Insulating the Floor for Cold Japanese Winters
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Floor insulation is a crucial renovation upgrade for many new owners of old akiya houses in Japan. Traditional homes often suffer from poor insulation, making winters cold and unforgiving. In this video, we'll show you the step-by-step process of insulating the floor in our living room to create a warmer, more comfortable space. Join us as we tackle this essential home improvement project and share tips to keep your house cozy all winter long!
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My wife's youtube channel, check it out:
/ @kikiincountryside
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My instagram:
/ japanoffthepath
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Support the channel:
www.buymeacoff...
Materials and tools I used in this video:
Insulation Tape:
amzn.to/3CGhYQO
Brackets for insulation: (as an alternative to the ones I used, these would be better and cheaper)
amzn.to/3qRV2vx
Hikoki Impact Driver:
amzn.to/3NFJeW8
#akiya #空き家 #AkiyaHouses #FloorInsulation #HomeRenovation #TraditionalJapaneseHomes #WinterInJapan #DIYInsulation #LivingRoomMakeover #CozyHome #JapanLiving #RenovationTips
I am so tempted to move to Japan and buy a akiya myself and make it a home. In the US it's almost impossible to buy a house now
Everyone keeps saying how bad the U.S. is for housing. Surely the bubble has to pop.
You’d think that but same as Canada - prices in NA just keep skyrocketing literally need 750k-mill and still needs reno’ing…. japan is looking very very enticing
@@sggee And then there's the soaring crime rates because of the homelessness caused by the stupidly high real estate prices. It's a endless spiral that's getting out of control in some cities as they race to the bottom. Good job greed! /s
And in Australia ❤
Don’t forget to hit like if you enjoyed the video! I hope to continue showing some ways I’ve been insulating the house. Thanks again for everyone’s support!
Comments don't seem to be working. I tried twice and it just disappeared
Awww. Genie and Teeny Genie are both so beautiful and it was loads of fun to see both of them. You did good to overcome your aversion to cleaning and those too-strong-nails and complete this floor project so well. Good job, you will be so glad come winter.
Thanks! Looking forward to testing the room out in winter.. until then I will enjoy the warmth lol
Awwww. Genie and Teeny Genie are both so beautiful and it was loads of fun to see them. You did very good to overcome your aversions to cleaning and too strong nails and complete this floor project so well!
Mama papa yamete... Haha so cute
She's crazy right? lol
Lived in Niigata, studied japanese there. Every winter temperature outside of apartment was same as inside) So, i slept in 2 sleeping bags with futon) And, looking at poster of Miyamoto Musashi from Vagabond, did pushups, situps . Training, always.
Please insulate your home as much as you can. And the best variant is to make super insulated room for sleeping. Wish you the best.
What I find crazy is that when you turn off the heat in the room, the room becomes instantly cold in less than a minute. There is no heat retention. I'll do my best to resolve these matters.
@@DIYJapan i have heard from kappas in your area that you plan to install wood burning stove too. It will help to battle cold they said.
Reeeeally want a wood stove. A proper one though. Iron and beautiful lol Maybe next winter...
@@DIYJapan that's a MUST!)
Also how is situation with Tsunamis in your region? Are tou safe?
There's so many, insulate Japanese house videos on YT, but yours was fun to watch.
Appreciate it! I need to take a look at more videos. This topic has become my obsession of late. Project ''Keep the house warm'' lol
@@DIYJapan I think the popularity of Onsen in Japan is due to cold floors.
I believe it. Man, nothing more comforting than spending half the day at the onsen in winter. It's soul saving lol
I need a genie like you have! Beautiful!
Enjoying all the different concepts you add to your DIY and the time you spend producing these to give us all a good laugh. They keep me looking forward to the next one. Very entertaining.
Thanks for the compliments!
Lovely family and good ideas not only to learn useful things but also to have fun !!
Fun is always priority number one lol
You’d think people living in these cold climates would all insulate their houses, it boggles the mind.
They have this idea that their houses should “breath”. This was partly because in the hot summers, a breathable house was cooler and more bearable… but then it makes winters just completely unbearable… the reasoning doesn’t make sense and they haven’t changed that mentality until recently.
There are actually clips that rest on top and across the joist and holding the foam boards on both sides at the same time. No need to hammer in.
I've seen them but they are hard to get in Japan or are usually very expensive.
Great to see the fam involved. Love the video.
Thanks Kris! Maybe I should exploit them more 😂
btw if the head pops off a nail you can usually use vice grips to give you something to pry on.
It would take long to pull every individual nail out with vice grips I think. It’s a lot of nails lol faster to hammer them in instead.
Would be nice to have you as a contractor to all foreigners buying Akiya.
Yeah lol It’s not a bad idea, I’ve learned so much, I would love to help others achieve affordable living.
