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The Making of Chashitsu, Day 23

m1Last weekend I finished up the mizu-ya shelves. I found some measurement that came from fushin-an, THE Omotesenke Tea-room. I was unable to find wood that was wide enough. So it ended up about 20 cm deep. The shelves have small grooves in the side wood which they fit into. I might in the future special order some wood that is wider. I can’t have one chawan outside another chawan, the way I would like too because the shelves are not deep enough. Beside that I’, quite happy with it.
At the bottom the “sink” is visible. The bamboo came of a old bamboo screen. It can be lifted out to get access to the waste water container below. To actually remove the entire plastic container I need to lift out not just the bamboo but also the wood pieces next to it. This can bee done with no tools what so ever.
As a final note I ended up removing my sadoguchi. I had used too thin material so it was bulging into the wall, and some times it would get stuck and make it almost impossible to open. I have to find another way of constructing the door. Another problem with that is that it will be difficult to get the door back into it’s proper place. I might have to make it in two pieces and fasten it together after it is put in place. Maybe this weekend.
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The Making of Chashitsu, Day 21

 q2After having moved the window on Friday I started painting the last wall segment on Saturday. After two layers of paint and sand I could mount the sliders for the actual window. However I had done some foolish mistakes in calculating the size, so the window did not fit. I had to disassemble it and make a second attempt. I’m not totally satisfied with the way it turned out, but it will do for now.
While waiting for the paint to dry I had time to make finish the water disposal area in mizu-ya. I had planned to have the bamboo cover go from wall to wall, but only be 20 cm deep. For several reasons it was more practical to have it 43 cm deep and not as wide as planned. The image shows the final result. Both the bamboo cover and the wood on the sides can easily be removed to empty the waste water container below.
I also had time to clean up the room. All the left over wood has been removed to the garage. I have dusted an vacuumed the room, and I’m looking forward to having some Tea in it tomorrow.

There are still some things to do, but it has the feel of being nearly finished. In the Tea room I need to complete the window and make a cover for the ro. Beside that there is not much q1more I can do before I get some supplies. I need the blue and white paper that will cover the bottom part of the walls. Furthermore I need the hooks for the scroll and flowers. And not to mention, I only have to very old tatami that are the wrong size, In the mizuya I need to get the measurements for the shelf, and than build it. Hopefully I’ll get some measurements on the 17th. I also need to paint the mizu-ya door and figure out what to do about the space between the right most piece of wood and the wall. The space is barely visible in the image above, but it is very visible when you move about the mizu-ya.

As long as I get the tatami and the mizu-ya shelves the rest is details.

 

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The Making of Chashitsu, Day 4 + 5

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Mizy-ya and entrance to the tea room.

Yesterday was mainly a shopping day. I got the rest of the wood that I need for the mizu-ya floor. I cut them into “right” lengths. However, as I started to put them down I discovered that I had forgot to take into account the extra space needed for a sliding door for most of the distance. Luckily I had made the boards too long, and not too short. At that time the saw decided to act up. In short I did not get as much done on day 4 as I had hoped. Though I put down the last boards on the chashitsu floor and a few boards on the mizy-ya

On the bright side, I did get a call confirming that the visible wood for the room will be ready next week. With luck and some hard work the room may be ready by the end of Easter.

Started Day 5 by looking into the saw problem a bit more. It blows the fuse in the house when I turn it on. In theory the fuse should be fine. Also it worked nice over the weekend but yesterday and today it kept breaking the circute as soon as I started the saw. After some experimentation I discovered that when I use my longest extension cord (which is what we did this

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Tea-room, with some paint tests in the corner

weekend) the saw works fine, when I use no extension cord or a shorter one it blows the fuse immediately. I’m no electrician, but that seems very odd. Bought the saw back to the store where I bought it. Told them the story of what happened, but they weren’t entirely convinced. That is until they tested it and the fuse for the entire wood storage blew. The offered me a new saw. To be on the safe side we tested it for the same faults. No sign of it. Back home again I started fixing my mistake from yesterday with the floor boards for the mizu-ya. After a few cuts the saw kills the fuse again. Seems like the issue is exactly the same with the new saw. I capitulated, brought out the long extension cord and got to work. If any electrician can explain to me what is happening to my saws I would be very grateful.

By the end of the day I had completed the mizu-ya floor today. Also I put one layer of paint the two types of walls I’m going to use. I want to see how the colour I have bought looks on the actual surfaces I will be using. Expect I need two or three layers before I can see the finished colour. Also I need to get hold of some sand to put into the paint so that it will get the right texture.

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The Making of Chashitsu, Day 2

p1 This second day was used to elevate the Mizuya floor, similar to what we did Day 1 for the main room. The part of the mizuya floor closes to the Tea-room has to be movable. This is a necessity for two reasons. First and foremost because there is a chimney door and fire regulation requires no permanent flammable material within 30 cm of it. Secondly because there is a door to another room where the photographer of the attached images was standing. It is best to be able to enter it with out having to climb the elevated floor and potentially drag dirt onto the tatami. . So the section shown on image to will be movable, and i theory I should be able to lift it off and put it inside the mizuya when not in use.
We spent a significant amount of time discussing the placement of the sink. In the end we decided to make it half a matt wide and place it in the end where the shelf is in the image. I think this will be ap2 good solution. I might even be able to place a shoji “window” there and have a spotlight behind to provide lighting.
The main room on the left side in the images, you can barely see the frame of the door.

Thats all we got done this day, because we were distracted by the need to put up some sliding doors for a walking closet in my bedroom. Need to keep the wife happy, while I’m claiming all that space in the basement for my Tea-room.