Build Your Own House

Well the first thing I could start with is AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH, but me being a typical Capricorn it's not in the vocabulary.

We are OB1&2 not sure yet who is who but at least we have a title. The other OB is a sparky and very handy with his hands so that makes life a tad easier and costs a lot cheaper.

We are wanting to build on our piece of land and as much as we love Muddies we have decided on Strawbale. A modest little 10mx10m with 2 brms and lots of open plan living space with a wrap verandah, for the extended family to no doubt pull up a piece of floor to sleep on until they build their niche somewhere on the land too. Regular Brady Bunch 6 kids (3 with spouses) 7 Grandkids (to date) and a dog.

We know it may be hard work, neither of us are scared of that and we know no matter how much we plan, not all is going to go to plan. We've been training to expect the unexpected and not get our hopes too high.

The conveyancing has taught us a big lesson in patience but thats a whole other story I think I will look forward to forgetting because quite frankly its been a nightmare. Over that now deep breath exhale.

So now we begin, our adventure has started and we are on the way to the dream coming true, no more nightmares for us.

Outcome single level strawbale with a curved roof, steel frame base or cypress depending on costs, (any suggestion) with cypress floors, (termite valley is the affectionate name for the area we bought in), Solar (RAPS) Composting Toilet (thankfully we already have 6x25,000 litre tanks on the block) orchard and self sufficiency with minimal debt when we retire or semi retire in around 5 years. Leaving a small eco footprint on the area and a legacy for ours to nurture and carry on when we are gone.

So here we go wish us luck and we shall no doubt be in touch with a myriad of questions and hopefully be able to ask for assistance and guidance in search of the answers.

Regards

OB1&2
K&Ior I&K

Well feeling much better about it all.

We got the land and we got RAIN LOTTS OF WONDERFUL RAIN RAIN RAIN.

We've talked to locals.

We asked a very helpful local about pricing of straw, availability, delivery and such and the response was not only positive it was encouraging. The old saying of local knowledge is the best knowledge is so true and valuable.

He has helped build some bale houses in the area and they have welcomed us to go and have a look at their handy work. We discussed our plans for the style of house and he gave us suggestions that were very constructive.

We've GOOGLED

We have googled so many building products to aid us in the construction of the house we are going batty.

WE FOUND

We have found the Mega Anchor, which is one product we will definitely use, because of the low impact on the land, ease and affordability.

WE MOVE FORWARD

So now we go with our plans (we could build whatever we want without council approval but if it ever came time to sell we could only call it a shed) best to do it right from the outset, soil tests, plans to council (lucky they are sympathetic to alternate building and design) and let the games begin.

Until next time

regards

OB1&2
Nez&Kev or Kev & Nez

Hi OB1 & 2,
In my response to Colin & Alex re their strawbale project I mentioned our crushed limetone floor. I cannot sing the praises of this solution highly enough . Talk about simplicity. The floor has been down for more fivish years and is holding up beautifully. Because it was my wife not me who sealed it all with the beeswax etc I am a tad biased about the ease of it all. Having said that, a 100 to 200 mm thick cover of limestone covering an internal floor of 6 x 5 for under $300 is very economical.
To give an idea of the effort, 2 of us barrowed almost 9 metres of limestone into the studio, levelled and compacted it all in 4 hours.
It did take a while to dry sufficiently to seal, but that was due to location and minimal ventillation. I suspect that over 1000 kilometres north of us, the drying time would be reduced.
Limestone is not as resistant to pounding as timbers or cement. There is need to take care with the likes of furnishings and shoes. As for the feel of the floor it has proven thermatically ideal and is pleasant to walk on.
I suggest you make small test area in a shed first.
Cheers.

Hi Kev and Nez,

Enjoyed reading about you plans. Sounds great!! We are building something similar down here in Vic (see other thread).

The mega-anchors seem like a pretty good solution especially up in QLD where sub-floor ventilation is so desirable - What will you use between them to support the bales on - will have to be pretty wide?

We will use strip footings or a slab as the thermal mass is very desirable down here where it is quite cold in winter. Passive solar design possibly coupled with some in-floor hydronic heating (wet-back wood stove powered) is our latest plan.

