This week has seen the staff accommodation really coming along.
The roof is finished, the ceilings are in, the undercoat is on, the showers are tiled, so now we move on to the finishing touches, installation of the bathroom suite and kitchen sink, lights and the stove. The accommodation is really looking great and we are excited to see how it will look when finished!
It's going to be a fun-filled week next week!
The roof is finished, the ceilings are in, the undercoat is on, the showers are tiled, so now we move on to the finishing touches, installation of the bathroom suite and kitchen sink, lights and the stove. The accommodation is really looking great and we are excited to see how it will look when finished!
It's going to be a fun-filled week next week!
Now that the staff accommodation is nearly finished, Beaven and his team have started to begin work on the foundation slab of the old cottage. There was a lot of earth that needed to be moved into the steel base of the old cottage so that they can compact it and lay the concrete slab next week.
Whilst Beaven and a few of his team were sanding, undercoating and getting the ceilings done in the staff accommodation, a couple of other guys were moving the mass of earth. We couldn't believe how much there was to move, but they managed to get it all done in two days!
Now with that and all the materials being delivered for the concrete slab, we look forward to seeing the start of the cottage renovations! So very exciting and ahead of schedule, which is even better!
Whilst Beaven and a few of his team were sanding, undercoating and getting the ceilings done in the staff accommodation, a couple of other guys were moving the mass of earth. We couldn't believe how much there was to move, but they managed to get it all done in two days!
Now with that and all the materials being delivered for the concrete slab, we look forward to seeing the start of the cottage renovations! So very exciting and ahead of schedule, which is even better!
On top of this work, we had an epic paint shopping trip to Pietermaritzburg, ordered the windows and doors for the cottage and ordered and collected the glass for the staff accommodation windows.
We also had guests book in for the long weekend, so all-in-all, another busy week!
One frustration we have had this week, however, is with regard to our borehole.
We have been waiting for the drilling company to come and start the drilling of our borehole and we were expecting them this week, however, it seems that they are having problems finding water at the job site on the list before us, therefore no drilling yet.
The frustration is that we can't continue with the work we need to do on the dams until we have water coming from a borehole instead of the dam, so the lack of drilling thus far is holding up our dam clearing and maintenance.
One of the things we were going to do once the small dam was drained was to chop the invasive wattle trees down on the island. These trees are an alien plant and extremely problematic, so they need to be chopped down and removed. This week, however, we noticed a few weaver birds returning to start looking at building their nests. Since we don't want to be chopping down these trees with new nests in them, Bryan decided to head to the island on the inflatable airbed and chop down the trees!
It was quite a mission getting through the reeds on the airbed, but Bryan succeeded and the trees have all been chopped down now. Once the dam has been drained, we can then remove the chopped trees and plant a new, indigenous tree that the weavers can again build their nests in!
We also had guests book in for the long weekend, so all-in-all, another busy week!
One frustration we have had this week, however, is with regard to our borehole.
We have been waiting for the drilling company to come and start the drilling of our borehole and we were expecting them this week, however, it seems that they are having problems finding water at the job site on the list before us, therefore no drilling yet.
The frustration is that we can't continue with the work we need to do on the dams until we have water coming from a borehole instead of the dam, so the lack of drilling thus far is holding up our dam clearing and maintenance.
One of the things we were going to do once the small dam was drained was to chop the invasive wattle trees down on the island. These trees are an alien plant and extremely problematic, so they need to be chopped down and removed. This week, however, we noticed a few weaver birds returning to start looking at building their nests. Since we don't want to be chopping down these trees with new nests in them, Bryan decided to head to the island on the inflatable airbed and chop down the trees!
It was quite a mission getting through the reeds on the airbed, but Bryan succeeded and the trees have all been chopped down now. Once the dam has been drained, we can then remove the chopped trees and plant a new, indigenous tree that the weavers can again build their nests in!
They other exciting thing that has happened this week (well, we are excited about it), is that the wild blesbok herd are seemingly getting more comfortable around our property. The previous owners had three large dogs, so we imagine the blesbok were happy to stay well away, but over the past couple of days, the herd have been drinking from the larger dam and even eating around the area between the two dams. We hope that soon they will venture close to the house itself! Fingers crossed!
So, that's it for this week. Let's hope the drilling guys turn up next week and we will update you on the progress of the staff accommodation and the cottage. Hope everyone has a happy and successful week!
Bye for now!
Bye for now!
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