Terra Matana

30/07/2019

Since I am in the mood to bombard you with information I might aswell get right up to date... So.. late yesterday afternoon we finally got our official pass for Code of Compliance from the council, yaaaay so exciting. Only took 3 and a half years. Last few weeks have been spent on all the final things to get this, extraction above cooker, some internal doors, tiling, final plumbing and electrical stuff and last bits of soffits and flashings outside. Huge thanks to Chris Jamieson for all the help hanging those 50kg plus solid rimu doors at 10pm the night before the final inspection, you are the only reason Hamish is smiling in these photos!!

30/07/2019

End of March saw us head gamely into the last big job for the build... The Earth Floor.. den den derrr... I admit to some trepidation before we started such was the scale of it but it ended up being a pretty amazing experience due to the magical appearance of the amazing Rose Tuffery, earth floor guru, into our lives at the exact right time, unbelievably great weather the whole way through and some fabtastic mates who came on Hamish's birthday to get muddy, lift heavy furniture out of the way, chop straw, mix mud organise, clean stuff, eat cake and drink wine.

This is how it went down ....Earth floor mix testing was done by Rose and once we had the right proportions of clay, sand and straw all settled we had the birthday working bee to get a good start of floor material to work with. Rose taught us how to do it with screed boards (basically lengths of wood at the height you want your floor to be) and you do your floor one length at a time with lots of careful packing, levelling and smoothing. Hamish and Paul picked this up pretty quick, I took a bit longer but eventually got it after realising that every trowel and float in this country is made for a man size hand. Using Roses small Japanese float was a revelation. Yes, I am blaming my tools.

Anyway between the four of us we were on hands and knees for 2 solid weeks. After that the floor had to be polished and smoothed when halfway between wet and dry, this was mostly me on the floor, using boogie boards to balance on to spread the weight, for another 2 weeks ( I think, time got a bit blurry at this stage). Then it was time to let it dry completely and the weather was magnificent for it, plus we had fans from everyone going all the time. 6 weeks after we started, we were ready to oil the floor. We used a mix of linseed and tung oil (hardening oils) with each additional coat being cut with an increasing percentage of gum turpentine. This allows the oils to really soak into the earth floor and then it takes a few more weeks to dry out properly. Lots of work yet again, but beautiful result which you really have to walk on to appreciate. It's a low energy, low cost floor which acts as a huge store of warmth in winter when the low angle sun shines on it. In summer the eaves stop the sun shining on it so it stays very cool. Hence all the effort, perfect mix of function and beauty.

29/07/2019

For some light relief, at the same time as the internal plastering was being done, the deck was progressing outside. Huge job and so many thanks owed to everyone that helped with this!! Paul, Scotty, Hamish and Kerry were our tireless labour.

29/07/2019

Where to start after being so very slack at updating this page? I think I'll just have to do a few posts rather than one ginormous one. So here goes.... Last summer was spent digging clay, soaking clay, mixing clay and sieving clay (at which point you have your beautiful precious clay slip). Then we mixed it with chopped straw (mostly chopped by lawnmower after less successful attempts involving strimming it in a barrel and putting it through a chipper) and varying grades of sand (also sieved).

How do you know the proportions of each? Well it depends on your site clay, so you have to do lots of test mixes to see what works for you. Too much cracking when it's dry tells you to reduce the clay content. Falling apart means not enough clay so you have to experiment in order to avoid the mixture failing when its all over your wall. It also depends on whether you are onto coat 1 (the coat that binds your wall to the second coat) coat 2 (shaping coat, evens out any holes / lumps) coat 3 (top coat, whatever you want this to look like eg smooth, textured, coloured etc)). Each layer has a different function, which dictates your mix.

Clay is the binder, sand is the strength, straw gives the tensile strength, (kind of like rebar in concrete) and water activates the clay and holds it all together. We mixed ours in a beautiful orange concrete mixer lent to us for all this time by very kind people ( Thank you Carolyn and Chris, i think we owe you forever. Also I'm sure no-one else would ever call your concrete mixer beautiful ) You can mix it all on a tarp with your feet, but that is more suited to working bees and more pairs of feet really, but you cant really do this day after day after day.