Totally agree about doing it properly permit-wise. It may a bit tortuous but it is worth it in the end. We have not found the process too painful but we are also not on a tight time constraint so I guess we are fairly relaxed about the whole thing.

All the best - keep up with the postings - we will follow with interest!!

Colin and Alex

We went to our land for the weekend. And what a wonderful weekend it was. We got time to finally look through the shed and see what we've got.

We found a treasure trove, so much so that we are definitely doing up the shed as she deserves to be done. Under all the dirt, dust, broken glass and termites she's a very sturdy and worthy old girl. People have told me to stop calling it a shed, because city peoples thoughts of a shed are 3x3 or at the most 6x6 our shed it turns out is 20mx20m two storey in some parts.

regardless we will still be going strawbale and we may give her a few walls inside to pretty her up some.

We relished our time down there albeit far too short, and are off again tonight for the weekend. Taking some of the brood with us this time so we can get them working. There is a lot of wild cotton that needs to be pulled and we'll make it fun having an emu pick and get it cleaned up some more.

Our dams were half full last weekend and it has rained since so we are waiting to see how much water they have in them, the tanks are on their way to being full and now that the gutters have been cleaned out we may get some use from the water.

We experienced what it sounds like to be under a half insulated roof, we got a torrential downpour Sunday morning, OB Kev was letting me sleep in but I didn't sleep for long. Kevin said he watched it come across the mountain at him and the noise out there was enough. He said the dog took the bolt like lightning for the shed and then did the reverse when the rains hit the roof. Poor puppy, hates water of any kind as it is so he would have been beside himself.

Thanks for the interest in our site, we hope we make it interesting for you all to read and to give comment on different things. It's nice to find a forum with like minded people on it that know the struggles, joy and sheer pleasure of being OB's.

So short and sweet until next time with more of our adventures.

Regards

OB1&OB2
Inez & Kevin

20 x 20 shed, man am I jealous. Good luck with it all guys, we are glad to be comming out the other end of the tunnel but I for one wll put up my hand and say it is an extremely worthwhile experience and I would do it again.

Got any pictures? I like pictures - as you can tell by our thread.

_________________
How much dirt do you have to dig to find 18 old marbles in various backyards around Perth? Ask my back!

What a difference we have made to the place now.

Had a wonderful weekend where we had lots of hands making light work.

She is starting to sparkle and shine, our 3year old Grandson was in there helping too and he had a ball. The kids haven't walked so much and had so much fresh air, the bush change is going to do wonders for them.

They are finding it a bit hard because there is no electricity there yet so there is no TV (Yahoo) They've been told to find a life besides TV and when the solar goes in it won't be wasted on that.

We made ourselves a makeshift shower and it was a combined effort that turned out quite good, so we had hot showers boiled on the fire and into the canvas camping shower. We have a donkey there but at the moment we have no clue as to where the plumbing goes. We haven't been left with much information, we have 6x25,000 litre tanks and need a plumber to come and trace where all the pipes go, once that is done we'll be set for water. There is water in the tanks but......

We've cleaned gutters, found an earth floor that I have now discussed with Kevin about making it Limestone (thanks Paul love the idea of the beeswax too and the size is much the same as the 6x5). We've found timbers that were hidden and haven't been touched by the dreaded termites and burned the stuff that has been. Made a makeshift loo with a view that is great, our eventual aim is to make our own wheelie bin composting toilet, so for the moment our makeshift will suffice.

We've explored about 20acres of the 111.3 and the wildlife is great and in abundance, roos, goannas, pigs, possums etc. The dams are a lot fuller and it rained again while we were there.

We will post some pictures up once we work out how. so stay tuned.

We are off again this weekend, thats the glory of it all we are only 190k's and 2 hours 40mins from our doorstep in Bris to our front gate in Tabby. Lotts of range inbetween.

So until next time

OB1&OB2
Inez & Kevin

Sounds like heaven! Good luck with your no-TV plans. We have been TV-less by choice ever since we moved to Australia in 2004 and it is the best thing we ever did!

Well what a wonderful weekend it has been, unfortunately we don't get to go down now for a fortnight, (Kevin on call this week) so what we do in the meantime is plan.

