It's moving along again!

 I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated you all, I know how keen you are to keep track lol.

My wonderful site supervisor threw in the towel at the end of the roof build and handed the job to me which has really slowed down the work schedule as I seem to get easily distracted by anything! 

Darren has taken the position of labourer although he still keeps me on track and the jobs in order thank goodness 😊

So firstly a follow-up on the plants ... the rabbits loved them and devoured about half, the rest have been saved by the tree guards that I should have put in place to start with... my bad!

Now back to the build ... the window bucks were built and concreted in place.

Most of the sashes will be put in place after the bales are up.

We started collecting rocks from a hill beside the railway line to build the stem wall and also had the luxury of recycling the old concrete path outside Darren's new shed extension, I think we would have been struggling to find enough rocks with out the concrete. 

We ordered a small tractor, an Iseki t185, it's a beautiful ford blue, it spends a lot of its time on two wheels and looks like it's dancing with Darren lol

Clinton got in early and named it 'Frankie'! I think he spent all night working on how he was going to get in first with a name... very tricky lad lol

It's first job was to assist in transporting the extremely heavy Jarrah kitchen window. 

The next job was to sift the clay through a screen and roll the rocks out, it worked a treat.

We made some test brick along the way and later some bricks for around the wood heater to soften the heat.

We also bought reclaimed solid bricks for the foyer and bathroom floors. They'll be cleaned with 10/1 water/hydrochloric acid solution and washed before putting down and possibly slate sealed or similar. 

The stem wall and floors were then filled with blue metal to stop moisture rising into the floor. 

We took the car trailer and headed to Arthur River to pick up two packs of 21 bales so we could start making the cob to top off the stem wall to strawbale height.

Darren and Frankie (yes, it's a girl tractor!) danced their way through their first batch of cob starting with mixing the clay and sand then adding water to saturate, a sprinkling of straw to hold it all together then onto the wall. A length of patio tube gave a perfect screeding level and left a perfect space to later run the electrics.

We had a tilt tray pick up 15 packs and we picked up another two, 19 packs at 21 per pack, 399 bales ... probably enough for a garden shed too lol.

The truckie wasn't wrapped that we didn't have any means of getting the bales off other than strapping and pulling, he thought they would slide off if he backed up and braked hard ... nah!!

So eventually he gave in to Darren's idea which of course worked perfectly!!

So the stem wall is finished and the floor had a layer of geocloth before the sand went in. It's been levelled and needs a bit of compacting before builders film then 75mm of cob in the main room.

Next time it'll be bale raising time .. yay 🤗🤗🤗

Landscaping

Darren did a very neat job levelling the ground around the house when we had the bobcat for the water tank and put some of the piled top soil in place at the entrance.
Some stones were also collected and placed as corner stones at the front door.

My first outing to the Australian Native Nursery in Oakford was with Benny, who seemed to think 40 tube stock plants was plenty and 'Grandma I think you have enough plants now. Do you know how much this is going to cost?!' Lol

At 60 plants we headed off, I went back a few days later and picked up another 20 plants.

I built some steps up the bank as the rolling gravel is lethal, they turned out ok :)

All 80 tube stock plants are in the ground some in front of the house, the rest are on the bank and bushes along the top.

I even had some help with planting thanks to Justin, Lou and Kylie :)

Water tank and no rain!

Thanks to you Mum, for the water tank donation, it is so much appreciated.
If you could just get out there in the back yard and do a bit of a jig with your walker (rain dance) it would also be appreciated.
With the tank ordered we needed to get in the bobcat again to make the  pad.

First to dig down so the water would run in and then lay a cracker dust pad to support the tank.

It's called a wet system because water stays in the pipes underground unless you flush the system

The truck arrived and it looked way to big lol, once it was tipped off the truck and pushed into position it looked as it should.

The down pipes have rain heads to keep leaves out of the tank.

There's also a release screw to clear the stagnate water at the end of winter and first rain with dust bird droppings at the begining of winter.

All topped off!

 The roof is finished and all under it is dry!
Watching someone work when they know what they're doing is such a pleasure and an opportunity to learn.
Darren started with the lining boards which will be seen under the verandahs, the sitting area and entrance.

The batons were spaced at 600mm all the way to the top and then the rolls of Anticon were laid out in overlapping sequence.

The long north sheets were on in just a few hours, the same for the west end.

The Western Red Cedar weatherboards filled the gable end and barge finished it off.

The valleys and hips are so neat and tidy.

It's all looking so beautiful. 

More work and a little bit of art.

My photos are the only way I can jog my remember on what and how much work is getting done (mostly by Darren).

With the concrete set the remainder of rafters went up quickly.

One evening we went out the farm to do something or other, Darren went to the shed and I was just enjoying the moon shining through the rafters, as Darren drove back up the lights from the car moved from one place to another on the rafters until it lit Bruce majestically.

Darren cut the bird's mouths so accurately they lined up like little soldiers.... everything lines up so beautifully :)

Benny spent a week with us and helped with the timbers in the 'foyer' (sounds so grand eh?!).

The foyer has a lowered ceiling with exposed rafters and reclaimed pressed tin artistically painted .. or at least artistically wire buffed with the grinder.

Anyone who has experienced my arty self would know that it can be a little underwhelming, especially if it involves sewing! However, I have surprised myself with the distressed tin!

The other piece of art work I've been playing with is the house sign, the font is Higher Jump, which gives a muddy splash look. I've got a better idea of how to use the router trimmer to engrave the timber after practicing a few times.

The sign will include a Willy Wagtail ... wherever we have travelled we have had a Willy or Wilma travel with us, stopping to chatter on a branch and move on.

We've made it into a story of our own whereby it's the same Willy Wagtail we see each time, coming along for the trip or showing us the way (they do all look the same lol).

So today ... the gutters are finished and the ceiling in the foyer is up (just needs a bit of quad to finish off).

Tomorrow we'll start the sheeting by putting up some of the 141, 6 metre lengths of pine lining that I've been staining down in the shed. 

All set in concrete!

As soon as Bruce was erect and holding up his end (the ridge beam) it was time to put up the poles and fix the fascia which all happened very quickly.

Next came the rafters and end gables. Some mornings were a little chilly with frost across the paddock, rain occasionally and a rainbow ending at our pot of gold!

I love timber, the smell the feel and the colours of a good rich wood. This is a branch piece from Bruce that I've planed, sanded and oiled ... just gorgeous. 

We're hoping to slab a limb and use it for the collar ties in the main room. 

I also love looking for the faces that live in the timber grain.

 

The entrance timbers are book ended after discarding a couple of other pieces. It's still to be stained the cedar colour.

A sign saying "Muddled Up Manor' will be carved and used as a collar tie and hung across the entrance.

This morning we arrived at the house after an horrendous night of gusting winds and rain to find it a little on the piss! Which would have been just fine if it hadn't been the day the concrete was coming to secure the poles in place for ever. After a very hectic and stressful 45 minutes which included a rope tied to the car and driven very slowly, the poles were back in place. 

The truck arrived and the pour went without a hitch with a huge thank you to our new T A Clinton running with the barrow.

Mel also worked as a T A helping with the new valley timbers at the entrance, not realising that she needed to read minds, anticipate and run just a bit faster up the ladder, the timber she was expected to be holding onto ended up bumping into Darren... nothing broken lol.