Some of our topcoat mixes we wanted smoother and so they had a mix of just clay slip and sand. Again, experimenting with proportions is key.

After the top coats dry, they need polishing which is basically smoothing and tightening before its completely dry with some kind of smooth flexible tool, you can cut a round piece of plastic from a milk bottle, or we found a small plastic scraper at mitre 10 which did a pretty good job too. Luckily for us it turned out Hamish was a total natural at plastering with a float for the top coat and i was a natural at the polishing so in the end we were the perfect team.

I couldn't even tell you how many hours this took us, I'd estimate... hmm .. about a billion maybe? As per usual, friends, family and wine (thats just me) helped and kept us sane.

19/09/2018

Overdue for an update around here I think. Last couple of months has seen us complete the back deck thanks to Paul and Hamish, and the kitchen Island thanks to Scotty and Sue. Never were decks and bookshelves so exciting. The deck was clear and perfect for about 10 seconds and then we used it as a great work area for, sawing wood, sieving straw and all the other things that go on around here. We have done a bit of clay plastering inside but mostly it's a bit cold for mud work. It's also the time of year for blossom in the orchard and ducklings. Looking forward to summer :-)

12/06/2018

Straw bales on the external south and western walls are all painted thanks to three days of great weather. These walls are lime plaster which has been curing for probably 6 months now. We had to put 1 layer of fixative on first and then 2 coats of exterior silicate paint from The Natural Paint Company in Christchurch (who were awesomely helpful with our order). This paint is both anti fungal and breathable and lovely to work with, like a giant pot of melted ice-cream with no toxic fumes, beautiful stuff. Don't think Ive ever enjoyed painting so much, although the weather, the view and the fact that we were actually finishing something may have contributed.

31/05/2018

We almost have a wardrobe, which surely is another sign of a return to civilised life. First the shelf supports went up, then there was clay plastering of the walls. We have to wait for this to dry and then we will paint it to seal and protect it with some natural paints ie breathable. Clay plaster has the amazing property of absorbing humidity so we don't want to negate this with the wrong paint. Meanwhile Paul has put shelves in so we are close to not living out of a suitcase (large pile in the spare room where you can now hardly see the suitcase). We have also put a second coat of straw clay plaster on our bedroom straw bale wall. First coat is to get a good bond between the clay and the straw, second coat is to shape the wall and even out any hollows. We can then either polish this or we can put a final thin coat on to smooth it out. If we want a colour then we can add oxides to the last coat. Last photo is of outside the western straw bale wall and you can see the colour it is going to be painted when it arrives this week.

16/05/2018

Many months since my last post here so time for a catch up. We have discovered that some things stop this type of building in its tracks, one is bereavement, its exactly 6 months since my Mum died. The other is having to unexpectedly move your business premises so most of our time this last few months has been spent locating and setting up a new catering kitchen. But! That is mostly finished now and so our attention turns again to the house. Most of these photos are actually from last November. When I got back from the Uk early December lots of effort from lots of people gave me a functioning kitchen which has been awesome after so long with a tiny caravan or the temporary kitchen in the laundry set up. In the design and measurements for the kitchen I was helped immeasurably by the lovely Kyla Covic, kitchen cabinets were done by the awesome Kasey Coorey of Shoreditch Furniture. These guys were amazingly patient with us and our unconventional build. The front of all the drawers and cabinets is rimu reclaimed from the garages of Mike Francis and Ian Stewart and patiently sanded and oiled only a couple of weeks ago by Hamish's parents Ian and Sue. The bench top is macrocarpa, which has spent its previous life as scaffold planks for a builder who was selling to retire. It has been a joint effort by Tim, Paul and Hamish with some sanding by Isla. So, many hands in the kitchen thats for sure. Still need to sand the wood that will go around the rest of the island bench and put that on, also still need to get an extraction hood and a few other bits but it's entirely functional and has been great sanity saver for us over a tough few months.

