14 minute read
MOONSHADOW
A
Little snippets of this amazing stone home have featured over the years: 182 Apr/May 2014, 184 Aug/Sep 2014, 187 Feb/Mar 2015, 189 Jun/Jul 2015, 195 Jun/Jul 2016, 199 Feb/Mar 2017. Now the full build is revealed.
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BY STEPHEN HEHER
My first owner builder experience started 35 years ago in 1985. Being a bricklayer by trade and at a very young age, starting out with a brick structure was a no brainer – quick, solid and non-flammable.
In the beginning
What was designed to be converted into a garage and carport at a later date became the beginning of our home. The basic design was for kitchen, lounge and bedroom all combined, with adjoining laundry, shower, sunroom and porch. A pit toilet sufficed for the first 14 years, as did kerosene lanterns and candle light. I was on my own and lived fairly simply. Cooking and heating was with a solid fuel stove as it is still done today.
Fast forward to 2007, I met Lyn, the lady who was to become my wife and partner in life. Children came along and suddenly we found ourselves living in one small area; space was needed. So along came the beginnings of our joint owner builder adventure.
It began with plans for an extension consisting of three bedrooms, one with ensuite, an entrance with an office space and a verandah all the way around. We decided to build with bush rock from our property for the outward face of external walls and brick, with a lime cement plaster, for the inner faces. Some of the internal walls are single skin brick. The verandah poles, door headers and frames were cut from grey gum on our property.
Plans were submitted to council in 2009 and were approved for timber windows and doors. After much debate between council and the Rural Fire Service (RFS) over our fire rating, we were given a low rating which allowed us to continue on as planned. It soon became evident that we were going to have to move and update the existing septic and transpiration system, which was a huge blow to our budget.
Building starts
The build began half way through 2009, with the footings dug and poured for the 10,500 bricks to be laid for the dwarf brick walls to level off the sloping site for an infill slab. Bush rocks were laid externally along the verandah walls. The hollow created by the walls was then filled with grit to hold the slab up; in total, 63 cubic metres of grit were wheelbarrowed in! I realised too late that a suspended slab would have been a better option.
A concrete slab was poured, after which the build stopped for a few years so we could save more funds to continue.
Next phase
When the bank account was looking good again, we started on the next phase of the external and internal walls. At 350mm thick the external stone walls, along with internal brick walls, provide plenty of thermal mass, resulting in a cool home in summer and one that is easily warmed in winter.
The internal brick walls were built first, leaving brick ties and woven mesh (BrickTor) exposed for tying to the external stone walls. During the laying of the bush rocks, crystals were placed among them. These included two large amethyst geodes and others, as featured in TOB 182 April/May 2014.
The roof was next, with some builder friends erecting the trusses in a weekend, after which the roof was sheeted. We had a roof and walls.
The house was being built as money came in and was a slow process, as we were down to one wage with Lyn at home with the children while they were young. But we desperately needed one more room. So we had one window made and found a nice leadlight door from a local recycle shop to enclose our first room. This became our new bedroom but would later be the entrance and office space. The ceiling was lined with v-groove panelling, and at last we had a bit more space.
We enjoyed the journey of progress by living in different rooms as they were finished. Next came one of the planned bedrooms, adjoining our room, so that we finally had separate bedrooms.
To lockup stage
Our verandah was next, built from blackbutt kiln dried timber and the grey gum poles from our block. A builder friend helped erect the verandah, as it was no easy task. All the verandah timbers and and others throughout the house have been finished with Organoil. Lyn mosaiced some gnomes around the edge of the verandah to add to the already whimsical touch of the house (see TOB 199 Feb/Mar 2017).
There was quite a lull in the build again as we accumulated more funds. Finally we had enough money to buy the remaining windows and doors, which was the biggest expense in our build. To compliment the bush rock walls and to be kind to the environment, we decided to invest in Western Australian jarrah framed windows and doors, which we believe was well worth the money.
Our home was now at lockup stage.
B C
WC
Bath/ Ldry
Kitchen
Bush rock Cavity 350mm Brick work Brick work 230mm Timber frame 90mm
E
Existing
Sunroom Craft area
Meals Living 10,500
C
Verandah 3000
Bedroom Bedroom
Master suite
B
Foyer Ensuite
D
Verandah
New
A
1600
7000
1600
Floor plan
Arrow letters refer to photos
All change
It was about now that we decided to change our floor plan. We had been discussing it for a while and decided that a change would make for a much nicer kitchen, dining and lounge, with views down to the creek, and the original part of the house becoming two spacious and unique bedrooms.
This led to the next major job of laying sandstone tiles thought the kitchen, dining and entrance area. Each tile was individually high pressure cleaned and sealed before it was laid, to make the job of cleaning after grouting much easier.
On to the kitchen. It was made from Australian red cedar slabs that we purchased at an auction. We designed the kitchen to be open shelved, with natural tree branches as shelf supports. As there was so much cutting and sanding involved, we blew up a circular saw and two sanders. We fitted a recycled sink into the benchtop and Lyn finished the splashback by mosaicing it with intersecting pieces and tiles in an olive green tone. Lyn loves mosaics so there are many pieces around our home and out among our gardens.
We purchased the last Stanley Waterford wood stove available in the country. It took some muscle to get it into the kitchen, but it completed our kitchen beautifully. We could now see the finish was near.
The plastered walls were painted with Livos paints in an ochre colour. Lyn had done some etching in the render throughout the house, so they were highlighted in a darker shade of ochre (see TOB 184 Aug/Sep 2014). When the sun shines in, it gives our home a beautiful warm golden glow.
We divided the old part of the house into two beautiful bedrooms, finished off with timber doors we made ourselves. The electrician finished off the electrical works, and our special purple carpet was laid in the lounge room. After 10 years we had finally finished our beautiful home.
Even though it took us 10 years to complete, we were very grateful for each achievement along the way. We still have two more jobs to complete – tiling the verandah with sandstone and to add a deck off the verandah, overlooking the creek. But for now we are just enjoying our home, and these jobs will be completed one day.
Defending our home
8 November 2019 saw us defend our home for seven hours from the Rumba Dump Complex fire that had been burning for three weeks in the state forest at the end of our valley. With very high temperatures and strong westerly winds, we saw our farm and our valley devastated by the fire. We stayed and defended our home, which shows you can live in the bush if you are prepared. Lyn is a volunteer firefighter with our local RFS brigade, so we had knowledge and experience and were very well prepared for what we were to face that day. After all that work as owner builders, no way were we going to allow a bushfire to take our home from us.
It was extremely disappointing and heartbreaking to see the death and destruction the fire caused as well the incredible amount of work they create. Now we are watching our property and valley slowly recover and regenerate. Our home gave us solace while our land was just dust and ash for such a long time after the fire due to the drought. We stand back now, very proud to have saved it and in awe of the home we built with our own two hands. u
u Aspect Drafting Services
Residential house plans, extension and commercial plans. 0417 464 011,
Facebook: Aspect Drafting Services
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