Another milestone completed - the
mini-greywater trench! This was a hugely difficult task which has
taken us months, digging a 3 metre long and 1 metre wide would have
been easier if it wasn't for all the giant rocks. We had to spend
weeks just chipping away at the edges of these until they broke off
the underlying rock, and then use a block & tackle to pull the
biggest rocks out of the hole. We told the council we would go 50cm
deep, and we only barely made it due to a couple of rocks sticking up
here and there. If we didn't have a 6 foot long metal pry bar on the
property when we bought it, I really don't think we could have dug
this hole at all. We only wanted to go 50cm wide but by the time we got out all the rocks from the sides it ended up being twice as wide.
The 'simple' part was filling the hole back in -
and even that took two solid days of shovelling gravel and dirt. We
were lucky enough that we had lovely grey gravel on the property that
we could use, but unfortunately for us it was mixed in with sand. I
came up with 4 different methods of separating the two, and now I
feel like I could start some kind of mining operation. I finished off
the top of the greywater trench by planting it with some dianella
and native grass that was dug up in the gravel, and then protected it
from being walked on with some stick teepees and a rock edging. The
result looked a lot more 'witchy' than I was anticipating, but I am
certainly happy with how it turned out!
Mum-in-law came for a visit and loved
our composting toilet. Thanks Clivus Multrum!
Also we have internet, phone and power
in the caravan, so things are certainly getting cosy. Josh has
finished the owner-builder course, and now we are waiting for Fair Tradiing to send out the Permit. I
cannot recommend this online owner-builder course company for anyone wanting to do the same thing
- unprofessional is one word I could use to describe them, and that's
being very kind.
Next step - final council approval,
and we can start knocking trees down!
