another 2 inches was requested, and we corrected the drawing.
1999.9
Contract with a construction company
Estimate competition was one of the cost reduction process. 10 construction companies participated. The change in the design and the specification was done through necessity when not suitable for the budget. It did in the considerable to cut cost. We chose one company at last, the contract was exchanged. The architect strongly pushed the company. (Though it was the first time for him to work with, if I think now.) The specific of materialization or the equipments still remained undecided: we had to examine simultaneously during construction.
1996.11
Starting constructing
After November comes, construction actually started. This delay was because: when having dug for the foundation work, it turned out that the ground was worse than the investigation results, though geological features were investigated before it designs. Extra expense...
1997.4
Why are arrangements such bad ?
The construction schedule was much-delayed, and being sure to complete it in the contract March, '97. Information of becoming it in July, I had to extend the contract of the apartment I had lived. Extra expense...
However, even if July comes, the house was not finished. I had bought some furniture and electrical appliances, I asked the shop a big favor of the delivery postponed.
1997.9
Delayed half a year, construction completed, and my family moved to the house.
The option equipment was completely entrusted until the next summer. But we put water in it to test, it leaks. Furthermore, rain water leaks from a top light, neither the rain water invasion from P Con in an underground part. Gas equipments didn't work, the electric wiring was wrong, and a tree died... Various troubles come one after another.
Moreover, the refrigerator could not go in through the entrance, and had been put outside the door for 3 days. At last the work stand united to lift up the refrigerator from the terrace by 4 workers. When I get a new refrigerator someday, will I have to do that again?
Correspondence to the trouble didn't go smoothly either. Wrong place was done over again and again, and the water leak didn't stop at all. In the end, I, an non-professional constructer pointed out where should have been fixed and it had settled.
Field overseer : "Do you try though think there it?"
Me : (It sure was there.)
The surface of concrete is not good. The constructors said;
Field overseer : "The quality of frame plywood has been bad recent days."
Me : "Say it first."
Architect : "This wood is better than I ever used."
Me : " ? ? ? "
The plywood rubbish of the concrete frame sticked fully on the wall, and also dirt, measuring markers that workers left here and there. Wound on the walls, roofs, floors. That was the work of the constructer that the architect himself recommended.
Not only that the construction company never presented a right penalty,
but to my obstinate attitude, I also had been threaten :
"Maintenance will not be done at all in the future."
1999.9
Two years passed.
I encountered with more than 100 matters to be fixed.
troubles...troubles...troubles... I feel "Again?".
An architect is supposed to be a supervisor
in order to prevent these kind of things should not happen, isn't it?
But 'my' architect insisted the responsibility was on the construction company, and the construction company emphasized it was because of the subcontractor. Since I and my family started living in the house, we had guests every day: workers to repairer the house.
Had we been living actually?
I fixed one by one for 2 years, but still problems are coming out. It is said that the life of an concrete house is 100 years, but I cannot see the inside of concrete, or a big earthquake will show it? This is the real face of a dream house.
* * *
If you are satisfied finally, It's OK.
Satisfaction? Only persuading myself...
Water leak
- Water leak of option equipment
(4 places and settled soon, settled after 5 times repair. Water entered even the lighting piping.)
- Water leak from top light roof (Not settled by one time and repaired twice.)
- Rain water invasion from concrete crack top light sideward to the indoor storage part
- Water leak from bathroom drain ditch to downstairs
- Flood from underground concrete P-con (About 10 places over again three times)
*P-con is a frame joint hole of concrete and sealed on finishing.
- Water leak from the rooftop drain ditch part to the room
- Water leak in the roof from entrance sealling to room (It was a small amount, and the construction company didn't admit. So I fixed it myself with the waterproof paint.)
- Rain water invasion from rest room ventilation fan (Not settled by one time and repaired again.)
- Rain water invasion from air-conditioning piping duct
- Water leak from tube of kitchen supplying hot water (Twice.)
