Before After

[Big Booger]

Was watching the episode tonight and an old man, his wife, daughter and son-in-law were living in a 120 year old house that needed to be condemned. The whole structure was leaning 50 centimeters off of center. It leaned so much the structure pushed into the neighboring barbershop...

My question, why isn't there some sort of coding authority here that can prevent people from living like that?

The show was great, they used concrete ancors to pull the frame structure back to within 5 centimeters of center. Not bad at all. WHen it was all said and done it looked great.. I just wonder why Japanese live in squalor like that. And how is it legal?

Next week's episode they'll do a thatched roof community center. I am looking forward to watching.

[Coligny]

Why pigs like mud...

Why bears shit in the wood...

Why japs live in dumpsters...

[BigInJapan]

Being somewhat of a DIY aficionado myself, I've been watching Before-After pretty much since it went on the air in 2002.
The inane patter between Tokoro Joji and his guests can be irritating, as well as the constant repetition of scenes for emphasis (and don't forget the obligatory closeup of a client as they tear up with emotion). But, the program does showcase some highly talented architects (whom the refer to as 匠, takumi = artisan/carpenter) who often end up making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Regarding the enforcement of building standards in Japan, from what I've seen, unless the building is literally falling over, I seriously doubt anything is ever done. Here in the countryside I could point out lots of old houses that would come down with a swift kick. But, in the city, I would imagine that if neighbours complained enough, something might get done.

Many (most?) of the housing disasters on Before-After really should be torn down, but, they tear out the walls, floors, and sometimes roof and then completely rebuild (sometimes evening the foundations as well). Some properties in Japan have building restrictions (建築条件あり) which limit to repairs/renos only, however, I think the TV show has a condition that the building's framework must remain as is in order to quality as being a before/after renovation project.

There was talk a few years ago on 2ch etc. that Before-After, or the architect got sued for a project where the client was shocked (and not happy) with the After result. The house had several differences in floor height which the client wanted removed so elderly mom could move around comfortably. The architect didn't make it barrier-free, but jazzed up the interior instead.

BTW - last night's show was two separate houses (it was a duplex, formerly a 4-plex), with an old guy and his niece in one unit, and an old woman in the other unit (her son and daughter-in-law use space during the day as an office and live nearby in a condo).

[Coligny]

I thought the after was just the same as before but with lights cranked up to 2000%

Most of the before look like they should be nuked from orbit.

Most of the after are... complete bullshit with gadget-ish feature that seems to be designed to look good on tv and get "sugooooooiii" from the panel of retards presenting the show. But make little sense for daily living. They are really in love with folding/transforming furniture or rooms. That works when empty of things an people. But seems really poorly fit for daily living...

I'd rather spend hours on the "tiny House" blog...

[yanpa]

This is a country where it's apparently still legal to build a house where you can open a window, reach out without unduly stretching, and touch the wall of your neighbour's house. As an added bonus the houses are beneath a high-voltage powerline and built on a site formerly occupied by a factory of some description. And yes, they all found purchasers

[Taro Toporific]

I'd rather spend hours on the "tiny House" blog...

Duuude, the "tiny house" life no workee.

I've lived the "tiny house" life for several years in grad school in my restored 1950 Airstream Silver Streak Clipper that was 23 feet 3 inches X 80 inches (7.08m X 2.03m). As a living space, it was fine. As a cooking space, I had to move any major cooking outside or my clothing in the drawer and closet (note the singular) would end up slightly greasy and smell of my past meals. The deal breaker of "tiny House" living is storage space---There isn't any.

The "Tiny House" living concept is as bad or worse than living in hellhole urban Japan. In order to gain living space, I had to (and now have to) throw away any possession I didn't (don't) use more than once a week in a season. Bye-bye to my mega-kool vintage Czechoslovakia trenchcoat, 9l pasta pot set, and all my computer whatever cables.

1950-airsteam.jpg

[Coligny]

I said "look" not "live"... It's like tranies tumblr's and blogs...
Fun for watching and daydreaming... not for living...

Beware... it's a trap...

trap.jpg

(but i'd fuck that anyway)

[Big Booger]

I remember one episode where a lady had to stack shit up in a closet to access the second story.... and then climb up that mountain of shit to get access to the 2nd floor. I just thought WTF...... But the architect put in oblong steps which I thought was stupid at first but it actually worked better to climb the steps that were staggered and allowed for a steep incline with minimum climbing effort.

But yesterday's episode was like WTF... the whole thing was leaning on the neighboring barbershop... I wonder if it would have been more economical to tear it down quickly and rebuild it quickly rather than do all that shit that they had to do.... gutting, frame straightening, waterproofing, ventilation system, skylight and all that crap....

[yanpa]

Did the property have more than a couple of metres of road frontage? If not there might be restrictions in place making new construction impossible.