Japanese
Renovation of old houses

The value of an old house

In England ，many old houses are attractive as historical houses and often cost more than new houses. But in Japan, there are few things like England.

Some people say it's because England houses last houses last longer due to the difference in materials of houses such as store in England and wood in Japan. Certainly, the condition of stone-made buildings is less likely to get worse even if they are not managed,

but there are wooden buildings like Horyuji that have been built for more than 1000 years thanks to proper management and repair and in Japan, there is a method called renovation of an old folk house, from a wooden building that needs repair, to a part that is better remade while retaining its good quality and history.

Renovation of old houses

Old houses are traditional houses built using traditional methods, and it is estimated that there are about 1.5 million such houses in Japan, of which about 200,000 are vacant houses and the renovation of old houses means rebuilding such old houses, making them comfortable and making them barrier-free while preserving old ones.

For example, the roof has been repaired, the kitchen, shower, and washroom have been renovated to provide the latest amenities, and the wood used for the center of the house and the roof has a long history. Like these renovated houses the comfort of a new house with the historic depth not found in a new one.
And such a house should be worth more than a new one.

If about 1.5 million old houses in Japan become more valuable than new ones, the oldest houses in Japan will be properly managed and such houses will not collapse.
In terms of eliminating the preference for new housing, it is necessary to make people recognize the value of old buildings.

However, when I actually talked to the architect at the event called "Renovation expo",He said,
"It is hard to find a price for a reconstructed old house that is more expensive than a new one.".

In essence, it is worth more than a newly built house, but the reason why it cannot be priced more than a newly built house is because the Japanese place importance on "brand new" after all, old houses should have a "old house brand".

The architect agreed, "If Japanese people change their minds, they will be able to pay more than new houses.".

The brand is established by image and public relations activities, so in order for reconstructed old houses to be treated as more attractive than new ones, it is necessary not only to dissolve the desire to build new houses, but also to create new ones. we need to do more to show that value.
Then, what is the value of old houses?

Value of old houses

The renovated old houses not only have the potential to be a more valuable and luxurious houses than a new ones, in the "Image survey of sightseeing spots in Japan that I want to visit" category, "Japanese townscape" is ranked 2nd with 68%. Thus, it is valuable as a tourism resource and as a means of conveying Japan's ancient culture.

The design and materials of private houses vary from place to place because they are made of materials that are close to each other.
Then, they took the materials with their own hands and improved the house little by little with their own hands.
The traditional houses that have been gradually improved by the local people are filled with wisdom from the past.

For example, one of them is a thatched roof (Kayabuki).Thatched in layers, it contains a lot of air and is made very warm by the same principle as a raised back cloth.In summer, however, it is cool because of the heat of vaporization when the rain soaked in the rainy season and evening rain evaporates. Furthermore, by growing Japanese pampas grass, which is a material nearby, the new roof could be replaced without spending a penny.

And the long eaves take advantage of the difference in solar altitude between winter and summer to bring in as much sunlight as possible in winter and block out direct sunlight in summer.

In this way, "They live in harmony with nature and improve by collecting wisdom with their own hands."
The traditional Japanese spirit, which has been fading in recent years, is stuck in the old houses.
It can be said that old houses, which have been repeatedly made up by people, have great cultural value.