I expect both sunrise and sunset shots as soon as you get a good set of days for photography
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I expect both sunrise and sunset shots as soon as you get a good set of days for photography
Now you need to offer everyone else the fruits of your experience :)Quote:
Originally Posted by turnstiles
This thread does that. Unless, of course, there's the intention of a book version of the experience.
I hope you know that's not what I meant :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn
Anyway, it's been great that turnstiles shared this journey with us. My hope is that he helps others, in other threads, as questions arise. But to each their own...
Lol - I'm not disappearing! But posts will (and have already) slow down.
In the past I've never had a lot of time to spare to browse the forum but now I will.
Happy to offer tips - but (though it sounds odd as I've built a house!) I don't feel that confident in offering suggestions. I still don't feel that I'm a particularly adept builder!
But certainly if people have started a container build I am happy to give suggestions as to what did and didn't work for me.
And for anyone wanting to start a container build - don't!! :laughing1:
I think that one went over the top, r3.
I seem to recall in the old renovateforum there was someone around the Captain's Flat neck of the woods in NSW (or somewhere nearby) who was doing a container build. There was a log of his efforts on the old site. Can't recall the username. Hell, maybe it was you!Quote:
Originally Posted by turnstiles
Council recently graded our dirt road and kindly dumped about 30 tonnes of clean fill on my doorstep!
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It is a mixture of silt and road base - which means nice organic soil to grow grass, and the road base (gravel) means it should drain well.
I've used it to raise the ground level on two sides of the house which was always the plan, to hide the foundation piers and make the house look as if it is sitting on the ground.
First was the back of the house:
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Then on the side of the house I constructed a low retaining wall from timber sleepers, stained it the same colour as the timber slats on the front of the house and the water heater cupboard,
I also dug a 300x300mm trench on the outside of this wall into the mainly clay surface, and back-filled it with soil so I could plant a row of low, flowering Wax plants. (I also made temporary frost covers to get them through til Spring and added wire netting to keep away the bunnies and roos!!)
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And added a couple of steps - one at the kitchen end and the other outside the 2nd bedroom:
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The plumber left the outside drainage pipes high as I told him I was raising the ground level. He told me when I had done this to just cut the pipes down to ground level.
For the time being, both this raised surface and the one at the back will just have grass sown.
I had originally planned on making 2 big sliding doors for the bookcase-pantry I put in. At the last minute i changed my mind when I discovered IKEA make doors for their Billy bookcases! The only things I was not sure about were the 'country-kitchen' look of the doors (no choice for a plain white door!) and the doors for the extensions on the top only came with a glass front. But I am slowly getting used to them.
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I am now in the process of framing in the shelving, and plaster-boarding around it. Currently I have applied the base coat of plaster and have 2 more plaster coats and three of paint to do before it is finished. Allowing a day for each to dry, I expect to have it finished by Friday.
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My neighbours dropped off a housewarming gift - a door mat with the house name made into it! (The name of the house is an amalgam of the first 2 syllables of my late partners surname and the last syllable of mine.)
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One more thing - a few weeks ago I made the decision to give up my 40 years of casual teaching and retire early!!
I was hating the job, Casual teachers cop so much grief from vile little students, I was so tired of the verbal abuse and disrespect (which somehow seems far worse since their Covid stay-at-home period) I worked out I can survive on my Super til the pension.
This means I can (FINALLY!!) return to my art career which has pretty much been on hold during the building adventure.
The whole point of this build, moving to the country and ending up with no mortgage, electricity or water bills, and growing most of my own food, was to put myself in the position of needing very little money to live on and returning to art making, but (for the first time ever) full-time.
I still have my shed/studio to build, so sculpting (my main format) will have to wait a bit longer as I don't really have the space. I'm returning to making 2D work and have eked out a little space in the lounge for the time being.
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I have a couple of teacher friends and they share your POV.
Nice work still.
You have an IKEA deep colander, I always wanted 4 of those to make lampshades for the kitchen but they stopped selling them before I could buy a quad, but I have a singleton and keep Op-Shopping in the hope of finding some.
Just remember the shed has to be bigger than the house.
