Eight Acres

 We bought our 258 acres property with no house, knowing that we would eventually build a house so that we could live on the property. While we were agonising over the exact type and layout of house we wanted to build, a small Queenslander house was advertised for sale on a nearby property.   We moved the house... We had lived in a Queenslander house before, and we knew that they were a lot of work to maintain. We had actually sworn that we would NEVER live in another Queenslander house! But when we saw this little house advertised, and that it was in pretty good condition, we decided that it saved us making a lot of decisions about building a house. We bought the house for $10,000. Then we had to pay to move it to our property. We had to re-do all the electrical wiring and plumbing. Add new stairs, replace the roof. Paint inside and outside. Gut the kitchen and bathroom completely and start again. Remove asbestos, add insulation in the roof. Re-finish the floors (which a...

 We have been talking about getting solar for about 10 years and last week our electrician came to set up our new system. I'll tell you all about the system that we chose, but first a bit of background. A bit of background When we first started looking at solar around 2011, our electricity bill was paid by my employer, so there was no incentive or cost saving for us at the time. I did read our electricity meter and work out the size system we would ideally need. And at the time the feed-in tariffs were high, so it was tempting, but we decided to wait. I wrote some analysis at the time here , and the calculations might still be useful if you are considering solar. We lost that electricity payment at few years later, but by then we knew we were moving to Cheslyn Rise eventually, so there still didn't seem any point investing in solar. Also the feed-in tariffs had significantly reduced by that time. We briefly considered a full solar option for Cheslyn Rise, but at the time...

 As Australian summers seem to be getting hotter and electricity prices are increasing, we need to look for passive techniques to keep our houses cool instead of reaching for the air con remote.  For those living off-grid, this is always a consideration.  When you understand how heat gets into your house, the solutions are clear, and there are a number of options to suit all budgets.  We moved a 100-year-old house on to our property about six years ago and took a number of steps to ensure that we would not require air conditioning, even though it had been essential in our previous house nearby. Heat transfer There are three ways that heat is transferred from the outside to the inside of your house in summer (and in reverse in winter): conduction, convection and radiation.  Conduction is heat transferred through the materials of your house.  First the cladding or the roof heats up, and that heat is conducted through to the interior walls.  Convection ...

 A removal house is a great way to quickly put a house up on a bare block of land. For us it bypassed all the decision making about the type of house we needed, and it worked out way cheaper.      We first saw our secondhand house in December 2012, we moved it to our property in June 2013 and and we moved into the house in April 2017. We did most of the work ourselves over weekends and holidays. If you are considering (or have already bought) a removal house, this is my advice. You can read more about our secondhand house: Part 1 and Part 2 1. Live somewhere else while you're renovating We were lucky to be able to live about 30 minutes away from our removal house, so we didn't have to live IN the removal house until it was finished. I knew that we would never finish it properly if we moved in too soon. If this is an option for you, it will make life so much easier because you can leave all the building mess out and you don't have to worry about ruining furnit...

 When Pete and I received council approval for our removal house in July 2014, having spent the previous year and a half organising to move the house and doing the minimum required for council approval ( read part 1 here), the work was only just beginning.  By this stage we had finished installing new plumbing, rainwater tanks and septic system, new electrical wiring, lights and ceiling fans in every room (as required for environmental standards), insulation in the roof, three sets of external stairs and lots of cyclone strapping.  The interior of the house, however, was for the most part untouched, apart from removing old fluorescent batten lights and Bakelite light switches.  The kitchen was the original 1950s era design with very low benchtops and an asbestos-lined pantry; and the bathroom was a cheap 1990s DIY job.   A tour of our secondhand house (BEFORE) Replacing the roof  As soon as we had the paperwork from the council we starting looking f...

 When I first moved to Brisbane from New Zealand I arrived in late January. I firmly believed that air conditioning was a waste of energy, so when I stepped off the plane to 30degC heat (coming from a summer that had barely hit 20degC) I was determined to acclimatize as quickly as possible, even though I felt like I was melting. When I got to my hotel I tried sitting on the balcony with a cold drink, to begin adjusting to the heat. I don’t think I lasted more than ten minutes before my resolve crumbled and I was back inside trying to work the air conditioner! I have come a long way since then. I can now work outside in 30degC or hotter, in jeans, long sleeve shirt and boots, but I still can’t sleep if its too hot. you know what an air-conditioner looks like..... Our house at Eight Acres came with an older style ducted reverse cycle split system air conditioner installed in the lounge. On very hot days, we would turn it on and lie on the couch to try to cool down, but the...

