The Little Cottage
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So, putting it all together, we have the potential for creating community-built, low-cost housing developments that are humanly-livable and ecologically sound. The project is in McGregor, having started mid-January, and building work is during the weekdays. We are aiming to complete by April. So if you have time to spare – come join us slinging mud!! This page will get longer as the cottage gets higher - so check back often! |
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And in the Beginning....... |
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Part of the massive rock bank under the house |
Wooden trusses |
Stones for foundation |
Brick making |
 Albertus, wood and bricks |
 South wall |
Day1 |
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Little Cottage Foundations |
Digging foundations |
Filling the trenches |
Filling the trenches |
Filling the trenches with stone |
Hennie stamping the foundations |
Day 2 |
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Filling outside foundations |
David and Monica stamping cob |
David in cobbing line |
David catching in cobbing line |
Hennie in cobbing line |
Collecting stone to fill foundations |
 Cobbing between the stones |
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Day 3 |
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 Off loading wood
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 North East wall
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 Nice end of the day
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 Look what we have accomplished |
 Hurrah we did it |
 Hennie putting in corner stake |
 David building cob and stone wall
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 Cutting Post
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 Cobbing Line
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 Building
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Day 6 |
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 Elke arriving with reed
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 Elke arriving with more reed |
Day 7 |
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 Wattle |
 Stone footing
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 Foundations for the chimney
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 Wattler Elke in the cupboard |
 Cross brace
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Day 8 |
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 Jill sanding splash back
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 More infrastructure going up |
 First cob laid
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 End of the day |
 Paul lending a hand
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Day 9 |
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 Cupboard latte finished |
 Getting dimensions for window
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 First adobe bricks laid
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 Fetching adobe bricks
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Days 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and on - as all the days start to role into one! |
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 Day 10: Wall at the end of the day |
 Day 11: Door frame goes into west wall
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 Day 12: Stone fireplace |
 Day 13: Elke is back |
 Day 14: Di learns to make cobs |
 Day 14: Latte is finished |
 Day 14: South wall
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 Day 15: Fireplace growing |
 Day 15: Paul building
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 Day 16: More building |
 Day 16: First shelf
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 Day 17: First window - from a motor car!
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 Day 17: We dig up a bottle and some bulbs.
Can you think of a message we can put in the
bottle to send to the future?
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 Day 17: Zachie joins us
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 Day 18: Form to hold arch over fireplace |
 Day 18: Varnishing the windows
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 Day 19: Farewell braai for Chris
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 Day 19: The team
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 Day 20: First bathroom window
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 Day 23: Dining room windows
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 Day 21: Zachie daubing the wattle
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 Day 22: Alex arrives to make documentary
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 Day 24: First desk top |
 Day 25: Second desk top
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Days 26 to 40 |
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 Day 26: Windows up to lintel height |
 Day 26: Kitchen taps in place
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 Day 28: Zachie covering the pipes
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 Day 29: Hansie builds the box
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 Day 30: Harold with hole for extra window in main bedroom
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 Day 30: Elke back for a visit
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 Day 31: Cobbing in window in main bedroom |
 Day 32: Compost toilet getting its covering |
 Day 33: Botttles in window
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 Day 36: Lintels over bottle windows
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 Day 37: Air vents in main bedroom completed
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 Day 38: Front veranda
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 Day 39: Lining it up
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 Day 40: All posts up and beam ready to go up
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Days 41 to 48 |
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 Day 41: A Nice butterfly window in place |
 Day 41: On top
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 Day 42: Drilling to put peg in
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 Day 43: Latte from below higher than it looks
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 Day 44: Cross beam and wattle, finally all the house tied together |
 Day 44: Supper in the solar cooker
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 Day 47: One side of reed finished
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 Day 48: Are we in luxury or what
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 Day 48: Janae holding the reed in place
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Days 49 to 69 |
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 Day 49 Charles doing the reed. |
 Day 50 off loading the roof trusses |
 Day 50 down the bathroom
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 Day 51 picking up stone to fill vernada floor
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 Day 52 latte attached to the beam
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 Day 53 the challenge to get the roof done today |
 Day 54 completed veranda roof from below
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 Day 55 both flat roofs on
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 Day 55 floor in main bedroom laid
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 Day 56 Tatiana and Monica sealing beams for trusses with boron |
 Day 57 Heave Ho
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 Day 57 Jacque securing truss
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 Day 58 going up
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 Day 60 Hurrah all up
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 Day 61 other desk in second bedroom
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 Day 62 First fire in fireplace
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 Day 63 cupboard in Main bedroom
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 Day 63 wall above fire place
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 Day 64 building up the chimney
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 Day 65 calling themselves the chain gang
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 Day 66 stone wall and first pole for the deck
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 Day 67 Building on north wall.
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 Day 68 more reeds
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 Day 69 northwall
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Days 70 to 95 |
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 Day 70 growing gablefrom outside
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 Day 71 air vent in place |
 Day 75 house beginning to take shape
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 Day 75 last of windows in and fixing line for parapet
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 Day 76 sink
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 Day 76 Bevan giving Hennie water. Bevan says he and his girlfriend are going to enjoy the
langarm dance on Saturday
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 Day 77 south gable
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 Day 77 nice south gable |
 Day 78 stone corner
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 Day 79 Deck
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 Day 81 water channel across front of house |
 Day 81 lounge floor complete
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 Day 83 deck base
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 Day 83 bathroom cupboards
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 Day 84 Plastering main room cupboard |
 Day 89 koskassie waiting for its place of glory
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 Day 90 bench waiting to be cobbed
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 Day 92 redrilling a beam
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 Day 93 carrying cob to veranda
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 Day 94 the deck bench
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 Day 95 the cottage is being given it's skin
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Days 96 to 112 |
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 Day 96 plastering team
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 Day 98 traditional roof wetting braai
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 Day 97 getting doors redy to be hung on Saturday - bathroom door |
 Day 99 Cupboard doors being prepared
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 Day 100 Main bedroom and bathroom corner with shelving
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 Day 101 the Basin from Janna
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 Day 102 Hennie screeing topping
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 Day 104 finishing veranda floor
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 Day 105 Albertus plastering
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 Day 106 Waldorf Pupils learn about natural building
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 Day 107 final layer goes on
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 Day 108 start of electrical installation
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 Day 109 first layer of plaster on lounge floor |
 Day 110 Albertus finishing final coat on north gable |
 Day 103 Gas geyser in
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 Day 110 North wall finished
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 Day 111 east wall finished just the bench now it is too wet
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 Day 112 Hennie plastering in Bathroom |
Days 113 to THE END!!!! |
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 Day 113 Walls in main bedroom, finished floor curing |
 Day 114 Monica pointing east wall
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 Day 115 New toilet seat
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 Day 118 All railings in sleeping platform up
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 Day 119 Luyanda, Diane and Alexs visit from Ilima |
 Day 120 Veranda bench and floor complete !!!! |
 Day 120 The kelim in front of the fireplace
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 Day 120 Trying mirrors in bedroom
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 Day 120 Kos kassie in it's permanent position
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 Day 120 Main bedroom
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 Day 121 Screeing last veranda
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