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Showing posts from July, 2006

Howes Valley Ideas

I'm thinking about housing and been researching kit homes, solar power and sewerage systems. For sewerage (sewage?) I'm thinking Worm Farm (www.wormfarm.com.au). For solar power, Will reckons he can size and fix it... so that's all good. Otherwise Rainbow Power Company sounds good (www.rpc.com.au) We then need raintanks (huge!) :) A house... which I can't decide if we should build it ourselves (using a Peter Lee's plan www.cheaphomeplans.com) or go a kit home (and still build ourselves)... In the meantime we'll investigate fixing the shed for temporary rain water collection and shelter. Lavender or Hazelnuts? We need to check with Auntie Lee to see what sort of lavender may be income generating (commercially) or possibly some other crop. Hazelnuts is something we're also thinking longer term.

Should we build or kit it?

With settlement of Howes Valley scheduled for 2nd August, of course I am poring over house plan designs and kit home brochures and website. We have Peter Lee's book (www.cheaphomedesigns.com) and I have spoken to him about building one of the smaller houses. He recommends building using mudbrick! Sounds all good etc but I just don't know. And I wonder really how much it will save... (and all the blood sweat and tears we have to go through). But then looking at the kit prices, I wonder how much the "walls" and "frames" make up of their total cost? As that's all we'd be saving on (upfront), as the rest of it still needs to be done. This is of course assuming the labour is the same for both... ie free... in that we'd be doing it... plumbers and electricians etc would be the same regardless.... I have a whole list of Australian Kit Home providers I have book marked and will post them here soon.