30/10/2017

crcrockpot yoghurt | Hamish Stewart Catering

So way back when we were not building a house and could think of other things apart from clay mixes and how to drag an aching body up that scaffolding one more time, we did a lot of other things like making yoghurt and recently several folk have asked me for the recipe so here it is http://www.hscatering.co.nz/blog/?tag=crcrockpot-yoghurt I even found a few pics of some of the process.
It's a bit tricky making yoghurt in our current kitchen setup but this is one thing I can't wait to get back to when we get the new kitchen finished, because one its so expensive to buy and two it eliminates waste. No plastic pots to recycle. Reducing waste is a huge part of why we are doing what we are doing.

24/10/2017

The last couple of months has seen us do lots and lots of clay plastering on the walls, with still lots to go. Just gets fitted in around running the business and looking after a family. This is what makes it all so slow - if we had a month to just get on with it we could do so much!! But this is not reality so we just fit it in when we can. Ava's room is finished (apart from the earth floor which we will do later). Isla's walls are all done and are drying out now. Our first attempt at an earth floor will probably be this weekend in her room. We have done some bottle walls in the kids bedrooms above the doors - they are also drying and then will need a finish coat of plaster in a few weeks. Council inspections all passed - only one more to go! The kitchen cabinets are currently being made and should be here in a couple of weeks. We are trying to use as much of the wood we have lying around as possible for the drawer and cupboard fronts, so rustic is what it will be. Main kitchen bench is made (out of someones old macrocarpa scaffolding planks) and we just need to finish sanding and then seal it. I have added a photo of our current kitchen setup in the laundry. A proper kitchen will be unbelievably amazing to work in. We have lights all over the house inside and out. Underfloor heating was connected a couple of weeks ago and since the weather has continued to be rubbish we got to use it straight away - so lovely to feel the whole house so warm. We also have chickens in the orchard finally keeping the grass down and eating the bugs aswell as fertilising the trees and giving us eggs. Two other wild duck families have joined ours so we have many new avian friends these days. We have planted all the terrace banks to the west with natives for wind breaks and bird and bee fodder. Plenty of veges coming out of the garden and the first asparagus shoots are up - not for eating this year or next while the roots get strong - after that they should be good for the next 20 years at least. Many Perennial food crops is what we are aiming for, much less work than annuals over the long term. The grass is growing around the house now - this has taken since June because of all the rain we have had, so the house really looks more anchored in place these days rather than sitting in a muddy brown bog. We have lots of plans for planting all around the house and decking and.... and.... fencing... and... haha we will never be bored...

30/08/2017

Ceilings are done, all the gib board is up. The piles of insulation are finally all out of our way and keeping us warm instead of tripping us up. First coat of clay plaster on the light earth walls has been keeping us busy. We have actual lights with switches in half the house and a towel rail. Never was power more exciting. It should be almost all on by the end of the week. Kitchen plans are almost finalised. And 7 ducklings who lost their mum came and joined the menagerie, they are here from the Matakana Animal sanctuary, to destroy the slug army I invited by laying all the spare barley straw on the vege gardens. Wont do that again. In the vege beds we have garlic, potatoes, broad beans and cabbages growing with a space ready for asparagus which arrives in September. Plus a bit of lettuce, few peas and parsley. We have all the small animals living where the next vege beds will be so they can manure and dig it for us first, plus all their bedding can compost down. Furthest garden beds have the more long term crops in, the ones nearest the house will have veges that need a bit more attention. Its been a long and very very very wet winter on the hill, but Spring is officially here on Friday and things are moving along with the house and warming up in the garden. Wine on the (not yet built) deck, in the sun gets ever closer.... (there's been plenty of drinking on the inside though)

21/06/2017

And finally after literally months of waiting for all these earth mixes to dry out, we passed the Council pre-line inspection on Monday which means we can get going on the inside of the house - the ceiling can go up - this is lawsons cypress tongue and groove (same as under the eaves), clay plastering on the internal straw bales and on the light earth walls, and then there's a bit of gib board in various places that had no reason to be bale or thermal mass. So far we have a bathroom ceiling! So exciting. But not as exciting as the fire.

