Thursday, June 9th 2005
We're keeping busy, no problem with setting up camp but things are slow on the earthship side.
We decided to go with Michael Shealy from Colorado as designer for the plans and we're waiting for him to complete his current project so he can start on ours. We hope to hear from him by the week-end. It's getting quite worrysome not to have the building permit before we move out of the apartment... but all that matters is getting comfortable for the summer. Come fall, we'll see where we stand and if we have to find a warmer spot for the winter...
So, we spent a few days building the structure for our shelter. We're quite proud of the result, it's fun to see what the two of us alone could do with the cedar logs that were left on the lot, a few dead spruce trees that we collected and a bit of imagination. It's a square 16' X 16' where one quarter will have a floor/platform and 3 walls to become the bedroom. The rest will be enclosed with the bug netting we bought last year. So far, we only bought some nails and all that's missing is a bit of dressed lumber, 2 sheets of plywood and some used metal roofing. Until we find a roof, we'll use some of the billboards, it'll be OK until the snow comes...
We already have a roommate to share the territory. A small woodpecker has decide to compete with our hammer, he's looking for anything that'll make more noise than us, one of his favourites is our aluminium ladder. He also discovered Sushi when we brought him along Saturday and Sunday. It's great to see how the parrot recognizes the surroundings after 3 years of taking him there only on occasion. He's a lot less fearful and doesn't mind us wandering away anymore. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the new house where he'll have many spots to perch amongst the plants.
The rest of the preparations are going well. The weirdest thing was telling Hydro and Bell to cut the service. We're going totally unplugged. Hurrah! Except we didn't find a communication solution, we're relying on a cell phone and we have to climb up the hill to get a signal. There are a few possibilities but we haven't decided yet on what the best one would be. As for electricity, we enlisted Lili Haury from Ecosolaire International Inc to help put together our photovoltaic system. It's all starting to make sense and it looks like we'll be able to use it during construction along with the generator Alain's dad will lend us. One thing is certain, if we want to stay within budget for the system, we'll have to be very frugal energy wise until we have more money to add a couple more panels.
The soil in Chertsey has no clay at all and we need some for the wall coating to stay put once dry. Michel Bergeron referred us to the Lachute refuse dump which is expanding their site and needs to get rid of the clay they dig up. We only needed to pay the truck to bring it to us: 15 tons of slick grey clay to help cover the tire walls. We're planning a mud job as soon as the walls and the roof are done. It's quite a bit of work but it should be even more fun; a kind of spa/workshop combo: mud wrap, sweat lodge and cool water bathing.
We've become recycling specialists, Alain is a champion. It's true that with his job he gets to see what people throw away, it's simply unbelievable what one can find. Last week, he found a dozen aluminium single pane windows in perfect condition that will find a place in our summer shelter. Sunday, we picked up a stainless steel double sink and four water pressure tanks (fibreglass tubes 30cm in diameter and a meter long). These will be sealed and used as floats for a dock so it's easier to get into the "pool". Monday, Alain got an old wringer-washer and Tuesday a kayak...
You may be asking yourself how we're dealing with the mosquitoes? Again this year, so far, we manage to work without wearing nets 90% of the time. I have to admit that the new OFF Botanicals without DEET is very effective, it's made with some kind of eucalyptus oil. It lasts many hours as opposed to other essential oil based products we've tried with citronella, geranium or lavender. Yesterday we spent the whole day sawing the wood that had been left on the lot when we bought it. We were very impressed with Michel Cajolet's portable sawmill: it's a brilliant machine. We made 1" X 4" boards: cedar for the ceiling in the upper part and yellow birch and maple for the lower part, the kitchen area. We also have 2 inches thick maple to make into kitchen counters. Today is rest day for the muscles, this morning we used our brains at the computer and at 1PM the engineer will come and survey the place in order for us to get a septic tank permit; it's a new requirement since January of this year.