RetireJapan

Hi Everyone...I’m looking for advice from people who have done a remodel in Japan or maybe are a contractor or architect who knows about these matters.

I’m in the process of buying an older 50 years plus 70m square mansion in Japan. I want to do a full remodel on it. The only major change I want to make is to move the kitchen towards the back of the living room away from its present location near the front of the living area near the balcony. I have gotten approval from the mansion management (rijikai). I have had 4 different architects/contractors over to look and measure and each has different ideas about what is possible or problematical or impossible about the kitchen move. The challenges are with the venting of air from the kitchen fan and moving the sink water to a drain.

The water - The water needs a slope to move so moving it toward the front under the living area to the original drain will raise the floor. I would rather it go towards the rear to drain through the sink/bath. This would raise the floor of the kitchen and the hall towards the bath area but for me this is preferable than raising the living room area floor. Two of the guys said this should be possible. One said it might cause backup and would be better off to not do. Sumitomo homes said that is one of several things they don't do, so they are not in the running anymore.

The air – Only one of the guys saw a problem here. The peninsula kitchen fan has to move air through a tube 15 cm or so wide to an exit hole in the concrete fairly far from the new kitchen location. This is made complicated by the fact that there are two big 40cm cement beams that cross north south and east west in the apartment on the ceiling. Any air tube will have to go under at least one and maybe two of these beams to get to the exit hole. Any place an air tube goes down and then up again would seem to be a place to catch oil from cooking. If that air vent goes the shortest route it needs to go behind the ceiling which will bring the ceiling down 20 cm or so. Maybe it can go along the wall and be covered rather than under the ceiling? I know length is a problem with water because of the need for slope, but what about air? Is a longer circuitous route a problem?

So I wonder what you all think? I’m not sure what these guys are thinking, and they have promised to get back to me with a plan. One of the three has gone missing and doesn’t reply to messages, so that leaves two contractors.

I really want to move this kitchen to the back so I can have an open plan LDK space. But I want to avoid having a low ceiling, high floor situation. I currently live in an apt with 230cm floor to ceiling and can live with that, but don’t want to go to 220cm for the sake of this kitchen, so I’m looking at options for venting the air and water that affects the floor and ceiling height as little as possible. I know these are problems for architects and contractors to solve but am getting conflicting advice so am asking here. Thanks!

Not sure if you will find experts in this community.
Another option is FaceBook. There is a group for renovating houses in Japan on there. Try that.

HankNeva wrote: ↑Sun Dec 17, 2023 12:33 am I’m in the process of buying an older 50 years plus 70m square mansion in Japan. I want to do a full remodel on it. The only major change I want to make is to move the kitchen towards the back of the living room away from its present location near the front of the living area near the balcony. I have gotten approval from the mansion management (rijikai). I have had 4 different architects/contractors over to look and measure and each has different ideas about what is possible or problematical or impossible about the kitchen move. The challenges are with the venting of air from the kitchen fan and moving the sink water to a drain.

The water - The water needs a slope to move so moving it toward the front under the living area to the original drain will raise the floor. I would rather it go towards the rear to drain through the sink/bath. This would raise the floor of the kitchen and the hall towards the bath area but for me this is preferable than raising the living room area floor. Two of the guys said this should be possible. One said it might cause backup and would be better off to not do. Sumitomo homes said that is one of several things they don't do, so they are not in the running anymore.

The air – Only one of the guys saw a problem here. The peninsula kitchen fan has to move air through a tube 15 cm or so wide to an exit hole in the concrete fairly far from the new kitchen location. This is made complicated by the fact that there are two big 40cm cement beams that cross north south and east west in the apartment on the ceiling. Any air tube will have to go under at least one and maybe two of these beams to get to the exit hole. Any place an air tube goes down and then up again would seem to be a place to catch oil from cooking. If that air vent goes the shortest route it needs to go behind the ceiling which will bring the ceiling down 20 cm or so. Maybe it can go along the wall and be covered rather than under the ceiling? I know length is a problem with water because of the need for slope, but what about air? Is a longer circuitous route a problem?

You might also want to try Reddit (r/lifeinjapan or r/japanfinance). Our manshon has some of those features it seems. The kitchen in on an island away from the windows. That entire area is raised a few cm.

The kitchen fan goes along the wall and has its own duct that is not hidden in the ceiling.

But I am about as far from knowledgeable about this as it gets

Not sure if you will find experts in this community.
Another option is FaceBook. There is a group for renovating houses in Japan on there. Try that.

Thanks, I'll check.

The kitchen fan goes along the wall and has its own duct that is not hidden in the ceiling.

Thanks, that seems like a good way to go.