Solid‐Looking Japanese Cypress Nure‐en (Open Veranda) Simple‐but‐Tricky Woodwork [Season 2‐Part 17]

Hello, Shoyan here. I’m a carpenter working in Japan. This time, I’m building a larger-than-normal nure-en (open veranda). This will be the last work on this site. I’m building a nure-en around the building. *2ft 11in by 9ft 10in
At this size, 900 mm by 3 m,* it can be called either a nure-en or a wood deck. When it's installed, where the wall surrounds it, it's called a wood deck.

The name varies depending on the usage. First, I cut the lumber to length as usual. Of course, I use all Japanese cypress since it’ll be installed outside. Cedar heartwood is water-resistant but isn't suitable for a nure-en because it's soft and easily scratched. After cutting the lumber, I plane it. A planer is a machine that can plane the wood’s edge at a right angle and make lumber into the same size.

This is an old tool. Older craftsmen tend to have bigger planers. Today, young carpenters rarely plane wood on their own. It’s already been planed and delivered to the site. Also, the house maker doesn’t use a lot of solid wood. So a carpenter who has a planer is old, and when I visit their workshop, I can see that the machines are also old. I don’t use a super surfacer for the nure-en. It tends to be wavy if I only finish with a planer, so I use a sharp blade electric planer only on the top surface and press it slowly. This makes the surface as beautiful as one that has been hand planed. I chamfer the top corner widely. Now I move to the site. It’s a beautiful day today; it’s very bright, so it’s hard to see the laser for leveling. I just placed the laser on the box, but the height coincidentally matched. First, I make the nure-en’s frame. Compared to a regular nure-en, these joists are slightly larger. It’s almost the same size as a wood deck.

I’ll be joining the short joists to the pillar and joining the longer ones on it. I cut one mortise to each pillar, it’s tricky to chisel. There has been a nure-en since the old days. It‘s like an outdoor version of an engawa.* A nure-en is also called ko-en. Of course, it'll get wet if it’s installed outside. That is why it’s called a nure-en. In the olden days, we didn't call a large one a wood deck; we called it a sun deck. We called it “The first-floor sun deck”, “the second-floor sun deck.” It's been called a wood deck for the last few decades. People do barbeques or play with small children. I think the name changed as part of that process. I have finished marking the short joists, so I cut them. It’s hard to cut if it’s a short wood. *13⁄64 to 15⁄64in
The deck’s height is 5 to 6 mm* below the window sash. It won't drain, so I leave a space and fit it in.

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The drainage on the siding slightly overlaps the joist’s bottom edge. I cut off that part and slide it in from the side to install it. *9ft 10in
I install the 3m* joists on the front and back of the short joists. Cats are nice, and they can bask in the sun whenever they want. I temporarily set the side joist and then measure the length of the long joist. I use the long joist to warp downward. In that way, the joists will press down on the posts from the top when they are installed. Now that I have finished cutting the short joists and the four long ones, I install the entire nure-en. I set the short joists first and move them outward just enough to set the long joist. Before I install the actual wooden posts, I set temporary plastic posts as support. The plastic post is made like a jack and its height can be adjusted freely. It’s very useful in a situation like this. Now I install four posts. I set a 100 mm (4in) square foundation shim under each one since it’s not good to install directly onto the concrete.

The square foundation shim is useful in this case. This concrete floor is sloped, so I measure the angle and cut the posts’ bottom edge at the angle. When cutting the post at an angle, I need to turn it to the opposite side to cut the back. So I cut from one side with a miter saw as much as possible and cut the other 1/3 with a hand saw. I can cut it fast and neatly. I measure the height of each post one by one and set them in place.

I screw the foundation shim to the bottom of the post. As the only post’s top edge will be attached to the joist, I screw from the hidden part. I’ve finished installing the frame; now I cut the deck boards. The deck boards will be inserted all the way under the window sash. The front edge will be 6 mm (15⁄64in) inside the front surface of the pillars. The deck boards will be spaced about one pencil's thickness apart. Even if there are knots on the board’s side, the spacing is only the thickness of a pencil, so it won’t be noticeable. I won’t hand plane the front end of the board. I widely chamfer it and finished it off by painting it. Now I have finished cutting all the deck boards. The painters will paint them from noon, and I’ll install them tomorrow. Now the preparations are done. It’s nice to take a nap with the cat. I had a painter paint the boards, but since that was only one day ago, it is still sticky.

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But I have to finish it in time, so I will install it. After installing these boards, I will have the painter apply the final coat. First, I secure both ends. I use stainless-steel round head 90 mm (3-35⁄64in) nails to secure the boards. I don’t drive the nail fully home, because unexpected things might happen. So I leave room between the nail head and the boards until the position is decided. I cut the deck boards earlier, but the building’s wall is uneven, so I make sure to attach a straight piece to align them and measure the length. I mark the boards using a chalk line, then drill the pilot holes. The chalk line will be removed using a wet towel. If you want to mark a material that is single-painted, you should not use a pencil. It's okay to draw a dot, but a line can't be erased with an eraser. Now I drill all the pilot holes. I’m using a drill with a slightly smaller diameter than the nail’s. If the hole is too big, the nail won't be secured well, and if the nail head floats, water will get in.

I secure the middle of the entire nure-en. I shallowly drive one nail to each board. I can drive two nails, but my eyes flicker and get in the way if I drive all the nails home from the beginning. I decide the spacing between the boards before driving the nail in. Now I secure all the boards. I set the straight piece on the front. Two or three of the deck boards *3⁄64 to 5⁄64in)
are 1 to 2 mm* shorter than the others. I move them to the front and secure them first, then secure the remaining uniform deck boards. I shallowly drive all nails. Now I start driving all the nails home.

The nails are close to the window sash, so I set a board there to protect it while driving in. This stainless-steel round head nail is tricky to hammer, but I like it. It will be a nice design if they are aligned neatly, and it will hide the part around the hole where it is splitting. If I use a screw, it’ll split more, and the water will accumulate there. I need to be careful not to drive too deep— even if it's a round head nail. I wipe off the chalk line as soon as possible. Even if it’s just a chalk powder, it’s hard to remove after driving the nails. With a wet towel, I wipe off firmly and forcefully. The slightly large Japanese cypress nure-en is now complete. It looks easy to use. Sit here like this, bring the barbeque grill to the front, and a lot of people can sit here.

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It's nice. That’s all for today. Thanks for watching!.

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