I had exactly the same idea with these lovely Kmart fruit bowls (at $8 each!) to make pendant lights for above bedside tables in one of the bedrooms.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moondog55
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Bought them about 5 years ago. then forgot to organise the wiring for them! So I gave one away to someone who thought they were amazing, and the 2nd I keep to use as a...... fruitbowl :U
Brief update - work on the house moves slowly on, but I did manage to finish the pantry.
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Now the surround is complete, I am warming to the 'Shaker' style cupboards. The narrow cupboard doors are really great, and make getting supplies really quick (once I memorise where things are!!) I am really glad I didn't go with the sliding doors idea.
Next thing on the list was the TV. Not a big TV watcher - my last TV died (17") about 2 years ago and I didn't bother replacing it until last week. I am also not a fan of TV's as room furniture, so I bought a telescopic support which allows me to put the TV away into the cupboard when not in use. As it also swivels, it permits a screen larger than the door opening.
I ended up with a 40" as I wasn't game enough to risk a larger one fitting through the door opening. Though I think now from use I could possibly go to a 46" in the future if/when this one dies! I still need to finish inside the cupboard - hide the studs and build shelving under and around the TV arm.
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Currently trying to get the long neglected veggie garden back into shape ready for Spring plantings in a few weeks. Though we are having a week of horrible windy weather (up to 80+kph winds ��so I am not inclined to go outside to do any work!
Good idea for tucking away the TV, especially if it's an occasional thing. But why mount it so high?
Good question re height!Quote:
Originally Posted by r3nov8or
I played around with a cardboard box as stand in for the TV to determine the height. When I worked out my standard viewing position - flat out and feet up, with my head resting on the back of the sofa - my eyeline went to that height! The TV also tilts down so my sight is perpendicular to the screen.
It wouldn't be as comfortable if I was sitting bolt upright though. (But seriously...who watches TV like that :U)
My "L" shaped sofa is very big - each arm of the "L" comfortably sleeps an adult stretched out without touching either end! (I know this because I had a full house on the weekend and 2 adults slept there!!) So it's great for laying there, feet up eating dinner watching The I.T. Crowd! (I have no pay per view so ABC and SBS online are a good source for programmes!!)
It seems like the height is perfect, for you. It’s always more comfortable with your eyes angling downward slightly, like in a movie theatre.
Though, on the issue of height (and nothing to do with you) it always amazes me why there’s a trend to locate the telly above the room heater. Heat travels upward. The telly is full of electronics and the frame has vents to allow the heat generated by its components to escape. Not to allow more heat from the room heater to cook it. Weird.
Agreed - I've often seen TV's situated above fireplaces. I've often wondered about the heat affecting the circuitry. Occasionally, when my laptop has had the sun directly on it for an hour or so (even now in winter), it has started to malfunction and I've had to move it and let it cool down.
I suspect it’s a style thing. When I used to watch The Block you’d see TV’s above the fireplace. It must have been the fashionable thing to do.
I take your point about your laptop. If you put your hand near the vents after it has been on for a while you can probably feel the warm air it generates. TVs are just as full of electronics. That's what a TV is mostly, nowadays; a big specialised computer. I’ll bet if you put your hand above the vents you’d also feel the warm/hot air escaping.
I wouldn’t be surprised that all those televisions mounted in hot spots like that would have a shorter life than had they been placed in a cooler location.
Great to see you're still updating this thread Turnstiles. It's looking very nice!
Thanks Uncle Bob - glad to see you're still around!Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Bob
Still updating, but less and less things to post about. More outside work is needed though (currently trying to get the totally neglected veggie garden back producing this Spring/Summer.)
This thread (including the previous site) is turning into another "Neighbours"! :rolleyes:
"....everybody needs good...." :D
Well it seems to have been one of the windiest Septembers I can remember since being in this region. More than any other weather phenomenon - I hate wind the most!
As the house is now a home, i am loathe to do any messy building work indoors as the dust and mess will get into everything. So this is currently my workshop:
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So the wind has impacted on what I can and can't so.
One thing i love about my bathroom is being able to gaze out of the window as I shower in the mornings and watch the 'roos, ducks on the dam, and brightly coloured birds in the trees. I can see out of the house in three directions.
Through the shower screen and open door to beyond the kitchen and the big window at the front of the house:
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Directly through the bathroom window:
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And thirdly, the reflection in the big bathroom mirror through the window which reveals another different perspective:
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But during the past year a few visitors have expressed surprise that one would be so 'exposed' while showering!!