- Water leak from dishwasher by water supply tube defective liaison
Equipment
- The a counter measure to the vibration of air-conditioning outdoor machine that sets it up in the rooftop was not enough. (This vibration made the whole house a resonance box, we were in unbearable low groans. Re-doing of the vibration absorption stand installation and the piping lifted once considerably, but he outdoor machine weighs about 220 pounds. I found that the vibration transmitted from the piping, not directly from the machine. After fixed this, the handrails of the rooftop ware full of scratches by lifting the outdoor machine. The construction company refused to paint them again, I came to ask another trader at my own extra expense.)
- The air-conditioning outdoor machine broke. Wiring did not prepared for the rain.
- Mistake of air-conditioning piping in the indoor part
- The air-conditioner in the room set in a wrong position. The useless duct hole was covered.
- The cap of the air-conditioner outdoor machine was lost and left open.
- Gas boiler initial malfunction
- Shortage of capacity of switchboard fuse
(2 units, the washing machine broke down twice though it is uncertain because of that.)
- The bathroom heater mirror wiring was incomplete.
- The installation wiring of the rest room sensor lighting is incomplete. (Only imperfect operation after it repairs was done, and repair again.)
- The position of the outlet in the parking space was wrong.
- A spot lighting is in too near to the window and might damage the glass because of heat. Just the direction of light was changed.
- Workers broke a light equipment during construction, they just repaired it instead of exchanging for a new one.
Finish
- The painting material was wrong on the entrance stairs.
(Paints for the floor must be different from that for the wall, more strength is demanded.)
- Entrance wall paints peeled off. (Twice at the same place)
- Entrance wall and the stairs got dirty (Painted again and got dirty again during repairing many places.)
- The thickness of the mat was not considered, the entrance door was caught by the mat. After all, the level of the floor adjusted by digging.
- Inside the painting of the spiral staircase ..a metallic splinter and garbage.. and a lot of wounds. (Painted twice, and and I retouched the left.)
- Wound in the terrace pane. (Because of the spark when the metal and the part were welded and the constructors said "There is no problem in strength", left as it was.)
- Insect inside the double glass. (left as it was)
- Air bubbles, dirt and a wound in the dispersion prevention film pasted to the glass.
(10 places, left as it was)
- Doors of tempered glass rubs against the floor.
- The finish of zinc-coated metal is dirty. (several places)
- Rust in zinc-coated metal part (10 places, though zinc coating is to prevent rust.)
- Warp of expand-metal floor (Is that a trampoline? Repaired twice)
- Break of expand-metal (Several places and were only pasted with a metallic adhesive.)
- Crack and peeling off on the bathroom wall paint.
(Repaired again and again 4 times, but again. Powder of paint around there... Finally made from wit some elasticity patty with fiberglass, why did they do that from the beginning? Cost? 5 times of repair costs more.)
- Rust of the bathroom curtain rail
- Rust of the bathroom door closer
- Rust of the chain of the rubber drain stopper in the bathtub
- Rust adhesion to the bathtub (several places)
- The bathroom curtain turned to black by mold with dirt from the workers' hands. (Made a new one at my own extra expense.)
- The Bathroom handrail painting peeling off
- Rooftop handrail painting peeling off
- Rust inside the transparent sealling around the washbowls
- Too unskilled finishes of seallings
(The person who was not the workman seems to have done.)
- Roll screen curtain dirt (2 places, not exchanged but were just cleaned.)
- Crack on the floor where the parking lot intersects with the road.
- Rust at tent support iron frame by wrong painting material
(Used normal SOP instead of fluorine paint. Removed the tent once and painted again.)
- Stain and wound on the wall that lack of defective care seemed to cause.
(Cannot be repaired.)
- Stain of part in which water leak was found. (The stain of bare finish concrete is difficult to recover.)
- Painting discoloration of the option equipment
- Painting peeling off of the repaired part of the option equipment
- Wound in the surface of the waterproof layer of the option equipment. (they said it would be safe because the layer was painted several times. I bought a vinyl paint for myself and repaired it.)
- Wrong window size (left as it was)
- Wrong product number of the rest room knob.
(Re-doing would mend the grain of the closet, left as it was)
- The size of applying kitchen furniture was different, and part was cut down.
- The Depth of drawers of applying kitchen furniture was diverse.
- The drawers of applying kitchen furniture would draw open a little automatically.
- The applying kitchen furniture had several mistaken screw holes.
