Burying the Plot Irrigation – 28th July 2017
In lots of photos you may have seen the ‘blue snake’ across the lawn on the plot level. That was the Plot hose connected to the Plot irrigation…
Well we finally got it ‘buried’ and completed.
Freeing the Water Tank – 4th February 2017
With the tank level wall almost finished, it is time we started on moving our 27,000 litre poly water tank.
It has been on a 14 degree ‘lean’ since we got here, and we have a nice new level pad to put the tank on. But first we have to free it from the bank it sits against. 20+ years of erosion and weather have locked it in a bed of clay.
Footings and Gardens – 2nd February 2017
When we purchased Arborlon 18 mths or so ago, one of the existing problems we knew about was the footings that supported the SW corner of the house. They were in bad shape and needed repairing/replacing. So much so that there is a 50mm drop in the floor of our lounge room from one side to the other.
Unfortunately we needed to support other elements of the hill the house is built on, before we could get to actually permanently fixing the damaged and broken footings.
Time to start digging – The Fire Deck – 3rd August 2016
After lots and lots and lots of planning we are ready to start digging, and concreting, the footings for the Fire Deck.
Whoa Boy! – 9th July 2016
One of our major issues at Arborlon is Erosion. Running or flowing water has caused significant erosion in most gullies across our property and severely affected the house hill. Now that the South path Wall is finished we can continue to add some more elements of our water control plan.
One of those is the use of Whoa-boys. Don’t know what a Whoa-boy is… neither did we. At least not by that name.
Building the Bottom Steps – 2nd May 2016
With excavation and planning done.. it is time to start the bottom steps. This is a big job and will be part of a bigger job – The Tank Level Wall – as well as being a huge step forward for us in regards to navigating the levels surrounding the house.
This is our second lot of earth steps, and the job is made a little more complicated by the fact that the steps have to fit into other structures.
Excavating the Bottom Steps – 27th April 2016
We started the bottom steps – from Plot Level to Fire Pit level – a few weeks ago now… but the excavation has been hard and slow going at times. Our soil has been stripped of organic matter, and has the consistency of rock in places. Excavating the area where the steps will be placed is one of those areas.
The Fire Deck and The Grass Tree – 9th April 2016
The Fire Deck we have been planning will be really special once it is done and finished and one of the reasons why is that it will almost encircle one of our multiple stem Grass Trees on the Tank(Fire Deck) level.
Starting the Bottom Steps – 3rd April 2016
Today we started the process of creating the bottom steps from the Plot Level to the Fire Pit Level. We are creating Earth Steps, down from the plot level, and then timber stairs that will take you to the ground level and across to the (proposed) deck and fire pit....
Building the Solar Racks #1 – 14th March 2016
Today we started making the new solar racks for our existing(new) system. These racks will replace the current racking system – an off the shelf – flat racking system.
The new solar racks will be based on the racks used for our existing(old) solar system. These are hand-made, custom built, adjustable racks that fit nicely on a flat or sloping roof.
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