Out of the ground ...

A phrase oft repeated during the early days of our renovation was our builder referring to his desire to get the building “out of the ground”. At first this puzzled me, but I subsequently came to understand that getting out of the ground is a critical phase in construction. The excavation phase is notoriously unpredictable and challenging, but this is only a small part of the early uncertainty. The footings and concrete slab provide the connection between the house and ground and are fundamental to the building’s structural integrity. This connection is particularly important in our corner of the Huon where the soil is mainly clay; rock solid in the dry summers but almost liquid in wet winters. Consequently there is substantial engineering input to this stage; an added complication that can lead to delays and tension.

For our build, getting out of the ground involved three distinct stages, namely, laying the footings, building a retaining wall and pouring the concrete slab on which the upper level will sit. While the footings and the slab are pretty standard in most builds, a large retaining wall was also required given the size of the excavation required to accommodate our lower level. The wall went up in a day – an impressive feat of bricklaying – but core filling the block wall with aggregate and back filling behind it with gravel took much longer. Once that was in place, the concrete slab could be poured.

 Pouring the footings

 

 

Constructing the retaining wall

 

 Footings, slab and retaining wall complete

There was a certain amount of relief all around when the first wall was framed indicating that the build was truly out of the ground. Fittingly it was the wall that contains the new front door entrance to the house. Apparently, we are now in more controlled phase of the build where the timeline is easier to manage.

 

Officially out of the ground - framing the new entrance hall

 Although the building work continues relentlessly, so does life on the farm. Spring is, of course, grass growing season and it feels as though everything is put on hold to facilitate a continual round of mowing and slashing. A bright spark in the middle of all this destruction has been the arrival of our the first lambs. You will recall from an earlier post (New arrivals, published on 6 July 2024) that we ran Macca the ram with our ewes during the winter months. Almost right on the earliest possible date our first lamb arrived. A little boy. Then a little later two little girls arrived.  We believe that there is another pregnant ewe still to give birth, so Macca looks to have had a 66% success rate. 

 More new arrivals

Although their mothers have bonded with their lambs and all appear to be feeding well, thus far two of the three lambs have developed limps. Treatment with painkillers has proved successful but we have yet to get to the bottom of this particular mystery. On a sadder note, our matriarch ewe produced twins but one did not survive. We are not sure of the exact circumstances but we came upon the little body some way away from where the mother and her remaining lamb were resting. Apart from this stark reminder of the ups and downs of livestock husbandry, it has been a joy to watch the lambs develop. Our first little chap is already growing his horns ...