- Forgotten or broken seallings (several places)
- Cracks on the concrete (several places)
- Water collects in the courtyard parterre, the roots spoiled and the tree had died.
- The watering system was not installed yet when we started living.
(They said the product was bad so must reconsider. It took for 2 months and we used a watering pot for a while. What a nice green plan!)
- The watering system often blocks water.
- The position of the light for tree was too low. So the light buried in the soil to light up the tree.
- The net of the handrails made the maintenance of the flowers pots a big effort.
Convenience
- The self-locking door didn't work properly. (Because seallings had entered the hinge part.)
- A draft from the entrance steel door
- Metal parts of the door closer was set oppositely. (I doubted and corrected it for myself.)
- The terrace and the bathroom window shaken by strong winds. (Stuffing was done.)
- The tent pattered and rain gathered.
(The fulcrums were increased, and the tension was adjusted.)
- The Rain drops from the string of the tent made the stain on the wall, it got rewinded.
- The door of the kitchen storage often got out of joint.
- A draft from bathroom standpipe
- Dewiness around the bathroom
(I bought and stitched absorbent tape, but hat was not enough. Then I found a route through which steam went into the rest room. So I buried for myself and it seemed settled.)
- The bathroom heater mirror didn't work properly. (It was effective only in the center part of the mirror. Moreover, The lower position became cloudy soon by soapy water.)
- The soundproofing measures were incomplete in the ventilation fan circumference.
(The noise on the road that enters from exhaust fan hole was annoying. For what is it ferroconcrete?)
- A draft from ventilation fan hole
- Annoying rain sound that hits the ventilation food outside.
- The performance of the coarse gas sensor type ventilation fan was doubtful.
(The response on the smoke of cigarettes had become bad gradually.)
- Annoying sound of the timer type switch (exchanged)
- The kitchen window can peep from outside (Milk white film was pasted on the window glass.)
- Indoor sound was loud because the house was designed as completely one-room.
(Much louder than imagined, the glass partition and a thick double curtain were added. During the fixing work, the powder of concrete entered into the closet.)
- When we took a bath, water would drop though the closed window to the porch. Architect said "It is the design." (Finally, a small gutter was applied to the outside.)
- Insufficient explanation of the bathroom pit (The bathroom in half underground part uses a pit and need to pump up. In the design phase, the explanation of this equipment was none at all. Moreover, the pit position had changed from the parking lot to indoors at the construction stage. After it was completed, they explained that we need maintenance once in every two years: a vacuum car, 200,000 yen at a time!! Is it a joke? We claimed to the architect, the he brought another trader who used bacteria to clean the pit. But the trader said "It needs no maintenance for this size pit.")
- The sound of the pit pump was too noisy.
- Insufficient explanation for lighting of the option equipment
("Don't light more than 3 minutes when there's no water." We intended to light up the entrance with the equipment, there was no such explanation from the architect. Moreover, I hear that I cannot exchange the lamp for myself. If the lamps need to exchange, we have to pay 25,000 yen. Afterwards, I found it was not so difficult to exchange the lamps, I bought the wrench and the ratchet and did it myself without problems, except one lamp that was just broken for the first time and fixed.)
- Exchanging lamps of a tall Room
(Though the architect said "it is easy if I use the lamp-changer", but the type of down lights had been changed to non-vertical socket; when the lamp died, I also feel like dying.)
Part of 'Do It Myself'
- Plywood rubbish of frames sticked on wall. (many places)
- Stain, dirt, rust and crack on the wall, ceiling, and floor (everywhere)
- Diverse color of P-con (*P-con is a frame joint hole of concrete)
- Diverse color or thickness shortage of seallings.
- Dirt of bathroom tiles that was made when under construction (Unusual dirt, not fall easily.)
- Rust of metal ware of the drain of the option equipment
- Rust of metal ware of the terrace drain
- Left measuring marker
- Helpless screws that the ditches collapsed (Were there professional work?)
- Annoying sound of the dehumidification machine installed in the bedroom closet
(The space of the door was filled up with the some tapes.)
- Annoying sound that dropped to the aluminium sash of the bedroom window (I applied small eaves.)
- Annoying smell of the pit (I filled up the space of the cover with some tapes.)
