The deal we made for the previous owner of our land in Tassie to stay there for two years is (unbelievably) nearly over, so its time to plan the construction of some kind of “temporary” accommodation. We really liked the idea of a yurt, but in the end it wasn’t very practical in the long term considering the cost. So we’ve decided on a large garage with a storage section, living section and an undercover carport that we can cut and store wood under (as well as create an outdoor dining area). This way, when we eventually build our earth home, we’ll have a great size garage come workshop, art studio and accommodation for WWOOFERS and guests.
Even though it’s “only a garage”, we’ve applied permaculture design pricinples by positioning it on an east to west axis, with the living area and main windows along the north side. And of course we’ve made sure that it won’t get in the way of future dams, swales and food production areas!
We’ve measured every piece of furniture that we want to fit inside the living area to make sure we build it just big enough to be comfortable for a few years if necessary while we build.
We did a quick two day trip to the land in July to peg out the site and meet local concretors and builders that could help with the fitout. You can just see the orange survey tape marking the location of the garage through the trees, to the right of the trucks.
Something else very exciting took place during this visit, Karim got down on his knee on the land and proposed :o)
That night we celebrated with a lovely meal at the Old Court House, and stayed in the most beautiful straw bale cottage called Whispering Spirit, only 3km from our land. Karim now knows never to put shampoo in a spa bath :o)
Upon returning home we finalised the garage design plans and lodged them with the council. Why aren’t we surprised that you can design a garage, have earth levelled and a slab laid, have double glazed windows made, manufacture and erect the building faster than the council can say “we allow you to put a garage on YOUR land”. Hmph
Now its time to research suppliers for our compost toilet, kit kitchen, floor coverings, water tank, and of course the most important thing, someone to help us build a cat cave ready for our four furry babies :o)
Even though it’s “only a garage”, we’ve applied permaculture design pricinples by positioning it on an east to west axis, with the living area and main windows along the north side. And of course we’ve made sure that it won’t get in the way of future dams, swales and food production areas!
We’ve measured every piece of furniture that we want to fit inside the living area to make sure we build it just big enough to be comfortable for a few years if necessary while we build.
We did a quick two day trip to the land in July to peg out the site and meet local concretors and builders that could help with the fitout. You can just see the orange survey tape marking the location of the garage through the trees, to the right of the trucks.
Something else very exciting took place during this visit, Karim got down on his knee on the land and proposed :o)
That night we celebrated with a lovely meal at the Old Court House, and stayed in the most beautiful straw bale cottage called Whispering Spirit, only 3km from our land. Karim now knows never to put shampoo in a spa bath :o)
Upon returning home we finalised the garage design plans and lodged them with the council. Why aren’t we surprised that you can design a garage, have earth levelled and a slab laid, have double glazed windows made, manufacture and erect the building faster than the council can say “we allow you to put a garage on YOUR land”. Hmph
Now its time to research suppliers for our compost toilet, kit kitchen, floor coverings, water tank, and of course the most important thing, someone to help us build a cat cave ready for our four furry babies :o)
