melissapardoe

We spit the dummy….

At last some progress again – but not meeting latest promised completion date, again…

We always knew we’d have a problem getting the internet, and so it’s turned out. Cable is clearly not an option in the bush. The following describes the options that we’ve looked at, and highlights just how bad the NBN is for regional areas (and we’re within an hour of the outskirts of Melbourne, onContinue reading “WI FI”

Solar systems problems – 2 x 50% saves the day

We got a phone call from the tiler saying the power had tripped. Went down to investigate – no breakers tripped, but the system in fault. After quite a bit of fiddling (didn’t get any decent instructions from the installers on start up and shutdown) and some googling manuals, finally managed to fully shut itContinue reading “Solar systems problems – 2 x 50% saves the day”

Will this saga ever end?

Cabinets, BAL

The builders are back

After nothing for the first half of January. the builders are back and things continue to move forward. The external plumbing has been run (our nice landscaping is a bit of a mess around the house again), the air-conditioning ducts have been cut into the plaster, and the wooden floor has been installed and theContinue reading “The builders are back”

A lot has happened (finally). December was HUGE…

So much has happened in December – it’s looking like a house!

Cladding install isn’t bushfire compliant

We were really happy with the way the cladding was looking, but as I’ve mentioned before we were a little worried about having colorbond flashings. Turns out that the plumber didn’t think that was a problem, because he WASN’T ADDING any more. The maxline panels clip onto plates that have a removable foam covering onContinue reading “Cladding install isn’t bushfire compliant”

Batteries

Finally got round to adding to the Offgrid Technical section with a write up on batteries – capacity, lithium versus lead acid. Batteries…. I was feeling good about the house finally making progress, so took the time to start writing down our research…. Finished it, because I was depressed. I guess I’ll add that postContinue reading “Batteries”

The cladding has started

It’s been a big week – the plumbers turned up and started cladding on Wednesday! Fantastic – we should absolutely be at lockup by Xmas! And we installed the slab for the backup generator and the poles for the automatic gate system. I can’t believe I’m excited by that. At the beginning of the year,Continue reading “The cladding has started”

The house is (mostly) insulated – pink & fluffy

Despite the cladding and flashing not being installed, the builders went ahead and installed the insulation. R4.1 Pink batts to the ceiling, and R2.7 pink sound shield to the walls. This level of insulation gave us a 7.5 star house, so we decided that spending more money to upgrade it to a higher level justContinue reading “The house is (mostly) insulated – pink & fluffy”