- The door of the rest room scratched the floor. (I adjusted hinges but not enough, so I called other carpenters.)
- Many Places were not easy for maintenance. (made it maintenance free, for instance, the top light glass get dirty soon, so I coated it with some colloid material.)
- The layout of the switch (When I open the box trying change some switches, I found the wiring was very short.)
Term of works and specification
- The specification that we had examined for a long time during the design phase, changed easily without asking me. (Only approval after the construction was completed, several places)
- The completion was delayed 6 months.
- The refrigerator doesn't enter.
- I claimed then the constructor said
"Maintenance will not be done at all in the future".
- I asked another trader, extra expense...
- Trying to fix one place, made another place broken or dirty.
Unsettled
- Dirt like mold in a closed part of the bathtub
I pierced this part with a drill, and injects a large amount of bleach and washed. Then put a silicon rubber cap to close it. This must have been sealed up originally, but not, so the water invaded the part. I thought If the same thing will occur in the future, I can remove the cap and wash again. (I tries some other ideas like hiding this part with cutting seats etc., until I got the idea of rubber cap.)
Similar mold was attached also to the support part of bathtub handrail. I peeled off the sealling of this part, and injected bleach.
- The hose of the shower often let the shampoos fall to the floor.
The layout of the ceramic shampoo basin may be bad. (The water omission was also bad)
So I removed it, painted around it, and set a shampoo rack of a stainless wire.
(Some trials and errors until this.)
April 2001
The accident was on the glass door in the bathroom. The speed of auto closing became too slow. It takes about one minute!! I tried to open the plate on the floor to adjust it, but the screw has hardened and it didn't turn. I almost brake the screw ditch, so I brought a rust remover for bicycles. It worked, using a hammer beating the cloth on the cover of the plate. (one month or more took for this solution.)
When the plate was opened, the inside was completely red with rust and I was scared by the look. I managed to turn the adjustment screw also using rust remover here. The speed of auto close came back to a normal one. Sprayed the rust remover over the unit to prevent the rust grows, and I shut the cover.
A stain was discovered on the roll screen of the top light. The slow bathroom door seemed make the room next to the bathroom dewy, so the stain left on the cloth. I wiped the stain with a wet cloth to shade it off.
January 2002
Feelig cold, I found the main switch of the air-conditioning become OFF. I turned it ON, but it blinks and after a while it turned OFF again. I asked the equipment company to take a look. They said it will go OFF when the water pressure decreases. Water leak had been found from the motor unit, we had to exchange it. This trouble was caused by the wrong wiring by the constructors. (The motor had been driving for 24 hours and 365 days, it didn't be controlled by the switch.)
The arrival of the unit was soon, and the repair expense was not claimed. Thanks, Mr. K in the air-conditioning equipment company.
February 2002
Mr. K arrived again to check the conditions afterwards. I had been feeling cold so told him "Air conditioning is not effective". The room temperature was 62-64 degrees Fahrenheit even if the power was max. Some radiator fins are stayed cold when the heater was ON. That was from the time we started living here. Water in the fin seemed to be blocked by something.
Mr. K examined the equipment, and found it was...
Mud.
The Constructors did this. They left the parts of the equipment carelessly. Mr. K and his staff washed and flushed the mud inside the radiator fins and all routes that water go around. But the ability didn't recover to 100%. Thanks to the air-conditioning company and Mr.K, but I really got mad at the constructors for this.
July 2002
The lid in the pool (= the option equipment) outlet rusted. I exchanged it to an aluminum one. I found it myself in DIY store.
The hinge of 1F bathroom storage door are rusted, I exchanged to the new parts myself.
I exchanged the shower knob and the bathtub water supply knob by myself, because they were not easy to use. But the screw ditches of the parts was collapsed, I made a big effort.
A milk white film was pasted to the road side glass of the pool. (cost 70,000 yen)
March 2003
An acrylic board of the bathtub bottom cracks. There was a small crack near the drain hole from the beginning. I heard the cracking sound.
It is difficult to make new one, but I contacted the construction company. No reply...
I had to fix it myself with some paste after many trials and errors.
After that and still...
I'm repairing, a new part or the same old parts of the house.
