Month: May 2019

Keeping Warm – Part 2

/ hamalochonline / 1 Comment

After enduring one winter at The Rock Farm, we quickly realised that the house was like living in a tent.  It was hot in summer and unbearably cold in winter.  We installed a new fireplace as the first stage in warming the house (Keeping Warm – Part 1).

The second stage was a lot more drastic  it involved replacing the roof.

The house was built sometime in the mid seventies.  It would have been quite chic in the day, but the builders failed to install any insulation in their stylish flat roof.  40 years had also caused a few leaks and the old galvanised sheets were rusty in places where water naturally pools.

We investigated options to replace the roof with a lovely truss roof, but ultimately finances led us to decide to replace the old galvanised iron with a new zincalum product and install R4 batts in the cavity with an extra layer of anti-con under the sheets.

This is where we could get involved as a key part of our plan was to remove any redundant penetrations in the roof.  The largest and most obvious was the old brick chimney.

There didn’t look to be too many bricks on the roof, but it was a fair load in the back of the ute!  The old bricks were put to use stabilising a gully head.

Mark from 24SEVEN Plumbing got stuck right in removing the old sheets.  He worked in sections, taking off a few sheets and the filling the void with insulation, before installing new clips and the new sheets.  Whilst the sheets look similar, they are a completely different profile and size.

The install wasn’t without problems.  The old clips were nailed into the hardwood rafters, making removal an exercise in brute force.  Also the evidence of rats was apparent with one junction box showing exposed wires.  A panic phone call to a nearby sparky soon had it safe.

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The gutters and exterior flashing will also be replaced soon, and will not only increase the functionality but also the appearance of the house.

The old sheets have been stacked on the back of Myrtle, the old Mercedes.  We will use some of them around the place, and will try and sell the rest at some stage.  Have I said how handy this truck is for odd jobs!

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The difference is remarkable.  From a house that routinely dropped below 10 degrees overnight – even with a fire burning, we are now keeping the living space around 19 degrees.  It is a different house, and I have a very happy family.

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But don’t take my word for it! I think the dogs love it too. At least I’ll know where to find them until for the next few months!

 

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Out and about

/ hamalochonline / 4 Comments

School holidays are one of my favourite times on the Rock Farm.  In between days at work, we get to spend time doing various things around the place. Some of the activities are related to the running of the farm, some have the boys learning valuable skills.  Others are just fun.

The young fellows have a couple of projects they want to complete.  Indeed they wrote a list of activities they wanted to tick off these holidays (they must take after their mother)!  They have a couple of woodwork projects to complete – a pair of picture frames.

For me, it is all about hanging with the animals.  The neighbour’s beautiful horses love any excess carrots, whilst the cattle are just curious (and hopeful I will move them to a different paddock).

Of course not all farm jobs can wait until the holidays are over.  Our header tank float valve was leaking, causing the pump to run continuously.  The resultant leaking water might have been a boon for the nearby grass, but it wasn’t good for our dam’s water levels.  Jo volunteered to enter the tank and remove the old valve.  Thankfully it just needed a good clean and fresh lubrication, and was as good as new.  I quite enjoyed offering advice from the sidelines…

We also had a few mechanical issues to deal with. The falcon ute needed a new idler pulley and the young fella broke something on his motorbike.

The falcon was an easy fix. The motorbike needed to go and visit an expert…

An old meat saw on Gumtree somehow ended up in the back of the car.  I re-purposed an old kitchen bench top and some leftover pine into a mount for the saw.  It should make processing our lamb a little easier.

Speaking of lamb – we enjoyed a couple of roast legs of lamb in the camp ovens.  The brick lined fire-pit hasn’t had much use over summer – but we hope to change that now the weather has cooled down a little.

We also made a warning sign to put on the gate 🙂 It is a simple form of security after a car we didn’t recognise drove up our drive and into our property, before leaving.

And on one glorious day we went for a hike.  With some hearty snacks, we put on our hiking boots and walked the boundary of our place and our neighbours.

We loved it, as it was a fantastic opportunity to check out the place and really take time to enjoy the Rock Farm.  All too often there are little jobs to do, but at the end of the day, spending time with this gorgeous family is what really matters.

It was good to recharge the soul. After all isn’t that what school holidays are for?