Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum Re: EcoStay building project 41Oct 24, 2018 7:48 am All the poles are up now. The building now looks like a shape that could be a house! We scored the use of an old truck mounted cherry picker (ex electricity utility company) for as long as we need it. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Great bit of gear....saves going up 6m long ladders carrying a very heavy jarrah beam on your shoulders. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ All the beams are now in position after a week working in the cherry picker bucket. I can still feel my legs wobbling and the ground swaying as if I've been at sea. Re: EcoStay building project 42Oct 26, 2018 1:27 pm Re: EcoStay building project 43Nov 03, 2018 12:17 am Our roofing panels have arrived....to much excitement here. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ At 10.5m long the driver did well to get up the driveway. We're going to work on the subfloor bearers and joists next so we can install a temporary floor to make access to the roof easier...and safer. Re: EcoStay building project 44Nov 10, 2018 7:37 am Re: EcoStay building project 45Nov 13, 2018 8:16 am It was quite an effort getting the 10.5m roof panels up 6m with each weighing 126kg. We had to fashion up a crane from some old trusses. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ But it's all up there now. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ That's a big step for us and one of the most difficult and dangerous ones however all went very smoothly thanks to a lot of careful preparation. Next step is the preparation of the sand pad for the concrete pour for the studio. Re: EcoStay building project 46Nov 16, 2018 7:21 am Concrete trucks are ordered for Wednesday...better get the formwork in place! Re: EcoStay building project 47Nov 17, 2018 12:22 pm Re: EcoStay building project 48Nov 18, 2018 5:52 pm Re: EcoStay building project 49Nov 19, 2018 11:54 am While we're waiting for Wednesday's concrete delivery we are preparing the timber for the stairs. We milled it some time ago and it's been drying under cover. These timbers are 360 x 180 and a bit over a meter long. Each weighs around 60kg...solid jarrah. They've come up really nicely and (apart from the heavy lifting) I'm sure will make an awesome staircase. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: EcoStay building project 50Nov 22, 2018 12:27 am Re: EcoStay building project 51Nov 26, 2018 7:51 am While we're watching the concrete set we've made a start on the stairs. It will be a curved staircase and as you've seen, the steps are of solid Jarrah. We'll be fabricating the whole thing in-situ starting from the top. Working out all the angles and dimensions on paper is one thing but translating them into three dimensional real life is somewhat more complex. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ First step. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: EcoStay building project 52Dec 10, 2018 10:56 am Re: EcoStay building project 55Dec 12, 2018 10:40 am We're going to be needing about 45 square meters of decking boards later. We have this huge Wandoo in our front yard that died four or five years ago. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ So we've been working on the saw mill for the past few days cutting boards for the deck. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Rough cut size is 30mm x 95mm. We'll stack them carefully so by the time we need them around the middle of next year they should be ready to dress down to 25 x 90. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Really hard wood....tough on man and machine. But so very satisfying to have sourced these boards in a sustainable and environmentally (and very cost effective) way...again using our own materials from the site. Re: EcoStay building project 56Dec 23, 2018 11:00 am Last year we made enough mudbricks to complete this project, however since then we used a heap to build a kitchen for the studio and we've also made a few plan changes to the house. That means we are now short by about 2000 mudbricks. So, back to the mudpit for us. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ On a good day we can knock out about 200. Today it will be 39 degrees and since we're working in the sun we finished up at 7:00am with 63. Another 150 are drying in the shade and we have 350 in the shed already. We're promised a stinking hot Christmas / New Year .... ideal mudbrick making weather. Maybe I'll make my new year's resolution that I put on some weight. Re: EcoStay building project 57Dec 31, 2018 4:34 am We've had a change in the weather (it's been cooler and a few showers) so not really mudbrick making weather. There are now over 600 stored under cover. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We've taken this opportunity to make a start on laying some mudbricks. These are the west and north walls of the downstairs store room. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ These are mudbricks we made last summer. So exciting to be actually creating a room. Re: EcoStay building project 58Dec 31, 2018 10:18 am Can you please post a pic of the brick making process? I'd love to see where and how you press and cut your fresh bricks. Mixer, mold, press, etc. Also do you set/lay with clay and cement or just the same clay you use for the bricks. Well done on your efforts so far. I can really see your skills and past efforts coming together on this new project. Re: EcoStay building project 59Jan 01, 2019 7:16 pm We have a dam that will (depending on summer rain) almost dry out by summer's end. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Once the water level is low enough we can drive the tractor in and dig out the mud that silts up the bottom. This is a mixture of sand, clay and small stones. We stockpile the mud up on the bank of the dam. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We've dug a pit about a meter deep by five meters long. In this pit we add mud, straw and water, mixing it up with the tractor until it is a nice uniform Goldilocks consistency. Not too wet, not too dry....just right. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ From scrap timber and steel we've made a number of moulds, including a half brick size. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We shovel the mud into the moulds by hand and then smooth off the top with a mudulator (Piece of board). Then lift off the mould and let them dry for a day or so. Once they are firm enough we'll turn them on their side to dry for another day. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Then we store them under cover, stacked on pallets to dry for a few more months. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ We'll sift the dried mud off the ground through a sieve (about 6mm) to make the mortar for laying the mudbricks. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ The mortar contains are no additives, just reconstituted mud. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Maybe there are better or other ways of doing this but this is the method we've found that works for us. The end result is a fantastic, sustainable, renewable, ecologically friendly building material that's cost us almost nothing but hard work. Re: EcoStay building project 60Jan 05, 2019 5:40 pm The store room walls are just about done. The walls are 350mm thick and offer great protection from the outside environment. We wanted a couple of small windows on the north wall just for a bit of light but didn't want to reduce the insulating effect of the thick mudbrick wall. We made up some double glazed windows using the glass doors from old front loader washing machines & driers. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Following these simple steps will help you mitigate unwanted costs, have your expectations met and give… 0 4510 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair That laser level looks lovely! We bought one for less than a quarter of that price off eBay. It worked really well for us and it's still going now, five years later. After… 1 16653 |