at last roofing starts

26.10.11

BUILDING NEWS

Dry weather and the first sheets of roofing iron have gone up on the solar buffer zone. Amazing! Edd and Dion worked first to put up fencing wire, then insulation and finally the iron itself. The fencing wire supports the air cell insulation, which would sag without it.

Gary did half a day on the floor but then had to leave. Once again we had school kids. They moved the last of the gum tree logs. So now that area is ready and the trench for the services can go in.

I have been researching light bulbs because I know that the electricians are soon going to ask all sorts of questions about the fittings. I think I will get LED globes that fit in standard pendant light fittings that go inside lampshades. These bulbs are horrendously expensive at present, but they seem the most ecologically sound option as they are low energy and free of toxins.

So far I have not found a picture of the hanging unit I want over the island bench in the kitchen. I want a rack that I can hang my pans from and that has lights and a power socket that can be lowered when needed. As usual I decide on something that no one else has heard of and have to start from scratch. I see myself as finding practical solutions but I am aware that I must seem just plain difficult to everyone else!

An interesting point is that the house is already keeping a more stable internal temperature than the donga we are living in. On hot days it is like a cool cave and when the temperature drops you can feel residual warmth coming out of the walls.

OTHER NEWS

The lamb we are bottle-feeding got sick this week. Edd took him to the vet and she thinks he might have pneumonia (which was what I thought). He is now on antibiotics but still very sick. The sudden temperature changes we are having might be causing the problem but I suspect some other factor that we have not thought of as well.

We have now treated all the young female goats for worms as well as the skinny elder goats. I cannot treat them all because we cannot drink the milk from those we worm for several weeks. There is a different drench that can be used but it is not being very effective this year.

The school kids have raked out all the sand by the pool and I have planned a layout for my new raised veggie beds. Edd has gone to the hospital this after noon for a check up on his hand. I hope it is better soon because I need his help with the bed building. I am totally hopeless at woodwork.