21/06/2017

Last bit of sunny autumn weather and we had Pip and the digger back to do the final earthworks around the house and spread all the topsoil around. So in theory we can now have a back lawn and not a clay bog, but might be a bit wet and cold for grass seed at this point. But all the bumps are ironed out and all the debris from a year of building work has been cleared up, so all much tidier than 2 weeks ago, even if it is a bit brown and not green. But good to tick off one more job.

21/06/2017

All those adobe bricks we made over summer that dried in the autumn have now been turned into an awesome wall by Hamish, while Isla and I lingered in Starship in May. All the hospital stuff is over now and last week the Homewood cookstove was installed in front of the wall (which still needs a bit more plastering work). The point of this is lots of thermal mass where the heat is generated, which will absorb the heat and then act like a big radiator overnight as the fire dies down. The fire has a we***ck (heats the hot water in the 350 litre cylinder) and it will be connected to underfloor hydronic heating soon. We can cook in the big top oven (first attempt will be pizza tonight) and there is a cooler oven underneath which acts like a slow cooker. On top directly above the fire we can boil things - veges, kettle etc and to the right since its cooler, this is where you simmer stuff. Lots of learning how to do this properly I'm sure is ahead, but for now, after months with no oven or heating source I'm in love with this amazing cast iron thing that does so much with one little fire.

11/05/2017

So a bit of catching up to do. Western bale wall has gone through many stages - clay plastering, building paper, battens, mesh and 2 layers of lime plaster. One more final layer of lime plaster to go on all outside bale walls and they will be finished. Did you hear how beautiful that word sounds? Finished :-) While Tim has been cracking on with that the rest of us have put in the wool terra lana insulation, finished the light earth walls inside the house, made all the adobe blocks (mud bricks) for the wall behind the homewood heritage wood cook stove (which has arrived and should be installed next week). The mud bricks are all dry now after the great autumn weather and we have just started building the wall with them. This last few weeks has involved a lot of waiting for things to dry out so not the most exciting of times when it comes to progress, however we are 98% weathertight and very thankful for that as the weather turns nasty outside today!! Its amazing how quiet it is inside the house after living in wooden framed, poorly insulated houses for the last 20 years we find we are all used to just having conversations from one end of the house to the other with a bit of yelling - now it's impossible. The kettle used to sound so noisy in the mornings and wake anyone asleep - now the sound just gets absorbed by these thick walls. Its currently blowing a gale outside, but still very quiet in here. So progress slowly continues and life is full of exciting things like Ava's 16th birthday (and now driving lessons...), Scotty's 80th birthday (but he looks 20 years younger than that). Isla has her last procedure at Starship next week on May 16th - after that she will be all good and that is something we are all very happy about. No doubt building can be stressful, but nothing compared to your kid unexpectedly going into surgery. To be only stressing about building will be good!! And I hope the next post shows me lighting the fire!!

27/03/2017

So a long break from posting any building photos mostly because one week after moving into caravans we had 11 year old Isla diagnosed with kidney problems so have spent much time at starship and doctors aswell as carrying on with building. Good news is it is fixable and operation is April 11th. But yes, more stress than any of us needed at this point. Anyway, lots more progress on the build, all the tiling in bathroom and mudroom is done. Earth walls are getting higher. Soffits will be finished tomorrow (many many hours oiling the wood preceded this). More lime plastering on the external bales this week. So basically the house is almost weathertight and then we can get going on the inside. We've had a working bathroom for a while and hope to get washing machine plumbed in this week. Oh yeah, and work has been super busy, biggest month ever.... never a dull moment!

