Plumbed up in & out

While waiting waiting waiting (and waiting some more) for the plinth to go on, the plumber returned.  Outside, it looks like we now have the bits & pieces for the solar hot water system as well as shiny new brass taps.  Inside, the laundry trough and the flash new double bathroom sinks and taps have been installed - no more toothpaste all over my sink, but don't turn on the taps too hard or you'll get soaked by the horizontal tap flow - might have to fix that one!  And the plinth palava persists ...

Making a start on the plinth

The plinth has started going on!  This is like a decorative finishing touch around the base of the house, however, it is much more than decoration.  It helps create some of the vital measurements of the house, and perhaps this is why we have really noticed it being built.  We have both felt a much deeper quality of silence within since its construction started.  Here are some photos showing the piles of Timbercrete when they were first delivered.  Timbercrete is an environmentally-friendly product made of waste sawdust and concrete.  The next photo shows the big pieces of Timbercrete being stuck to the smaller pieces to create the correct size and shape for the plinth.  Below that, you can see the slab around the bay windows where the workers have very creatively solved what was going to be a bit of a problem by hacking away at the slab so that the corners of the bay windows will now be aligned with the joins in the plinth ... fingers crossed!  And finally, you can see the plinth starting to go on the house.