It has never concerned me as it is so quiet out here, but thinking about how visitors who stay over might feel, I decided to add a roller blind for privacy.
It may also be useful for minimising the morning Summer sun which shines straight though the window from sunrise until about 11am.
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I've been watering the grass seed twice a day and it has started popping up:
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This side of the house gets morning sun every day - at the back of the house, much of where I have sown grass seed is in perpetual shade until well into Summer when the sun is higher, so it has taken about 10 days longer for the seeds to sprout. (I used a shade tolerant variety.)
Being Spring, when it wasn't a howling gale, I would duck outside and work on the veggie garden when I could.
I put up a climbing frame across one of the beds and have planted snow peas and climbing beans.
Rhubarb is always in, as it mint and chives. Plus a few tubers of yacón - a South American root which is sweet and crunchy (like a Nashi pear) and can be used in fruit salads, salads and cooked. (I put it in stir fry's and on my breakfast cereal.)
I've also sown a row of coriander and one of capsicum seeds.
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The rest of my veggies will go in sometime in mid October when the soil warms up more.
I know the soil needs mulch, but there is no point until the bad winds stop as it will just end up being blown off the soil and up against the fence!
I then decided to tackle the mess under and around the veggie garden water tank - a dumping ground for all things gardeny!
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I plan to enclose 3 sides under the tank and add a shelf. Then I can store fertilisers, plant food, pots etc there. On the outside I'll attach wire mesh and grow some climbing purple Hardenbergia there,
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Hopefully I can get it to cover the water tank.
One positive of all the wind and being housebound is I've been able to spend a lot of time resurrecting my dormant art career - my little working space has spread a little. A large piece of polystyrene packaging has been useful as a back 'wall' - great for protecting the sofa and as a pin board.
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I really do need to crack on and get my studio built!
Given enough water the Hardenbergia would grow up around and over that small tank in a couple of years. I still recommend a couple of bathtubs for worm compost [ wait until you can get some free naturally] and for growing wet loving foods like Kangkong
Also given how good the house looks I can't wait until you start on the chicken palace [ foxproof/ goanna proof naturally] and how you'll tackle that.
You should give some consideration to cross-bracing the legs of your water tank. There's probably more than a ton of water in there when full (1 gm/cc). Timber doesn't last for ever. It might be a pleasantly cool place for the dog to snooze, but a weight such that toppling would be nasty.
You're correct - the thousand litre tank holds a tonne of water.Quote:
Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn
Boxing the under-tank in should do the job! Mind you - it's been standing there almost 10 years and doesn't seem to have changed!
Okay, now that's off my mind, the other thing that occurred to me was in relation to:
The rhubarb, mint, and yacón might make a nice jam.Quote:
Originally Posted by turnstiles
Sounds like an interesting combo. The yacón (weirdly related to the daisy - but looks a lot like a sweet potato) would contrast nicely with the rhubarb. But I'm not madly fond of mint - am judicious in what I put it in as mint flavouring can remind me of chewing gum or toothpaste!! (Peppermint tea to me is like drinking hot mouthwash...!). A bit on boiled spuds, in a green salad and mint sauce on steamed spinach is about it for me. I've made a lot of rhubarb jam - will have to wait until next May/June for the yacón to be ready to give it a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn
A tiny bit of mint may be enough. There’s a cafe I sometimes visit. They serve a nice French toast with all the fruit trimmings and maple syrup. The first time, I spotted two leaves of mint. Decoration, surely.Quote:
Originally Posted by turnstiles
I was going to ignore it, but trimmed off the tiniest slice from one leaf. I’m referring to a piece no larger than 2mm and manipulated it on top of one of the strawberries then gobbled it whole. It changed the whole flavour experience. It was wonderful.
LOL - unfortunately you'll be waiting a long time! I've decided not to go down the chicken path. I know what is involved in looking after them, and I want to be able to shut up shop and nick off for a month or 3 and not have to worry about the chooks getting by on their own! For the sake of a few free eggs I hope to find a chook loving neighbour and swap veggies for eggs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moondog55
- - - Updated - - -
Spring means focus is shifted to outdoors. I'm back to my regular weed rambles, where I take a bucket and secateurs and wander around my 25 acres looking for weed outbreaks.