12/02/2017

First coat of lime plastering on external bale walls starts, bathroom tiling nearly finished and caravans arrive onsite ready for us to move into them in 2 days..... still working on hot water and shower situation so may be a bit feral for a few days :-)

06/02/2017

Thanks to all our fabulous volunteers we got lots done this weekend, another layer of light earth walls inside and more than half the second coat of clay plaster on the western straw bale wall. It is really a lovely experience to have friends and neighbours and complete strangers all come and help out. Theres a lot of crappy stuff going on in the world - this feels like the antidote to it, communities coming together to get something done. We are so happy to have help with all the work, and many of our helpers are so happy to be able to learn how to do this, because they would like to build in the same way. So basically its win win. And to my friends who have helped with no intention of building anything like this.., well we sure owe you some good dinners here when the house is done :-)

02/02/2017

More work on the clerestory windows, bathroom floor tiles go down, and finishing the first coat of clay plaster on the western bale wall. More light earth wall building to come this weekend :-)

02/02/2017

Terra Matana's cover photo

29/01/2017

More progress this week on the internal light earth walls - volunteers helping with this super labour intense process - may i virtually kiss your feet with gratitude, we'd be here til next year doing this alone. Thanks to you we are about halfway. Also started more work on the western straw bale wall, clay, sand and paper pulp plaster mix squished through the nets and into the straw, we all loved this job, so easy and quick compared to the indoor labour. All external bale walls are almost ready for first coat of lime plaster. The bathroom has waterproofing on it and approved by last council inspection so tiling can start. In 2 weeks we move up onto the site and into a caravan and a tent. So much easier to get more done living there and i feel confident we are near enough to a closed in building that we won't have spend winter in the caravan...... hope these are not Famous Last Words... Anyway... we will be getting into the mud and keen for any helpers on SUNDAY FEB 5th FROM 10am. Anyone keen to join us, give me a call to organise and if you have gumboots and gardening gloves then bring them along, we will have food on the day from the multi talented crew at Hamish Stewart Catering :-)

15/01/2017

Big thanks to all our helpers this week - i didn't get photos of all you you due to being covered in mud half the time but you know who you are and it was awesome to see you all and awesome to see those light earth walls get higher. As of this week we have french doors in at the back of the house and also the front door is in, so all in all an exciting and productive week. Still plenty of opportunities to get into the mud for anyone who is keen, I will be there tomorrow (Tuesday 17th Jan) about 10 am.

06/01/2017

A couple of great days on the hill building mud walls. Had friends to help which makes an amazing difference to the speed of work - anyone keen to get your hands in the mud for a few hours don't be shy! Give me a call. BYO gloves, gumboots and old clothes :-)

18/12/2016

A few photos with all north facing glazing in. I had to cut the grass to get the house in the photo.

06/12/2016

More weatherboards on, window glazing carefully propped up in the "kitchen" and a 350 litre hot water cylinder that will attach to the we***ck and the underfloor heating (and solar at some point in the future)

29/11/2016

Windows and weatherboards :-)

25/11/2016

Window frames everywhere (from Sam at Optimal Windows) and a few weatherboards on the front of the house. The rest of the frames and doors arrive next week. Builders will fit them all in and then Sam comes back to glaze them all. Now that will be an exciting day...

22/11/2016

Window spaces start to appear, waterproofing around the outsides, more mud walling, zillions of tadpoles in the pond and feijoas flowering :-)

17/11/2016

Wow so much activity the last couple of days, plumbing going in, most of the electrical wiring, last bits of internal framing and the first bit of light earth wall. Light earth is a mix of clay (lots on site), water, straw and gravel (for more thermal mass). Main lesson of the day - not wearing gloves whilst mixing this removes the ends of your fingers. Anyone interested in helping with this bit and learning a bit about earth building please call me :-) I have spare gloves at the ready.

15/11/2016

Electricians are wiring up, Plumber onsite tomorrow, framing all but done, windows arrive next week and we are preparing to get muddy......

02/11/2016

Here's what 3000 lineal metres of tongue and groove lawson's cypress looks like in your kitchen. This is all the wood for the ceiling. Straw bale walls continue and more internal framing - bathroom and spare toilet are now framed. Behind the scenes we are deciding taps / tiles etc and booking a tiler for December since we are always optimistic. Plumber and Electrician can start next week.

28/10/2016

More bale walls and some flowers for the bees.