This is the wellhouse which has been many weeks in the making and still isn't done. It has a concrete floor with a 1000 gallon tank under it for storing water. The well shaft actually comes up through the floor inside the well house and because we have artesian flow we can turn a tap on and with no pump, 3 to 5 gallons of water a minute rush out. (We will get a pump for moving the water to the house.) The rest of the space in the 200 square ft building we can use as we like.
It has two foot high block walls that I have now finished facing with rock, Montana Gold Stone that we bought and local rock that we dug up. (Sean says we live on a giant gravel pile and this seems to be totally true! It is glaicer rock moved from up north.)
The roof of the building is like a big box. We did a layered tar roof and are going to plant it up with native growth- several varieties ferns, huckleberry, and moss (--something that grows on everything and anything that stands still in Seattle, so it seemed a natural choice.) We have a stump that we will put on it too. We still have to put lava rock for drainage and soil up there. This is a job that requires a large ladder and David and possibly his collection of pulleys, so it hasn't happened yet. I did not want to do it in the summer when I would have had to water the plants to get them established-- imagine having to water your roof!
The picture with David in it-- is of wire tying. Because the roof is so heavy once the soil is on it(and sometimes wet), the cable is an extra support, especially because we have small, earth quakes occasionally. That is our neighbour and friend, Jay, in the picture with David. He built his house-- mostly himself and is very interested in different building techniques. Between him and David, they figured it out. The wire will be embedded in the cob walls (once I actually do that) and won't be seen.
The big rock picture is a rock we dug out of the foundation for the wellhouse. It is granite. The wood columns are pieces of driftwood the kids and I collected last summer at Brenda's house. They are about six feet long and filled the whole length of the van when we brought them home!
It has two foot high block walls that I have now finished facing with rock, Montana Gold Stone that we bought and local rock that we dug up. (Sean says we live on a giant gravel pile and this seems to be totally true! It is glaicer rock moved from up north.)
The roof of the building is like a big box. We did a layered tar roof and are going to plant it up with native growth- several varieties ferns, huckleberry, and moss (--something that grows on everything and anything that stands still in Seattle, so it seemed a natural choice.) We have a stump that we will put on it too. We still have to put lava rock for drainage and soil up there. This is a job that requires a large ladder and David and possibly his collection of pulleys, so it hasn't happened yet. I did not want to do it in the summer when I would have had to water the plants to get them established-- imagine having to water your roof!
The picture with David in it-- is of wire tying. Because the roof is so heavy once the soil is on it(and sometimes wet), the cable is an extra support, especially because we have small, earth quakes occasionally. That is our neighbour and friend, Jay, in the picture with David. He built his house-- mostly himself and is very interested in different building techniques. Between him and David, they figured it out. The wire will be embedded in the cob walls (once I actually do that) and won't be seen.
The big rock picture is a rock we dug out of the foundation for the wellhouse. It is granite. The wood columns are pieces of driftwood the kids and I collected last summer at Brenda's house. They are about six feet long and filled the whole length of the van when we brought them home!
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