The main weeds this years appear to be small outbreaks of Patterson's Curse (Echium plantagineum) an invasive non native plant which spreads like wildfire. Fortunately outbreaks on my property remain small and easily managed.
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They have shallow roots and are easily pulled up and chopped up if already flowering.
Experience with some weeds (especially thistles) is that sometimes uprooting a plant with flowers doesn't always stop them from spreading seeds. I've seen thistles uprooted only to come back a week later to find the plant in its death throes has managed to continue feeding the pollinated flower until seeds were formed and released.
So I cut off thistle heads and store them in the bucket where they are put in the rubbish. The rest of the thistle is uprooted, chopped up a bit and left in place.
This year it looks as if P.Curse and Thistles (Scotch and Saffron) are the main problems. I've covered about half my property and collected no thistle heads - none had yet begun forming flowers. I'm doing the other half this afternoon.
I finished tidying up around the water tank, and planted the Hardenbergia vine on 2 sides. Off cuts of fibrous cement have enclosed 3 sides and further stabilized the structure.
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Next is the veggie garden.
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(This pic was taken 2 days ago - by this morning they have doubled in size! Same with the zucchini.)
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I also have capsicums, mint, climbing beans and yakon growing (no pix)
It is also Callistemon (Bottlebrush) time - love the vibrant red of this variety: These bushes went from one or two flowers 5 days ago to this today!
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Unusual flowers on this tree!!
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Lately there have been huge flocks of these raucous beautiful cockatoos - I estimated around 90 - 100 the other day - and their screeching is deafening.
Spring also brings out other native animals - though I've yet to see a snake this season.
Here's a very cute echidna I happened upon a few days ago waddling along my driveway.
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Something occurred the other day when I happened to lay out two of my right angled rulers.
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One of them is out!! I've been using these for years - so there are possibly no right angles in the build!! I initially cursed 'cheap Chinese rubbish' until a closer inspection:
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German products are usually so precise!
Finally, having now lived here for more than a year I thought I'd give a brief update on my solar power set up.
3.12 kW panels
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New Victron 5kW inverter
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2 x 5kW Li-Ion batteries
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Around May this year my Growatt inverter died and I was left without power.
Typically, it only came with a 2 year warranty. It lasted 2 years and one month. When I contacted my solar company they told me they stopped dealing with Growatt 18 months prior, as they had lots of issues with them and dealing with the company. (When I bought mine they had just started using Growatts as they were very popular at the time. Soon after they realised the issues and stopped selling and dealing with them.)
They said I could contact the company myself and see if they could do anything, but they didn't fancy my chances as it was out of warranty!
So I needed a new inverter, and the company I had used offered me a big discount on the Victron (extremely good reputation)
So I've had that installed and since then (touch wood) all is going swimmingly
At the onset of winter I noticed my batteries were getting extremely low, with the heat-pump water heater being the main culprit.
But after reading the water heater's manual I discovered it had a built in timer, plus the hybrid mode (where it draws heat from the atmosphere to heat the water and boosts it with electricity) switches to 100% electric heating mode when the ambient temperature drops below 5 deg C. (which it often does here in winter).
So once I set the timer to turn the water heater on at 10am, when the sun is up and the temperature has often climbed above 5 deg, I have not had power issues.
In fact, almost all of the time, my battery levels do not drop below 75% full.
When using the hybrid mode, the water heater combined with my fridge plus separate upright freezer uses only around 440W to power all three. (Which at the moment is using all the power directly from the sun and none from the batteries.)
Heating has been almost unnecessary. On sunny days, when the outside temp is just above zero (and the 'feel-like temp can be in in the minus 5 - 10 range) it has reached 29 deg inside due to the passive solar heating. And the insulation means this heat stays in the house so that by 10pm it can still be 22deg.
Of course there were 2 or 3 instances where there were 3 - 4 consecutive cloudy days with virtually no sunshine. So no heat was coming in and it did get down to around 10 deg inside. So I have a kerosene heater which I put on for an hour at a time when I'm sitting still. Once I'm moving about and wearing a sweater, cold is no longer an issue!
So as a result of this, I do not feel the need to have a wood burning fire in the house as i originally planned. I've stayed in places with them, as as nice and atmospheric as they are, I wasn't keen on the finding of firewood, the cleaning involved etc. At some point if the cold does become an issue I think I could probably install a small reverse cycle air-con for some heating.