We got the front fence fixed so now it looks like there is someone who owns her and is looking after her.

Nearly all the sorting in the main shed is done now and we have got a huge pile to be rid of.

Kevin got the donkey going so now we will have hot water next time we are down.

The gutters work and there are two tanks full of beautiful water, now to get them flowing, nearly there. The plumbing is almost sorted out and soon we will have it all working.

We have raked up 4 years worth of leaves around the perimeter of the house and the soil underneath is rich and fertile. It looks so much cleaner and gave us a better perspective. We've found what would have been ponds but have decided to deck the area. we are big believers in the outdoors.

We got to see one of the most spectacular storms, it sounded like someone was right outside bashing the empty tin tank (waiting to be connected) and when we went out to investigate we were met by a lightning and thunderstorm at eyelevel and just down the valley a bit. it was brilliant. So once again it rained down there.

We sat back with no interuptions and had a good look at what we have already existing and what we have to build with and what we have as ideas we can incorporate. (I so much wanted a strawbale but I can compromise and add it in as a feature). We've worked out some of the "where was he going with this" questions and have had fun putting the puzzle together, we get the aha aspect when we work it out.

So our big decision......... We are making her the main home and finishing her off to how she was meant to be, with our slant added to it, I feel a confidence we will do it proud. So now it's back to the drawing board and lets see what takes shape.

So until next time

OB1&OB2
Inez & Kevin

Hi All

2 weeks away from the land and I felt homesick, we went down on the weekend again and measured up and weighed up and now have a better understanding of what we are up against. At first it was a daunting task and a scary one, but one that we feel is the right one.

We found a heap of Peters (former owner) books and drawings and although it won't be as elaborate as his we can make a very comfortable home out of what he has already begun and the groundwork is already there. Kevin got me up to the mezzanine floor and what a brilliant view, from the ground you can see off into the distance, when up there you can see the border ranges. Beautiful!

We found a pile of limestone on the way on the side of the road, the local council has a little quarry there that they use to infill the road. Have asked and it is there for the taking so it looks like our floors will be nice and cheap. (Thanks again Paul)

We've decided to do strawbale walls in between the posts. Can we restring and cut a bale in half, down the middle so it's 900x225x400? We thought about craming but would love the large bale effect, we'll tie the bales into the post with wire. Peter has used a lot of wire around the place and it looks fabulous. I like the rustic effect it gives.

So many ideas and possibilities. Lots of glass and Oh we now having running water. Kevin got the tanks connected up and they work like a bought one. And we are but one generator failure from electricity, until we get the Solar. someone had a gen on up the valley on the weekend and I think we all heard it. It was loud where we were so I can imagine how loud it was where they were.

okay i have attached a pic I think so lets hope it works.


We feel blessed to have found her and for her to be ours.[img]

Until next time which will be soon

OB1&2
Inez & Kevin

We went to the land over the weekend and have become fascinated by the life these people have left behind..

They have left so much and it has been to our benefit.

Not only is there drawings, plans and writings, but we found some old photo's from 2000 and she took the same photo's I took only weeks ago and boy what a difference from then to now.

We found letters and articles from Grass Roots from 2002 which were very helpful to us.

I do feel for them with all the effort they have put in, to walk away and leave it all behind would have been heartbreaking.

