Our Home in Hoya Progress Report No.1

Joists and Bearers

Building is progressing at great pace and we are finally getting an idea of what our home will really look and feel like.

Sometimes I think the house looks HUUUUUGE and others times, just perfect size for two of us, a few pets and a massive garden. 
From the top of the block she doesn't look so big. The two pics below show how she sits into the hill. This is something I wanted. Not a huge pretentious blot on the landscape. 

The side view of the build, however, shows that there is quite a slope on the block.






John can easily stand under the balcony that opens from the master bedroom.

I suppose that size can be considered relative in many situations. It is all a matter of perspective. Check out the house from the bottom of the block. It seems to span the width of the block which I assume is because of the slope.

I am still struggling to find ideas for the breezeway gaps. This one is between the living area and master suite. It is slopey and on the southern side of the house so won't get much sun. Any idea anybody? 

My latest bright idea is a simple metal structure that will support creepers. 

Something like this? Post a comment or suggestion.

John's been practising his drone skills again so check out his latest video. 

We are visiting Our Home in Hoya every fortnight so why not follow my blog for regular updates. 

We have broken ground!

We are off and digging! What more could we ask for. There is a sign, a portaloo and a water tank full of water. 

Here is a bunch of photos and a video so you can watch the build with us and give us lots of ideas about landscaping. 

Majestic piles of dirt perfectly frame the portaloo. 

It was a glorious Autumn day which shows off the portaloo nicely.

View from the top of the driveway. It curves to the right as it descends down the hill.

Dirt, glorious dirt! 

The view is amazing. 









My mind is in overload with landscaping questions. The block is naked so I have free reign. Well not exactly. John has a fear of gum trees crashing through the roof and fruit trees that are too large to harvest. I will collect some ideas for trees and ask you all for your opinions. 

Progress report coming again in a couple of weeks. Please follow my blog so you don't miss an episode. 

Trust me, I am not doing the earthworks. 

Where to land a house on a sloping block

The contour map for our block revealed the true mountainous state of our block. There is a 7 metre fall from front to back on one side and a lump in the middle. What is under the lump we are not sure but are suspicious that there is a fair amount of rock. The earth has also been pushed onto the block to create level ground for the road.  

The lump is very obvious on the aerial photo. 



I had great difficulty picturing the house on the block. My brain couldn't translate a 2D plan on paper to a vision in my head. The plans returned with the house further from the front boundary than I expected and this created even more doubts in my mind. John build a 3D model. Suddenly it all started to make sense and I could see where our home will be. How it will sit in the landscape. Here she is!  Check out the video. It is a bit wobbly and I hope you don't feel queasy watching it. 

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The large snake is our driveway, all 148 m2 of it. That's a lot of concrete. 

We will have a lot more front yard than I originally thought we would so now my mind is running wild with landscaping questions. 

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