I know I keep saying that I hate cleaning, but now that we are in our new house, I have more motivation.  Firstly this house is way nicer than our old house, from the colour of the walls (that we chose of course) to the high ceilings and better lighting, I just enjoy being in the house more than ever before.  And I know how much effort went into getting it this nice so I don't want to see it getting dusty and dirty.   Permaculture principle "produce no waste" suggests that timely maintenance prevents wasteful rework and big jobs to fix things that could have taken very little time if they were done earlier.  This helps me to prioritise small cleaning jobs before they turn into big ones. One new thing that we have tried since moving is the ENJO range of cleaning products ( affiliate link ).  You won't find ENJO in your supermarket, its sold by independent consultants, and also available online ( I get a small commission if you use my links) . E...

It doesn't get seriously cold here, but its cold enough to be uncomfortable if we don't make some effort.  We are actually finding that our house up on the hill is warmer than down in the valley, and we are above the frost line, so that is a nice change, but it still gets down to 5degC overnight.  We have a woodstove, but we have to cut the wood ourselves, so you don't really want to use more wood than really necessary to keep the house warm. There are three ways that heat is lost from a building: Conduction - direct transfer of heat from a warm object to a cold object, this is heat lost through the walls and roof of your house to the cooler air Convection - caused by a flow of cold air, either draughts or air circulating around exposed windows  Radiation - heat transmitted in the form of light waves, this can be another source of heat loss from windows, roofs and walls of your house. When you understand how heat is lost, you can see the solutions for kee...

When the cabinet maker asked me where we wanted the microwave in the new kitchen I had a mental-blank.  I couldn't think where to put it and when I really thought about it, I didn't actually want a microwave.  We did still own one at that stage, but we hardly used it.  I find them kind of ugly and I don't completely trust them.  We haven't had a microwave in the new kitchen since we moved in Easter, and I really don't miss it. There may or may not be reasons to not eat microwaved food, but personally I don't like the taste of it and I don't like the look the microwave, so I'm happy not to have one in my kitchen.  When I considered whether to include a microwave in the new kitchen, I could only come up with three things: Defrosting meat Heating leftovers Heating wheat packs More suggestions here if you have other uses for your microwave. Defrosting meat without a microwave This one is pretty easy.  If you want a roast or a large chu...

This is an article that I wrote for The Owner Builder magazine.  If you're building a house (or thinking about it), this is a wonderful magazine for those interested in alternative building techniques and DIY options.  I have just submitted part 2 of this story since we moved in, so I thought it was about time to share part 1 here.  If you are building I'm sure they would love to publish your story too, just get in touch via the website . ***** In mid-2012 my husband, Peter, and I bought a 258 acre property in the small South Burnett settlement of Kumbia (near Kingaroy) in Queensland, with the intention of eventually building a house and setting up a small farm. Over a year later we were still trying to decide what type of house to build. Both of us were keen to use a sustainable building method, as we like natural materials and hate waste, but it wasn’t immediately obvious what would suit our property. Then we came across a removal house in our local area, adver...

I've never been a big fan of houseplants.  I had one on a dresser for a while and it leaked and cracked the veneer.  And I had another one that didn't get enough sun and it died.  Our new house is sunnier and less cluttered, it just felt like it needed some plants.  I've had others that I overwatered, or underwatered.  Its just seemed too hard to keep them alive. Mother-in-laws-tongue in the bathroom Benefits of houseplants You might be wondering why I would bother with houseplants, seeing as I just said I don't really like them.  I haven't actually read any scientific studies, but its does seem pretty obvious that plants are going to improve indoor air quality.  If you google it you will find lists of up to 15 benefits, I guess its just one of those topics that attracts fluff articles.  A basic knowledge of biology tells me that plants suck up carbon dioxide and convert it to oxygen.  This is probably more useful in the city, as w...