We had a plumbing incident. We now know that there will be no germs in our tanks because they have all been boiled!!!!!!!!!!! Big oops, Kevin connected the donkey to the shower etc and the donkey had a spare hose leading from it that steam was coming out of, it was in close proximity to a hose that was on the ground and due to it being a normal garden style hose he thought that they should be connected. Well after a while the tank next to me started to bubble, strange never heard it make that noise before! Kevin was in the outdoor shower with water running over his head and couldn't hear my concern in my voice as I bent down and touched the pipes connecting it all together "Kevin should these pipes be hot?" No answer oblivious to all but what was going on in the shower. Felt another pipe, hang on this shouldn't be hot either........... hum somethings not right........... Kevin by this time I was yelling it and by this time the noises were getting louder and the bubbling of the tank more frequent...... KEVIN ......... WHAT from the shower.............. Babe I don't think this is right the bloody tank sounds like it's boiling....... GOD can't a man have a shower in peace... Meanwhile I've felt the valve on the tank... you guessed it hot too. First instinct turn it off...... which I did..... The creaking and boiling noises didn't stop...... okay turn the connecting valve from the top tank to that tank off........ grind grunt groan moan they all went. I'm by this time up behind an empty tank beside the shower (Kevin was in) hiding because if it was going to blow I wasn't going to be near it. He's stuck his head out of the shower by this time and gone "What is the matter?" It then went something like this. (Me) haven't you heard me yelling to you? (K) No I had my head under the water whats the problem. (Me) The bloody tank is boiling and sounded like it was going to explode, so thats why I'm hiding up here because if it does I'm not gunna be near it..... (K) What do you mean explode? (Me)That noise we were hearing that we thought was just air bubbles sorting themselves out in the lines, nah the water is boiling in the tank... (K) Yeah sure.. (Me) yep and I did like I did with the car the other night when it was revving to buggery I turned it off just in case..... After much mumbling under his breath and muttering and the occasional exasperation of air from his lungs he came and took a look while I still stayed close to the tank for protection. Hero number one me...

Turns out the hose let the steam go from the donkey, but it being connected back in was making it all boil very nicely, problem solved no more gurgle gurgle bloooop blllloooooooop and no more hot valves or pipes. Must admit I did panic a bit but only because it was hot. Cold not a problem, hot a worry.

We had a visit from a Goanna that ended up thinking it was a Koala by the end of two days. Kevin walked around the corner and he was coming the other way, scared each other and up a tree the goanna ran, we all had a look at him and left him to come down in his own time. Sunday I walked out and he was still up there but by now was perched on a fork of the tree, hanging on doing a very good impression of a koala with his tail wrapped around the trunk of the tree. He was still there when we left so hopefully he made his way down. He wasn't as big the one from last week. But he was big enough.

We have bats in our belfry, little ones that are oh so cute, they are living up behind one of the kites attached to the roof so they can have that space until they are ready to leave. They don't harm anyone and go at night and come back before sun up.

And we are sure either bandicoots or native mice, they don't run like a rat they sort of half hop and are as cute as buttons but don't look like a true mouse from a city house. We are yet to cross paths with a snake but that will no doubt be in the making sometime this summer.

We are off again soon to our piece of paradise to do some more works and to enjoy her all.

So until next time.

OB1&2
Inez & Kevin

Well hello it's been a long time since I last wrote over a month. so much can happen in such a short time.

We have been down to the land lots and have done a lot of work in cleaning up, it never seems to end. The grass is lush and green as and getting quite long now it needs a good mow. Everything seems to be blooming at once and the whole place has taken on a new look.

I don't know if you heard about the tornado that hit Lismore well it must have followed a path through our place. Last time we got down there the metal tank had gone for a roll down the hill, luckily it isn't real heavy and we just pushed it back up to it's spot again. Trees near the gate and down the creek had been uprooted. The wall upstairs in the mezzanine was off in the paddock a ways away. We had got 64ml rain in the one day and have had a bit of water get inside but not too much damage down.

We have had a total of 142 ml for the month so far and compared to last year we are only 40ml from that total. The dams are filling nicely.


We have discovered that there is an old limestone quarry up the road and the mines still have a fair bit of limestone available. Thankfully it will cut the costs of the delivery seeing it's only 5k away. We got a book or two written by a local on the area and it's quite an interesting story about Tabulam and the surrounding areas.

Last time I wrote we had the goanna up the tree pretending to be a Koala, well we have the real McCoy, along with Black Cockatoos, we had a full blooded Dingo come up close to the house, our Rhodesian Ridgeback thought he was quite interesting, wanted to make friends with him but we thought better of it, after all he could have been the scouting party. There are a few wild dogs in the area and they have taken cattle and horses so we do show caution when we're there.

So we keep going down doing a bit at a time making it homely and loving the place, we will be there for three weeks after Xmas and will get loads more done, but until then it will be every two weeks.

So until next time.

OB1&2
Inez & Kevin

I can't believe it's now been weeks since we last wrote.

