Only six weeks after that first assembly, EcoLight they bought an unwanted triangle of undulating gorse and scrub within the country with a vision to construct. Apparently, the actual estate listing read: "Rural constructing site. Just some kilometres from Moutere Freeway, nearly 1 acre pleasant undulation contour. Elevated soothing pastoral views. Floor cowl largely fern and a few pines, nothing a match couldn't clear." Oh, actually? It was true pioneering spirit that stored them going by way of these first few years once they cleared the land and planned their residence whereas living in a single, uninsulated, tin storage. This humble dwelling formed the nucleus from which they fed, socialised with, and gave English lessons to as much as 12 employees commonly. Even for an ex-restaurateur, catering was no imply feat contemplating there was no working sizzling water and the only two sizzling plates couldn't be run at the identical time because the oven.
The ever-altering and multi-national workforce of WWOOFERS (Prepared Workers On Organic Farms) embraced the life-style that had them boiling a copper for two hours earlier than siphoning the steaming water into the outdoor bath. The pleasure of soaking underneath the stars at night time was well earned and far commented on, so much so that an outside bath has been added as a feature to The Peach Suite which allows company to imagine the sooner prototype. The WWOOFERS were an integral a part of the method of constructing adobe bricks and working on the construction of The Mudcastle but more importantly, perhaps, they stored morale up and the dream focussed. Why clay although? A chance comment concerning the mountain of clay they might must truck off site energy-saving LED bulbs Glenys to the library and the extra the couple examine earth building, the more convinced they turned that, although never having built something in their lives, this was one thing they could do.
As a bonus, it was discovered that the clay on their property had the best composition for making adobe bricks and so utilising the earth beneath them as a resource with out cement or sand stabilization was to be the first point of difference for The Mudcastle. Next started the process of adapting clay sieving and brick production strategies written for Australian conditions and fantastic-tuning them to accommodate the uniqueness of The Mudcastle site. As with most adventures, there have been peaks and troughs. In batch one, the labour intensive, textbook foot-stomping method was used. Still hobbling three days later for a pitiful yield of 70 bricks, and quick working out of buddies volunteering to repeat the expertise, this methodology was quickly abandoned. With the refined process they dubbed the Cake-mixer Method using a customised rotary hoe, production improved to 300 bricks on their best day. Three rotary hoes and one front finish loader later, the required 10,000 bricks have been produced for the primary phase of constructing.
The bricks had been sun-baked in wooden moulds with temperature extremes moderated by polythene covers however there have been occasions when, exhausted, they took the risk of leaving the bricks uncovered to the weather at evening and lost the lot. All a part of maintaining the dream alive. Clive Johnston, Kevin's father and a standard block layer by trade, educated Glenys to dam lay the adobe bricks coming off Kevin's production line and worked alongside the couple sharing and increasing his expertise on the best way. Opened to new influences, Clive discovered and perfected a revolutionary constructing product using waste sawdust and this product has been used for the first time in the construction of the castle turrets, the second section of constructing. As this new building product was grey and looked nothing like clay, the couple experimented utilizing an old pioneers’ recipe they found for making limewash. In true Kiwi fashion, they used a 44-gallon drum. The recipe integrated beef tallow with lime and resulted in a white limewash.
This was then tinted to a clay colour with a mixture of pure earth ochres. The process was, no doubt, excitingly explosive and never for the faint hearted and the unusual "earthy" fragrance was, and stays, distinctive. As a natural preservative coating, the distinctive scent recedes very steadily and company staying in the Gold Turret, as the one interior accommodation house where it has been used, EcoLight should discern it. Peter Harte, Glenys' father and an electrician by trade, has enhanced The Mudcastle with dramatic lighting and inventive concepts, energy-saving LED bulbs and was a continuing, encouraging presence within the forward momentum of Glenys and Kevin's dream for many years. Not to be omitted, Kevin’s mother Margaret helped with cleaning and baking and Glenys’ mom manned a second sewing machine to make curtains for the principle turret. Special design attention was given to sunlines for producing passive solar heating and sightlines to capture views from each room. On one or other degree, all four faces of The Mudcastle are graced with fascinating joinery, superbly crafted in local timbers by Michael Bender of Riverside Joinery.