We Have Windows!

Choosing the windows was quite a lengthy process that took several months, because they are such an important feature and there are so many options to choose from. We had to consider thermal efficiency, maintenance, cost, how the windows would sit in the frame and how we would render into them. We chose a thermally broken composite product, which is maintenance-free aluminium on the outside and aesthetically pleasing timber on the inside, all double glazed with a 14mm argon filled air gap. The windows look absolutely stunning so we are very happy with the final choice. The sliding door from our bedroom to the deck was ridiculously heavy, but the guys somehow managed to lift and fit it.

Building a round timber frame was a bit beyond the window supplier’s comfort zone, so Jack did a brilliant job of this. Once the glazing was installed we noticed a bit of fluff, and unfortunately it was inside the two pieces of glass, so the whole round double glazed unit is being remade. Someone who isn’t too fussed about looking at a piece of fluff inside the glass will get a large round window for very cheap!

From some angles outside it looks like a sphere, but this is just an optical illusion.

The largest window, facing directly north, is absolutely stunning with the rock wall as a backdrop and allows a beautiful amount of sun to enter the living rooms.

Beautiful shadows will be cast through the windows at different times of the day, including the round window creating a circle on the lounge room floor. We think the river views will be even more spectacular once the walls are in and the view is framed through the windows. Take note of how cracked the earthen floor is in this photo.

Here’s how the home looks from the outside now with the windows installed.

We tend to focus more on the curved sections of the house, so you may not have seen what it looks like from the garden, which is quite a different look to the front of the home. Here it is under a rainbow at dusk.

Now to the earthen floors! The first layer shrunk away from the perimeter of the rooms so much, and formed an incredible amount of cracks, some up to 30mm wide, that we felt the need to do an improved second layer before the strawbale workshop so that we didn’t risk damaging the floor too much. This time we called in an expert from Victoria to teach us all a completely different method, which was “don’t be pedantic by laying small sections with screeding boards – shovel the mud on, broom it into the cracks and trowel it”!

Many of the volunteers that came for the first layer came back for more, as well as some extra hands, including our designer Graham (pictured on the left). We were shocked when both earthen floors were done and all tools clean in 1.5 days. Some of the major causes of the initial cracking were the underlying foam insulation, too much clay in the mix, and the mix being too wet.

This is how the floor is looking now, two weeks after the workshop, solid as a rock with nothing more than a few normal hairline cracks and absolutely no sign of shrinkage.

We were lucky enough to engage the services of a boat builder friend before he left for Darwin, Grant, who has installed the deck and our bedroom ceiling (as well as constructed a trellis for our kiwi vine and many other things). The view from our bed through the glass sliding doors really is beautiful, and will be particularly stunning in the mornings since the sun rises behind the mountains and river.

We wanted a large deck because we’ve found that we spend more time outdoors than indoors, and are thrilled with the size of it. All the eaves and internal ceilings are also installed now, as they will act as our render stops. Above the deck here we plan to install timber battens at equal distance apart, which should break up the solid white ceiling.

Being a boat builder, Grant also installed an awesome secret hatch, as there’s a great amount of under-deck storage for preserves. This might also be useful for somewhere to banish Karim when he’s naughty!

We chose to line our bedroom ceiling with ply rather than plasterboard, and seeing this at Tash’s confirmed that we liked it. It contrasts the stone wall perfectly, and adds a touch of warmth to the room.

So now our biggest task is to try not to panic, as the straw bales have started arriving and the workshop is only three weeks away – yikes! We will be ready, we will be ready, we will be ready… and next blog update, you should be looking at a strawbale house!

WARNING! Way too cute photos coming up…

To sign off on a high, we’ve met some wonderful new people, our first wwoofers with baby, Paul, Titia & Miles from the Netherlands. Paul is helping us transform the garden from a jungle back to a productive food forest, Titia is cooking us beautiful meals, and Miles is just being way too cute!

A Show of Generosity

Another feature was installed this month, a myrtle stump that was donated to us to turn into a backrest for the strawbale window seat that will be positioned in the round window. We weren’t sure if we could turn the idea into a reality as there were several tricky stages involved. The first was cutting the stump so that it a) sat flush against the bales that will be raised in the curved wall and could be rendered into, b) sat flush against the bales that would form the seat, c) sat 50mm below finished floor level so the earthen floors could be moulded into it and d) had a beautiful backrest carved into it. This wasn’t an easy task not only because of all the angles and measurements, but because the stump was massive. We couldn’t have done it without our friend Bob and the three foot bar on his chainsaw.