We went to the land two weekends ago and mowed an acre or so around the main house area just to clean it up a bit as it was lush and green and looked like anything could be lurking in the long grass.

This weekend we went back and it looked like we hadn't even put a mower blade near it.

I got Kevin a chainsaw for his birthday, lucky I did, when we got there we were looking at trimming up the fallen trees that the tornado had downed, well we had one of the biggest trees fall right near the driveway, luckily it went north and not south across the drive. So Kevin is having fun playing chainsaw man with his new toy. We have contacted a local mobile sawmiller and he is coming in at $60 an hour and we now have our kitchen benchtops all picked out and ready to be cut. We are going to be the labour for the job so that cuts our costs too.

The last time I wrote we had had 164ml for the month to date of rain, total for the month ended up being 229ml and outdid last years falls by 45ml. It rains each time we are down there and we are now used to carrying on regardless because it doesn't last long.

We have planted some trees, a brazillian cherry and a loquat tree, so many people don't know just how nice these fruits are and half I talk to have never heard of them, they were from when I was a kid growing up and there was an abundant supply down the park at the end of our street. We used to love the fruit season because it grew wild and was there for the taking, not like today.

Well it is only 24 days to go before I go on 3 weeks holiday and then we can get a lot more things done down the land. So looking forward to being able to stay longer than a weekend. There will be lots of hard work to do and just some time to escape the rat race for a while. BRING IT ON.

So until then.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all and hope all your fruit trees prosper and your dreams come true.

Regards

OB1&2
Inez & Kevin

Gee how time flies when you're having fun. Can't believe it has been nearly two months, last time I wrote it was 24 days to go before what could only be classed as a non holiday.

The non holiday began, we went to the land for New Years, had 7 of us in our little humpy and we were all warm dry and cosy eventhough it was raining outside. After that we came home and down came the rain, and it kept coming, with most of South East Qld under water and then Kyogle NSW it wasn't looking good to the start of the building process.

Tabulam got 170m of rain in 1 day highest in a long while, luckily we are on a hill so we weren't flooded but there was a lot of water around the creeks and low lying areas. A local said it was the highest the Clarence River had risen for 50 years, luckily the bridge at Tabby stood up to it and there was no loss of life and minimal property damage in our area.


So we have been down for the clean up and to see what has happened. The dam in the middle of our drive which has never had more than 2 inches in the bottom of it was full to overflowing. We were so surprised, all the tanks are full and the grass once again is over 3 feet high.

We have now invested in a ride-on mower that is 15.5hp and cuts through like its butter. Good investment, great time saver and a bargain. We went to the local retravision who are going out of selling ride-ons and mowers because of the lack of demand for them. They had a 12.5hp on sale for $2k and then told us there was none left and they had 14 back orders to fill which they could but we wouldn't be on that list. They had the lonely 15.5hp there offered it too us a very generous discount so we jumped at the chance and bought it.

Our car decided to have a bit of a hiccup on the way down last time and we broke the front drive shaft in a land rover, in the middle of nowhere on a friday night. Kevin walked to a farmhouse and got us help. A family that comes from Brisbane and owns land like us down there in the area. The kindness of strangers was so good. Keith towed us to our property 28k's from his place and we were very grateful for his help. We met our neighbours down the road as our mobiles don't work in the area and they allowed us to use their phone. We have the utmost respect for them all and the assistance they gave us. In all we met a lot more people in 1 weekend than we have met in the 10 years of living in our house in the burbs of Brisbane. Long story short, we got rescued, got the parts and got the car fixed. Thanks to all for their help.

So now we are off again to the land for the long weekend, this time we will be able to do some of the things we set out while on holidays that didn't get done. Doors going in and more cleaning up to be done.

So until next time

Regards

OB1&OB2
Inez & Kevin

Rain, if we didn't have it we'd be wishing for it, It gives us the chance to sit and contemplate the things we are unable to do while it does rain and maybe put a new slant on it, give it another tweek or maybe just makes you sit back, look at it long and hard and go (with sound effects) bing! thats how it can be done, yes rain is a real leveller. A blessing in disguise sometimes.

Can anyone show me how to put pictures on the site so I can put some in my blogs please.

OB1&OB2