On this rainy day in the middle of January I shall tell you what is happening at Fangorn Manor. Fangorn Lodge? Fangorn pile-o-sand? Not sure what we shall call the humble-straw-abode-to-be as yet.

Plastic. Thick black sheets that smell of – something gross, not sure what, exactly. The putrid stench of plastic. The kind that you notice when walking into horrible stores like Chicken Feed and Bunnings.

Monte had completed the boxwork and he had levelled the sand (remember, the first lot blew away when we were in Adelaide – he should’ve listened to me, and not laid down the sand before we ventured off for Christmas). The day was windy, and we did not want to lose more sand, so we decided to lay the plastic down, to secure the sand and to complete “the next stage.” I was very excited about getting yet another piece of the puzzle down.

Let’s re-cap what we have completed thus far.

Firstly, in July, getting the site cut was a big achievement. It was wet and muddy, but getting the new driveway up to the site was also very exciting. In Spring, Monte and I marked out the actual house site, and spent several attempts and quite a few hours to get the box square. Then, in November, the plumbing was done, and that too was a great achievement! I remember that it was pouring with rain (quite uncharacteristic of these parts [not]), and three workmen arrived at the crack of dawn and then completed the job by lunch time. I do believe we have found a good plumber! Before Christmas, Monte laid the sand, and with Ady’s help, screeded it and levelled it – only to have it washed and blown away during the wet summer.

Our hopes to have the slab laid before Christmas were slightly marred, but now we hope to have the concrete poured by the end of this month. Monte has completed the boxwork and the new layer of sand, and we have also laid down the plastic. The site looks like this:

This photo was taken before we taped down the plastic. We are holding down the plastic sheets with re-bar because if they were to blow away again… I think the Eastern view is a pretty one, but we have no windows facing East (part of our solar-passive design) – besides, that’s where the carport will be! The wall in the foreground will be the West wall of the parent’s retreat (a fancy name for something quite simple!).

Here is a sample of Monte’s work on the box. Our slab is a waffle-pod slab, meaning it is above ground, uses polystyrene boxes and is specially designed for poor quality soil. By poor quality, I mean that it is a highly-reactive soil: not the best for building on (but excellent for growing stuff in). You can build on anything if your foundations are good, and Monte has made a very strong box to hold the concrete in. He has used 126 star-pickets to hold this frame, and our friend Ben was most helpful with putting some of this together. The sad thing is that this has been a lot of work for a temporary thing (if you thought our house was to be surrounded by this contraption, think again!).

The next stage is to lay the steelwork and the pods, and then cover the pods with reo mesh before filling the whole thing with concrete. I am scared that the concrete trucks will not be able to make it up our driveways!

I thought I would also put here a picture of the pods, in case you are wondering what they look like.

This photo was taken by my star-photographer, Georgia. The pods were being delivered and I sent her up the hill to take photos. I was probably changing a nappy when this was taken. The pods are quite large, and have air cell things on the bottom. These will be great for insulation, and the slab will be very warm because it will retain heat.

Another exciting thing that is happening is that we are going to get our straw very soon – probably next week. Monte has bought ropes and an industrial strength tarp for wrapping and storing it. It will be a while before we can build the strawbale walls. First the slab needs to be complete, obviously. Then we will build the frame and place the roof. Then the straw, which needs to be rendered. The windows will probably be put in place after the first coat of render.

This is the year of the house, and we are excited.