Bob asked Jack to operate the excavator, which was great fun but maybe not the best idea considering he’d never operated one before!

 

 Then there was how to get all the loose mud and bark off the stump, which was difficult considering all its burls and hollows. Bob found some guys only 10km away who sand blast massive steel ships, and they offered to use “gentle persuasion” on the stump with their powerful machine, which worked perfectly.

 The next stage was to try and get the stump through a small gap in the frame and into the house. This took quite a few attempts, but we got there eventually.

 The stump is now positioned, the backrest is sanded and it’s awaiting the strawbale seat. I put some temporary bales there and sat back to enjoy a glass of wine. It was so relaxing that I walked straight of the lounge onto the deck, which doesn’t exist yet… ouch!

 

 

The highlight in August was laying the first pass of earthen floors, as during the past four days 25 amazing people came and helped. Over the years we’ve helped a few people raise the walls for their strawbale homes, lay their earthen floors, render their walls etc., it was undoubtedly the best way to learn and we’ve met wonderful friends through the process. It feels quite surreal and magical that it’s now our home, and so many people have shown such generosity to help us. Since deciding that we wanted to do the floors with natural materials, and use our feet and hands, the project has always been somewhat daunting. However, thanks to the support of so many people, it wasn’t daunting at all… it was an extremely fun few days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We really are quite overwhelmed by the whole thing, the generosity that people have shown, how much fun we had, the new friends that we’ve made, the fact that we got it finished… we’re just simply blown away.

 And we are glad that spring has arrived (which was confirmed by the return of the Welcome Swallows this week), as we move into a busy few months installing the decking, all the eaves and ceilings and then the windows in preparation for raising the strawbale walls in November.

It Feels Like Home

As our first year of being owner builders progresses, each month seems to become more of a blur, but this month the building really seemed to start feeling like a home. The decking has been framed, all the wiring and plumbing is in the ceilings and walls, the internal brick walls are constructed, the windows have been ordered, all the ceilings are insulated, and edge insulation has been installed around the perimeter of the building.

Installing a few of the artistic features has made it interesting and fun. The first is a feature that was inspired by our trip to Jordan last year, a large sand bottle in the wall so you can see the sand from both rooms on either side of it. It took several weeks to dry the sand out properly, many trials of mixing tempera powder paints with sand to develop colours that we both liked, loads of test runs to perfect the technique, and about 8 hours of complete focus without blinking to do the real thing.

It has been installed now, and once the surrounding brick wall is rendered we think it will look really nice. It was difficult to remove the reflections on the glass for the photo, but you get the idea.

The second feature is a mosaic that we bought in Jordan on that same holiday. We decided it would be beautiful to construct a curved ramp from the kitchen down into the lounge, spiralling into the mosaic, with it positioned so that the centre was in the exact centre point of the Golden Spiral clerestory above. Our concreter, Robbie, is no longer surprised by our left of centre requests, and has not only become an expert at forming curved concrete, but loves every minute of it.

Robbie also formed a curved slab that we will tile, flowing from the front door into the kitchen, and curved steps from the dining room down to the lounge with huge rocks either side of them.

The third major feature that was finished this month is the double faced stone wall, visible from the lounge and master bedroom. After each section of stone wall was laid, Tim, Bree & I used wire brushes to clean the stones and etched the mortar to create deep shadow lines.

The kitchen, dining & sunken lounge are really taking shape now, and the space is evolving to become far more beautiful than we ever could have hoped.

On closer inspection of the stone wall, you find spectacular fossils such as this scallop.

We’re really happy with the colour palette that we’re following too, each element is tying in nicely, like the stone wall, mosaic and trial board of what the surrounding earthen floor will be similar to.

We’ll sign off with some images of the outside, which is also looking fantastic now that the fascia, barge and cap have been installed on the roof. We are so thrilled with their work; they really have gone above and beyond the call of duty to create the most perfect curves. You may notice that they have even moulded the gutter back into the fascia on the clerestory, something that we neither asked for nor expected… awesome.