Rammed earth on Kangaroo Island, #148 - The Owner Builder

L–R: Trailer-mounted mould for the concretearches; cypress pine lining jigsaw; roof framing.vertical halves, both opening, connectedtogether with metal bars and self-closingmechanisms. This means that only oneside of the door needs to be operated,making wheelchair access much easier.Metal sliding bolts provide the lockingmechanism. While the interior faceof the main door is relatively plain,the outside face has been carved andfashioned into the face of a warrior –complete with nose ring!All water access is centrally located,with the bathroom and kitchen backingonto each other.The kitchen is small and compact,with a gas cooktop and microwave.Kitchen bench tops and sides areall timber slabs. The bench tops arelow, with clear space beneath, andlots of low down drawers for storage.Plumbers’ copper piping has been usedto create handles for the drawers andthe range hood is made from stainlesssteel sheeting.The bathroom is both practical anda work of art. A false internal ceilingisolates the bathroom from the rest ofthe house, but incorporates a skylightthat lets in natural light from thesunroom polycarbonate roof sheeting.Another circular window features here,with a chunky timber shelf across thecentre.All surfaces are tiled, with no lips orledges anywhere. The shower curtain railis made of copper piping, while stainlessgrab rails are placed around the showerand toilet; one of the excess pipe joinershas been used to make the toilet rollholder – no waste in this build!An octopus undulates over threewalls. The shape was drawn on thewalls before the surrounding areas weretiled using full sized coloured tiles. Theoctopus shape was then filled in withsmaller pieces. About seven shadesof blue, with some cream and white,maintain the watery theme.© www.theownerbuilder.com.au • 02 4982 8820The whole intention of the housewas to blend into nature rather thanpushing it aside, and where you have topush, to do it naturally. This is especiallyevident in the main bedroom, where thelarge arched window directly in frontof bed provides an uninterrupted viewout to the surrounding bush. The bedheadboard is a timber slab, and the footend of bed has trunks ‘growing’ up intothe wall and ceiling. Side tables have beenfashioned from driftwood with glass tops,the clothing shelf unit is made from localnatural timber, and even the hangershave been made from metal hooks withtimber bars. The walls have been paintedwith a beach/landscape colour theme –with details still to be completed.As an interesting contrast to thetimber elsewhere, Zincalume has beenused as a ceiling in the bedrooms.Natural touchArtistic touches abound. Intricatemetalwork swivel light fittings overreading chairs have been shaped andwelded, painted various colours, andfinally had stainless steel kitchenbowls attached as reflectors/shades.Glass mosaics cast colourful shapeseverywhere. Furniture is made fromdriftwood – much of it from the Frenchshipwreck ‘Montebello.’The pale stone wall at the back ofthe living area provides a contrast to therich timber, and contains small nooksfor housing found objects. Interior wallsare plasterboard but far from ordinary,having naturally edged timber skirtingand using branches as handrails.A home-made weighted self closerfor the insect screen on the sliding doormakes life a lot less ‘bitey’ in summer.Energy saving bulbs are usedthroughout. Smoke detectors and lightfittings have natural timber edged blocksbehind to get over the problem createdby the corrugations in the Zincalume.Natural systemsA 33,000–litre main water tankstores rainwater. Water is pumpedup from the main tank to a 200–litreheader tank (automatically, thanks to afloat switch), providing gravity-fed waterto the house.A 1kW grid connected photovoltaicpower system supplies more power thanthey use, even though not quite northfacing. They had considered a pivotingsystem, but had been advised that itwouldn’t be worth it.Solar hot water is boosted by offpeakelectricity, but is only occasionallyactivated in winter after a prolongedcloudy period.All wastewater goes into a septicsystem with soakage area. The ‘treated’water filters through a drum with asubmersible pump, distributing the waterto the plants via in-ground drippers, eachsurrounded by a plastic drink bottle toprevent silting and root invasion.A fire services volunteer, Roni fullyunderstands the danger of bush fires.A fire sprinkler system surrounds thehouse, which provides the first lineof defence by drenching the houseand surrounding area. A fire hose isconveniently located on the verandahfor further protection.The shaded back porch area betweenthe <strong>earth</strong> walls of the house and thestone retaining wall creates a naturallycooled oasis in summer.This is indeed a home that can betermed ‘natural’ – from start to finish,and well into the future, nature hasbeen the most important aspect ofanything that is done here. ■Laviv is available for holiday rental.Contact Roni & Cathy: 08 8559 7262,email naturallyki@bigpond.comSee the TakeABreak accommodation website(www.takeabreak.com.au) and search forLaviv in Vivonne Bay Kangaroo Island SA.TOB 148 • August/September 2008 • 43