MIRRIBANDI
Our House – Our home
Welcome to our home! A place of warmth, of love, and lots of Belgian Shepherds, Shire Horses, 2 pet Birman cats, 4 sheep, 1 Jersey house cow (for milk, butter, ice cream etc), 2 other cows supposedly being raised to eat (but who can do that when they have names……) and a handful of chooks (for eggs only).
Our Straw Bale home – designed by architect, good friend, and puppy buyer – Kurt Piccardi.
Commenced 2004 and owner built – a work in progress! Roger had help from our most marvelous and gifted puppy people – notably Garry & Monique, Dave & Mandy, Peter (my brother), John (my brother in law).
What a wonderful world we live in, to have so many friends, and super puppy buyers!
2004
Jan 2004 – Shed pad cut, shed erected.
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28.02.04 The straw bales arrive the same weekend we moved into the shed. We moved into half of the shed with other half the shed filled with straw bales. We had straw dust everywhere, no electricity, no toilet, no shower, no town water, no water tanks – just a lantern to see at night, and a BBQ to cook on. We carted water in bottles filled daily from work, until the poly water tank was installed on the shed, then we waited till it rained till we had running water. The composting toilet arrived soon after, the lights went on firstly powered solely with a generator. The straw bales will later be used as the walls for our house. Photos Peter Westaway.
08.09.04 The solar panels were erected, and now supply all our energy needs – and will continue to do so for the entire house, when built.
06.11.04 The house pad was cut just before a torrential downpour….. It never rains here at Ebenezer, so every drop is welcome, even if the timing is not right!
17.11.04 Holes are dug in the house pad for the upright poles that will hold up the roof.
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Sept – Nov 2004 – Roger cuts down lots of Ironbark trees from the block, strips them, and hauls them up to the house site. The smaller offcuts from the felled trees are used to build more dog fencing, cattle fencing, and horse paddocks.
27.11.04 – Karl & Roger with the family heirloom tractor (off the Westaway pineapple farm at Moggill) upright many of the poles. A franna is bought in to stand the poles that were too big to the boys to do themselves.
04.12.04 The first of our two below surface water tank holes is dug. The tank is completed in January 2005. Fill from the holes is used to build a bund wall as part of our dog enclosure privacy, and the other hole’s dirt is used as the mud render on the house later on.
E-MAIL - mirri@gil.com.au