@@DIYJapan I am visiting to have look around.I heard renos are a nightmare over there.😊
It depends, it is a nightmare to find good craftsmen to do the work. It seems that that work field is shrinking and the cost is growing. If you do it yourself, it’s a nightmare to find the right materials to do the job.
I love your videos, I love show these old Japanese houses are put together. My son watches too as he lives in Japan & is hoping to buy an old house soon. I cannot get over how thin Japanese floor boards are.
Love the outtakes at the end.
The floor boards are criminally thin. As is the insulation and sound proofing. Hope your son can do it!
Love hurts even its only an old house in nippon. OMG. Now I know what Mama and Papa means in japanise. Good fortune! 👍
The house is definitely a hurtful love lol 😂
So realatble content! The more one complains during renovation the faster it goes. /old saying from... uh... ancient times.
Lol yeah complaining while renovating increases productivity by at least 50% right?
@@DIYJapan both for oneself and for everyone else involved. It is great for teambuilding!
Hey Danny! - Do you have some comparisons on before and after temperatures after insulating walls and floors? Understanding that the old windows are not great, but trying to get an understanding of how much difference insulating the rest can make.
Hey Ryan, well as far as the floor goes, I haven’t been through a winter with it completed yet. I’ll have to compare it this winter. I can say that the AC does a much better job of keeping things cooler. The room also feels drier as the bottom floors tend to feel more damp in the rainy season. I’ll try to confirm this more scientifically as I am in the process of getting a moisture meter.
@@DIYJapan Thank you sir - looking forward to it!
Great quality content, been binging your videos today! Subscribed ☺️
Glad you’re liking the vids! ✌️
Hey Danny! Just found your channel…we worked together at Berlitz a few years back. Happy to see you’re living your best life and maybe we’ll cross paths down the road again 😉 Jay
Hey Jay! It’s been a while! How are things? Hope all you’re plans worked out after Berlitz! Or maybe you just took it chill lol 😂 yeah, let’s cross paths sometime and catch up!
LOL! Genie and Teenie Genie are awesome.
It is definitely brutal in Toyama area this year. I am currently adding 70mm of DuPont blue Styrofoam insulation in the roof between the rafters. It's not easy because the spacing between rafters in these old kominka are not uniform in width. I began by ripping out the false/suspended ceilings upstairs to uncover the massive beams that hold up the roof. It's not possible to walk on such flimsy false ceilings and there is no way to access the roof rafters without removing them. Similarly, I am pulling up tatami mats and planking on the second floor and installing layers of fiberglass matting sealed into vapor barrier bags. It is laborious work and the tops of false ceilings are covered in dust, dirt, and dead bugs. A huge mess to say the least.
These old kominka houses, with their tsuchikabe walls allow cold air to seep in everywhere. Big gaps under the eaves and shrinkage of the tsuchikabe mean that gaps of a few mm exist all over. Birds, mice, and wasps dig holes in the tsuchikabe to gain access and make things even worse.
I think you are describing ever kominka homeowner's life lol I tore the ceilings down too and it was filthy work. So much so that I had, for a moment, regretted starting it. Once you start... you can't stop. I am in the process of insulating the ceiling as well. It's be a gradual and exhausting work... hence why I have yet to release those videos showing what I did... eventually I will though... when it's done.
@@DIYJapan - yeah, the regret was there, but it has to be done. I had two very large wasp nests up there to remove, and waged a long campaign to eradicate field mice living up there.
I will make cathedral ceilings in the rooms upstairs and after looking at what is holding beams together - pegs and large staples - will be installing structural bolts and brackets at all the joints.
Frankly, renovating an old kominka can be daunting as there is an endless amount of work to get done.
Good idea on the structural bolts. Depending on the year your house was built, it definitely can improve survivability of the inhabitants by adding brackets and such. Be sure they are designed for earthquakes. The house should have a certain level of flex and not be too stiff.
It's all daunting but it's fun at the same time... at least for me lol
The blooper reel had me 草草草. Nice help you got there!
She's great help with demolition... now if I could just train her to demolish the right things instead of everything else lol
@@DIYJapan Well, I have had to hire professionals for the house I am closing on at the beginning of July, for I am but a single person.
Such a beautiful Cookie Monster you got ☺️
She’s an everything monster lol 😂
I`m living in Germany. I like to hear the Quality of japanese DIY Material. German and EU Material are also expensive, aren`t they? So you can show us which material from which countries is better. Then I can learn from you:) And Great job! I must renovate 2 houses in Japan like you, if I go back to Japan!!
I don't know anything about the materials used in Europe. I would think that they are much better than Japan. Comparing the materials from America, I think America has a great amount of materials to choose from at great quality, performance and good prices. It's hard to find quality products in Japan and there are certain methods used in America that are just not available in Japan. I'll try to cover the differences more in future videos!
@@DIYJapanJapanese HOME CENTER has no Window, WC, Bath, etc. So japanese people have no chance to choose big DIY. I want to hear if you buy at the Home Depot in USA, what you want to do.
