Some guests asked if they could sit in Peace Garden villa and sip tea or coffee. Soh Horie likes to build with solid lumber resulting in a sturdy bench.
Painting the trim in the Peace Garden Villa classroom
Kona san rolls on fresh paint
Almost done
Kent holds the curtain in Peace Garden Villa in place before hanging. The Peace Garden Villa includes a compact style Japanese kitchen
Here's a view of the Peace Garden through the Villa Window. Classrooms snacks and some group meetings are held here.
Getting ready for classes - fresh tatami, fresh paint, polished tables, and an air conditioner that works great
The Dining Area was also upgraded with new walls and ceiling
Office Space has a lighter and more open look. Computers replaced much of the filing and convential storage uses of the past
Mieko san touches up the natural wood work in a freshly painted Asagao
Volunteers help paint the upstair hallway outside Guest Rooms
As well as the stair well walls
Next door, an old house with other buildings is torn down - see the Web Album - What's going down Blues ?“
The wall is removed - there may even be a dispute over a few inches of the property line since the orignal site map was made a few years after the A-bomb destroyed this neighborhood
Once the next door wall and building was removed it helped WFC completely repair the outside of their Japanese style Residence. New materials, sealants and new screens were used to protect the entire exterior while making the interior more comfortable
Naomi points out the cause behind damage to the WFC interior wall which we had investigated and repaired earlier. The house has settled and is creating downward pressure on supporting beams and walls The former wall prevented a close inspection of the emerging problem.
With scaffolding in place on a good work day, the outside east walls of the 50 plus year old building are exposed. This is necessary to do the repairs correctly.
Tarps are used to allow work to continue if it rains and also to limit the amount of paint that may escape and settle on other areas
The new type of panel wall fits much better and is more permanent
Moisture barrier and strips installed - this will keep the interior and exterior in much better shape than the original construction.
Many details to complete while day to day functions at WFC continued. Overall, Guests were very understanding as improvements were made inside and outside the WFC.
Like new - everything was replaced on the exterior - new down spouts, new screens for the windows as well - this building is in front of the WFC and includes Peace Garden Villa
The boundary wall gets moved back a few centimeters - another laundry day above
Even the WFC storage area gets renovated and improved
Naomi san says, “looks very good”. Every exterior wall at WFC Guesthouse has been repaired and painted
The storage area matches the house under a new veranda installed earlier
A new look for the rainy season - the new walls and sealing all of the exterior walls will make the WFC more comfortable
Dusk at the renovated WFC - time to take the laundry down. New materials seal the house to outside insects and the environment
Next Door - the rebar grid gets placed
Getting ready for more WFC improvements
A new ceiling for Sakura Guestroom
Panel walls are smooth first before applying wipe ready wall coverings
Dark colors covered
Smoothing the ceiling panel seams before new paper is put up
Chizuko san and Sarah hang laundry under the new clear solar roof on the veranda. The previous roof was faded yellow and brown and leaked when it rained.
A powerful detergent is used to clean the cooling coils with the plastic funneling the dirty solution to a bucket below -every air conditioner at WFC is flushed wtih detergent and rinse so that it works efficiently and safely.
New ceiling goes up strip by strip
Ready to roll
Skilled carpenter matches door trim so old style doors can be retrofitted with keyed locks
Chiyoko san polishes the veranda doors
Stairway benefitted from reinforced safety rails since some guests hold on both sides with backpacks on their back. The WFC has only two stories so their is no room for an elevator
Sakura - the former classroom is converted into a light and bright guestroom with a Veranda view of Peace Garden
Outside, a new three story structure is underway with parking in the front portion.
Chizuko preps the door for Sakura
Kent & Chizuko get the closet doors ready for paint
The finish on the sliding doors needs to be sanded before painting
Chizuko san does painting while Naomi and Sarah keep laundry flowing
Director's Room makeover - following the edicts of Japanese Minimalism - “Less is more”
Sakura make-over - a fresh look with WFC Japanese student art, new curtains and fresh paint with a new ceiling
WFC Guests of several ages enjoy the breakfast in the new dining room.