It gives me a huge amount of pleasure not to have to pay electricity bills ever again!!
Two of those batteries are enough? Dirt cheap compared to Elons packs.
I am very envious of your rhubarb too
That's not much at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by turnstiles
It is sometimes less - when the fridge and freezer are at optimum temp the thermostats stops them cooling until the temp drops and then they kick in again. Currently (the water heater has not yet switched on) shows the fridge and freezer, plus my laptop which now uses power all the time as the battery is dead, is currently (HAD to use that pun :U) using 148w. Once the water heater switches on, and the sun is shining, it will go up to the 440w figure. And all of this is coming directly from the solar panels and the batteries are not being used (and are full).Quote:
Originally Posted by ErrolFlynn
Just took a screenshot (9.44am) of my power app:
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It shows my house is currently running on less power than an old 60w incandescent bulb!! Which means fridge and freezer are at maximum coldness.
When the batteries are full (96-99%) the PV charger usually drops to the level of usage.
!0kW of battery storage is plenty - especially for a sole occupant. (Power usage wouldn't be a lot different for a couple)Quote:
Originally Posted by Moondog55
I wouldn't go near anything with the Musk name attached to it!
Early on I thought I might need extra panels - but that is now not necessary.
Yes the rhubarb is looking good finally. Time to star picking and freezing. Rhubarb crumble in winter is a must!! (Well...anytime really lol )
Great update! Wishing you better luck with the new inverter. That's a lot of coriander. Some love it I guess :)
LOL - A friend of mine refers to coriander as 'the devils weed'!! I love it - use it in stir fry and salads.Quote:
Originally Posted by r3nov8or
Yeah, I don't mind it in small doses, but some have the gene that makes it taste like soap. Others simply don't like it :DQuote:
Originally Posted by turnstiles
A quick update on the veggie garden for anyone interested!!
The most noticeable change is with the butternut pumpkin. In the three weeks since my previous post, they have really taken off.
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No flowers yet so they are still getting bigger.
Zucchini is also a fast grower - there are about 8 small zucchinis already filling out - the first to pick will be tomorrow.
These few are like the first small stones preceding an avalanche!!
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My snow peas have been providing pods for over a week now, and I can easily pick a dozen a day now.
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Behind the snow peas growing up the veggie garden fence are purple climbing beans. (Like green beans but they are purple. But as soon as you cook them they become green!)
I'm taking a chance with these (my first time growing them) as I am not sure whether they will be safe from Kangaroos who will be able to reach them from outside. If I see they've been having a free feed I can quickly add some extra lean- to fencing to deter them.
They have just begun flowering so I think beans are still a couple of weeks away.
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We had a couple of weeks of really hot Spring weather which has had the unfortunate effect of sending the rocket and coriander to early flower. Fortunately there is still plenty of pickable greens from them both. But I will plant a second crop of them both next week.
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And the tomatoes are over a metre tall and have only just begun flowering. So, again, a few more week until fruit.
Radish is another very quick grower - I have been harvesting radish for a couple of weeks. I planted a small crop as I'm familiar with the speed of their growth and I didn't want too many left in the fridge waiting to be used. So I sowed a second crop (the smaller greens at the front of the left hand photo) next to the original..There will probably be a third and fourth sowing this season.
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When I planted my first cos lettuce seeds I waited and waited and nothing happened. So I thought perhaps the soil is too firm for them, so I sowed a liberal amount of seeds in seed trays in a potting mix. But then around six cos from the original planting popped up!
I thinned this lot out after I took the photo. I've left around 6 per tray. Far more cos than I'll ever need - but I like giving away excess to neighbours and friends!
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Apart from all that, the rhubarb looks as full as it did in the last post and it's had 4 liberal pickings already.
I also have 9 capsicum plants growing, but they are still only around 200mm high, so no caps probably until mid January.
Next year when I have the full garden planted I will add onions and red onions, garlic, cucumbers and beetroot. Over winter I'll grow broccoli and cauliflower.
I've a new friend - a juvenile Cunningham Skink which has been hanging around. I occasionally leave it a segment of mandarin (they love them). But not too often that it becomes dependent!! It's about 250mm long ATM,and should reach about 400mm in length at full maturity.
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Going to be eating well there!
:thumbup1:Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Bob
Salad season has officially kicked off!!