Thread: Sitec's House build.

Here is a map of what we have bought.. The road is accessed from the narrow part of the block (top right in pic) and the highest point is the point in the bottom left of pic.

So, here's a shot of the block, looking up to the highest point. This is taken from about 20' up in what we now know as 'The Bee Tree' as there's a huge nest within it's base that always smells of honey. On the map it is the largest tree in the block (the one just above and to the right of the number 100 on the map). The camera is pointing towards the two small trees (bottom left of map). This is the first shot I took from 'Bee Tree', and the ladder has been there since. The Gum in the shot was the only larger tree I had to remove. The plans were laid around the trees as we bought the block for the trees and feel..
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The eagle eyed amongst you will just be able to see a shipping container through the trees roughly in the middle of the last pic... This is a 40' high cube container, and as we were buying a bare block, and soon to be renting a house in Williamstown, we needed space for all the workshop stuff, as well as storage for the 110 and a few other bits that we are storing for a member here.. Having priced up getting a 40' container moved, and also sized up where I wanted it on the block, I decided that I was not about to part with $2000 to get it 'somewhere near to where I wanted it'... A daft Sitec plan was hatched... Borrow an axle and half a chassis, and a tractor with a loader from work, and relocate it myself.... It worked!! Here's a shot of the container arriving behind the tractor. It was one of those 'lets do it' journeys!!! Access was through the neighbors property, as they have an acces track that runs right up the side of our block. The container is now sited at the highest point on the block. (bottom left of map).

Container arrival...jpg

Tree down!!! Here's the second pic in the sequence.. The tree is down and 'work proper' has commenced. The container was sighted, and level, where it shall stay. A house design had been settled on and a house location decided on within the block, so now the task of making a house size space had started. Being on a slope, I knew I would have to do a cut and fill pad. At the time I didn't think it was 'that steep'.. I'd done a guestimation on the slope and thought it was around 7-10 deg. As I started to clear the area it soon became apparent that it was more.. A lot more! 15 deg to be precise. Walking up and down it many times a day reiterated that!!

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Looks like there is plenty of firewood for Winter Wombat this year...

Wow, having seen the end result of Sitecs hard work just before he and Wifetec moved in and seeing what he started with on these pics, I'm even more impressed. And until you see that container in person and see where he got it, that's quite a feat on its own.

Chop chop!! As I write this, it seems quite surreal.. I'm sat in the living room, looking at 'Bee Tree', whilst the combustion heater is heating the house using the timber that has been chopped in this picture. Its cold, overcast and quietly raining outside, and I look out over the block reaping the rewards of my work. I'd have love to have had a drone and taken an aerial shot of the fallen tree, as it would have been 'art like'. Several days of graft took place getting this logged, stacked and covered against the container. It was about now that the enormity of what I had taken on hit me. I was not about to give up, nor was I about to let on to Wifetec know that I was more than a little daunted by what lay ahead!!

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Wow, having seen the end result of Sitecs hard work just before he and Wifetec moved in and seeing what he started with on these pics, I'm even more impressed. And until you see that container in person and see where he got it, that's quite a feat on its own.

There were a few 'oh crap' moments with 'that' container.. About half an hour before this shot was taken, I was towing it into place up onto the pad I'd built with 'Max Factor the tiny tractor', and the left container wheel found the stump of one of the neighboring pines.. It lurched over and hovered on the right wheel for what seemed like minutes, before settling back down on both wheels.. Our new neighbors wife went into melt down... She was still getting her head around the fact that I'd towed it to site!!

Container placing...jpg