Mortar & Bay Windows

      A quick update here.  Sunday everyone was off, so we couldn't tour the house, but we saw that part of the exterior walls had been covered with mortar.

      We of course noticed the impressive mortar mixer in front of the house, and what we assume must be cement and sand bags covered by a blue protective sheet.

     Mixing mortar looks like it's a physically demanding task and kind of messy too, judging from all the containers and tools needed.

We saw that the mortar was first applied directly onto the lath.

And then, some kind of fabric called "Fiber Mesh" (ファイバーメッシュ) was embedded in the mortar.  This fabric helps prevent the mortar from cracking.

We'll ask about this next time we visit.

* * *

     Now onto the Bay Window dilemma.  Right now our bay windows have been framed at the top and the bottom, but not on the sides. Moldings were also added to these areas.  Our architect mentioned that by only framing the top and bottom part, it gives a more spacious outlook.

      We are unsure about this.  In any case, we will wait until the walls have been painted to evaluate the situation again and if we feel the windows should be fully framed we can do it then.