WFC gets new outlets everywhere so that locations are more convenient and extenson cords are eliminated
Outlets expanded in Music Room to accommodate electronics and guest accessories plus fan and vaccum sweeper
Circuits checked and expanded
New Energy Efficient Fiberglass insulation sheets going to the attic
While the WFC attic gets 63 square meters of insulation blankets
New insulation looks at home in an old attic -cooler summers and warmer winters for Guests. For warmer weather, four new ultra -quiet energy fans were installed that will remove warm air from the insulated attic
Note the old style timber architecture - there are very few buildings in Hiroshima that represent this early post-Atomic Bomb era of construction. Most wooden era homes have already been replaced by taller buildings.
WFC gets every fire extinquisher checked and old ones replaced- part of our WFC wide improvement program for guest safety
While next door the new three story commercial building uses today's heavy duty steel.
Lining up the grids
Much of life is a balancing act
Concentration
Gridwork - all tightened by hand on the first pass
A fun pose by a construction worker once she saw the camera.
After the windows and doors were installed next door the interior work started
Sakura ceiling gets the final touch from the master carpenter- he was a very good worker and very patient. Several old fans were replaced with newer, quieter ones
Sakura futons in new curtain light
Getting closer to moving day next door -WFC constructions workers used the scaffolding to install attic fans in the WFC Guesthouse - keeping next summer even more comfortable upstairs.
WFC researched and is using a 10 year life state of the art Smoke/Fire Detector throughout the WFC building even though WFC is a No Smoking facility
The new detectors are lightweight but highly reliable and emit a very loud signal - they are easy to test
Soh Horie removes an old obsolete detector in the kitchen/dining area - a heat detector which complements the gas/CO detector and a smoke/fire detector are now installed
Meanwhile next door a ready made floor is installed
Peace Garden Pole outside a brighter WFC Building for use by many
Another WFC project - a sealed access door for the attic
Hinged with easy access plus insulation overhead - keeps the heat and the cold out of Sakura's closet
Bag full of project clean up on the way down
Kitchen tune up - pull out cabinets and seal the wall behind
Caulking the kitchen sink with moisture barrier sealant
No drips, no openings under the sink
Under the house venilation provided by stainless steel mesh enclosed in a made to fit wooden frame - built on location
Bags of stone gravel are hand carried to the perimeter of the WFC East wall
The exterior is protected by waterproof siding, a concrete wall, now filled with gravel
Hand poured....
Hand packed
Two tier Sakura Closet gets three coats of paint
Measuring to make sure the new smooth flooring pieces are cut to fit
And with Soh san's sharp tools the wood trim fits perfectly
Blankets, futons and mattresses stored and ready to use
and the vaccum and extra blankets ready to roll. Summer covers stored above
Naomi san and Sarah straighten the Villa entrance
Yukari san & Sarah clean out the dining room cabinet - it's new home is Peace Garden Villa making way for more changes at the WFC
Chiyoko san cleans the walls of an emptied WFC Dining Room
Riji Clean Team- Watanabe san, Emiko Okada, Michiko Yamane
KIdo Sensei makes the Japanese Bath and Tile sparkle
Chizuko cleans a heater filter
Sachiko san cleans the “Go in Peace” sign above the WFC Guesthouse Entrance doorway
Kent applies wood stain to cover the scuffs and wear of time on old wood....
..... Board by board
Peaceful sign in Peace Garden
At the Toto Kitchen Showroom the WFC Guest House Focus Team Designs nears the final design as coffee is served. Many planning sessions were held prior to the completed design
Say Sayonara to the former WFC Kitchen - it has earned a well deserved rest after serving thousands of guests for many years
Once everything is removed several new challenges are presented - hidden problems under the floor, behind the wall and in the ceiling above.
The former kitchen is made ready for the new one - structural, electrical, plumbing, walls, ceiling, floors and more.
Tools of the Trade including Laser Level and fine power equipment
WFC Interior Challenges + Tools + Carpenter Skills = Solutions
The foundation for the new Kitchen is built
Cut and Fit, Shape and Place
Putting all of the Toto building blocks together - and they fit !
Bright, Clean, Bold, Functional
Getting ready to serve Guests and WFC Volunteers
Ready to serve our Guests from around the /world - with smiles