I am interested in general architecture Why japanese tradition choose YUKASITA(床下)? / Does Americans make wooden house in same way over the stones? / Does Americans use German kitchen scale (60cm wide)? etc... Anyway your familys conversation is so cute and lovely;) Please continue to show your original way of DIY. for exsample, numbering is nice idea;)
Americans do build with 床下 structures. We sometimes call it a ''crawl space''. It's usually taller than the traditional Japanese house and allows a person to crawl down under the house. It's a pretty scary thing to do lol
I do miss Home Depot and a place called Lowes. They are far superior to home improvement shops in Japan. You can build a whole house from home centers in the US. They have everything.
@@DIYJapan Very Interesting!! And i thought high Yukashita too!
I think your genie is a LOT cuter than you are HAHA! I didn't use brackets, I used plastic tape and stapled it under the joists.
I would hope so… I’m not so cute lol
if only I could harness the wishing power for my own projects
Those L brackets are def something I'd reconsider thanks to your exp. Hope the summer is spider free
We all wish for wishing powers lol I really like the spiders lol I just really hate the big hornets we get in summer. Those I could do without. I keep a bottle of hornet spray at my entrance ready to kill anything in sight when I walk out lol
channel's blowing up bro
It got a little boost! Thanks for the support from the start! 👍
@@DIYJapan no problem i really like the skits you do while getting the job done, very original.
Thanks, I'm craving a cookie now.
Lol go get that cookie, you deserve it!
Love the humour! Did the insulation help this winter? (emailed you)
It did help and it made the air more dry. It was such a damp feeling before.
funny video, nice work👏👏👏
Big thanks! 😃
Danny, concerning insulation, please check what the japanese government published some time ago: subventions for insulating houses. We profited from these funds when installing new windows in Minami Ibaraki in March this year.
I'll have to check it out in more detail. I know my city has subsidies that I have used already. I will have to research about government subs for insulation as well.
Kankyou syou, Ministry of environment, this is where you should look for these funds. I hope it helps !! 🙂
@xaviercartana5981 certainly look into it!!! Thanks a bunch!
How much is the insulation? Here in Australia, its around $80-$100 for 5 to 7 sq/m rated 2.5 to 3.5 at the local hardware store (Bunnings). Its mention from other DIY projects in japan, its hard to get good insulation batts. Is this the case?
Insulation here is expensive too. I've never seen insulation batts for sale here. You can order them online but you'll pay way too much. If you go to the store, everything is either the foam type or the wool roll.
I suppose the one main thing I have on you, related to the floor, is that my house is so old the floorboards in the kominka itself are all wedged in without any nails whatsoever. They're darn loose and squeaky but they are so easy to take out! Also, I didn't realize your waifu was going to go all-in on the comedic acting. Bravo! As for the insulation, you got 30mm, right? What was the price per piece?
This was the only room like this. Seems it was prepped this way for the carpet which is something strange to find in any house in Japan especially this old and out there lol
The wife played the part almost too well haha I'm worried lol
I bought the foam online, it was about 1800 yen per slice of pie. So it adds up in price when you have large areas.
They don’t heat the floors in Japan like in Korea?
In some fancier new houses they do. In these old houses it's very hard to do but not entirely impossible.
Hey Danny! Great stuff, I really enjoy watching your videos. About to start my own DIY project here in Japan soon. Was wondering if you got some recommendations on good DIY tools, which tools are essential for doing DIY, tools you're using most. Can you list some of the ones you're using like the screwdriver, drill etc.
Thanks! 🙏 that’s actually a very good question. I’m trying to put together a video soon on my most useful tools since I started. When will you start?
My quick list would definitely be:
Power drill
Circular hand saw
Miter saw
These would be the most useful. The initial tool cost hurts but pays off in the end. I’ll try to put together my useful tool video soon lol
@@DIYJapan This summer, so pretty excited. Yeah that would be really helpful and interesting to see which tools you're using. Which Power drills are you using?
Yeah guess it will be a quite big expense to get all the tools ready, but as you said it will pay off in the long run. Better invest in the best useful tools to make the renovation go smoothly.
I'll add your idea to the idea list for future episodes for this summer. Good luck and keep me posted on your reno!
Last wish is wish for 3 more wishes .
It’s Aladdin rules lol no wishing for more wishes.
I love this channel. It’s gonna grow like crazy. Great content. Keep the videos coming!
Hope so! Glad you enjoyed the channel!
You didn't want a cookie?!? 🙀
I did lol
The house is not heat n cold proof
Not yet… but it’s getting there!
Don't clean. Organize.
It's more like relocate or re-home lol Most of that stuff just ended up in a different room. I do need to get better organized... not my forte lol
Was that waifu?!
Yeah! If not, then I have a lot of explaining to do haha
I think they love you, or something, bud. Keep killin it for us all!
Fun. I hope she falls in love with you. Sweet 😊
I hope so too!