Return of the cob workshop

After a lengthy break as we slowly acclimatise to the house, we are going to start workshops again: now on the second Saturday of each month, i.e. next month on December 13th, from 9am to 1pm, tea provided, R50 donation to building costs suggested (but we won't turn you away if you can't make that in these financially constricted times). The one after is on January 10th. For more info contact us on 021 788 6613.

Seagrass in the guest room

Brightfields have kindly sponsored us a natural fibre carpet - made from seagrass. This is one of several types they sell, and makes a welcome alternative to most carpets on the market.
The area carpeted is our guest bedroom of the B&B, which is (in a low-key kind of way)open for business, contact us if you want to know more for this summer season! The furnishing is quite a slow process as we seek the most organic options. More photos of the room coming soon!

Still a construction site, at a slower pace!

We got through this cold winter without much need for heaters but still we do want a proper fireplace for next year. Here'a view through the hole we've cut upstairs where the flue will go! Other planned constructions still to come are some internal strawbale/cob seats, and some more shelves cobbed in to some corners.
OK, so it's early days, but we've been playing inside too, with the first stages of creating an under-stair cupboard, hidden by adobe brick walls. These bricks were donated by Gary and Anthea (thanks guys!) as they had an excess and we had a bit of time constraint about getting our own strong enough and dry enough to use. As mentioned elsewhere, adobe is handy for thinner walls that go up quickly, if they're not as structurally essential. We're going to cob in some sleepers above the big cob counter you can see, which has wood storage holes, made with the help of a bit of chicken-wire framing. There's a small seat emerging to the left of the fireplace too.

Interior painting too...

We've added two bottom steps out of cob to our staircase. They have yet to be finished and sealed, unlike the floor itself - which you can see under the steps, with a similar 'paint' to that used on the interior walls, but also the sealant we mentioned before. It's not perfect yet, and will definitely need judicious use of rugs or even slate tiles in heavy traffic areas; but it is beautiful and surprisingly soft!
Here's our staircase, finished on the left - unfinished on the right! The finished wall has a similar paint to outside, lime, tumeric, and a redder clay than outside onto the plaster, plus an eco-friendly 'plaster primer' sealer.

Exterior painting

We've been sprucing up for spring! These are outside walls that have now been painted (and re-sealed, of course, in the case of the big window frames)The paint is basically a mix of lime, water, tumeric, and a little clay for colour, though we've used a darker oxide too on the south side of the house (not shown here).

All the photos

You can see all the photos from the blog - and a slideshow with Picasa - if you follow this link.

Cobhouse

The Tyre Wall

Those people that have been past our plot recently may have been bemused to see a load of car tyres around our perimeter (within the already rather unattractive basic fence we have had up during building). The idea is to create a 'green' security wall - with spiky indigenous plants at the top. Over time the tyres will get covered in foliage, though at the moment they need some reorganising to put them into place. We have in the mean time been focusing on the first bits of maintenance - re-coating the poles and big window frames in environmentally friendly sealant as they have been up and exposed for quite a while now! Soon we will be able to give the garden (or rather dust bowl...) the attention it deserves.

If you're interested in tyre walls, have a search on:

www.strawbalefutures.org.uk
my.gardenguides.com
greenlivingaustralia.com

Thanks to Rianna, our artistic neighbour, for the artist's impression!