Monday 28 November 2016

Oiling the concrete

Grant sealed the concrete with one coat of Livos Linus to prime the floor and then two coats of Livos Kunos.

It is not a perfect finish, not by a long shot but hey..it's rugged and it looks like it has been around for many years, with a worn, aged appeal.  Footprint stains in the concrete are just an added bonus!


working the oil into the floor

The coat was put on and then left for half an hour before wiping
off the excess.




First coat

The sealed concrete up close


There is more than one footprint - we suspect they were done a while ago.
Grant tried to grind it down, however was unable to.
The floor does have a very warm and fluid feel, almost like a river bed. That's us figuring
out sofa arrangements.
Grant made the entertainment table. We are just waiting on the cabinetry to fill in the unit.


Saturday 24 September 2016

Retrofitting the original house with hemp


Starting to work on the back of the house, we are retrofitting our old dining room. It will be turned into a study/guest bedroom/second living room. 
As you can see this used to be our shed and outside toilet
toilet removed
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Our dining room is now just a frame
Our dining room sans walls



re-using lathes for battens for the hemp to lock around

Our ebay double glazed window has been installed
All the lathes and plaster removed
Taking photos with the tape measure has been an important step in retracing what we have done
The hempcreting has begun


Membrane to create an air gap to the bathroom wall
Grant setting up the formwork against the bathroom wall
Conduit to protect electrical wires from the hempcrete


The completed outside wall
linking the old house to the new, with the out hemp link











We have made a lot of measurements so we can look back at wall detail for things such as electrical wires and battens (in this case for book shelves


When working with an old house you end up finding all sorts of things, including some ancient termite eaten bearers, no wonder the floor was spongey!






Moving up the wall






Thursday 1 September 2016

Rendering - a couple of interior shots

The interior walls are finished with a lime render called Otsumigaki, it is a Rockcote product. You can see the walls are shiny in patches, this is a wax finish and is breathable. We are really happy with the finish, it has a textural finish that provides beautiful shifts of light at different times of the day and from different angles. 
Otsumigaki finish in the lounge room area


exterior render finish








Tuesday 16 August 2016

Opening up the old house to the new house

Every time something else happens towards completing our renovation it is a small milestone. When we broke into the renovation from the old house it was wonderful. That is until winter set in! Cripes it has been a tough one. Sometimes we have been getting up in the morning and preparing breakfast and it is only 4 or 5 C inside!
Grant knocking out the back wall

piece by piece the wall is removed

dada!

Sunday 31 July 2016

We are at lock up...no really...we are actually at lock up!!!


Last night we cracked open a bottle of champagne to celebrate what has been an extremely long process! Our large exterior eastern facing door has been installed! We should have been locked up last year so it is with much relief and great celebration to reach this stage. We have had a productive week, with many trades dropping in on the site to do work. Grant has been retrofitting the old part of the house by hempcreting the ceiling to provide us with superior insulation. I have been working on waxing the bamboo cabinetry using a product called Treatex traditional hardwax oil. Pictures to follow.

The most important picture is the one beneath theses words. How glorious it is to have the door in, and lockable. It has large proportions and feels incredibly solid. There is still a couple of things to complete the door. Down at the base we need to place an angled door trim so we don't trip on the doorway. This will be placed once the concrete floor has been polished.
This is it, the door that has delayed the project by months!
Toffee already enjoying the sun streaming through our door!



Wednesday 13 July 2016

Rendering continues


I've been dragging the chain a bit with publishing anything of late. This post shows the start of the main part of the house with the first coat of lime render. The other images show the 'brewery' getting the rendering treatment. We have used a breathable render that contains no cement or acrylic in the mix. This is to ensure that the hemp breathes. Have a look at these few photos. More to come...I mean it!


As the sun sets it has turned out to be a wonderful start to
our house being rendered





Working on the brewery, a good place to start on our hempcrete
Mesh is used to reinforce the render, particular attention is paid
to areas around windows and doors to prevent cracking.

Windows are covered so they are protected from the render