Skip to main content

Posts

Howes Valley Ideas

By
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.
Post a Comment
Read more

Should we build or kit it?

By
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.
Post a Comment
Read more

Kilmory to go?

By
The thoughts are to move house... The chocolate business has moved to Hamley Road (the industrial area of Mt Kuring-gai) and now the two of us and Bobo are rattling around in a 5 bedroom house. A bit big... so maybe we should move to a smaller easier to maintain house which may also leave us some time to develop Howes Valley. We've sent our loan documents back, we've sent our contract back and we're now waiting... and waiting. Just on the phone to the solictors to check if they have done anything! (They just moved offices so goodness knows if they have it!) We had been looking around the Parramatta area but after taking into consideration petrol prices and that we both have to travel back to the Hornsby area, we're probably better off finding something closer to here and maybe somewhere a little closer to Windsor? But now we're in a dilemma... we really should sell before we buy so we're not under any pressure. We can rent in the meantime and try and pounce ...
Post a Comment
Read more