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Darren,
Your recent accomplishments are
amazing. My congratulations.
I am keenly interested in wool
for house insulation. Did you encapsulate the wool? Here in the temperate
Midwest of the U.S., the issues about wool would be insect infestation and
damage, degradation of the wool over time in a humid climate, and flammability.
I am developing an eco-farm and
want to demonstrate building with materials that are natural, low-tech, and
local resources. Insulation is a critical factor in this context. Although the
popularity of wool for clothing and bedding is increasing in the US , prices for
wool have been in the toilet for several years. A demand for wool insulation
could stimulate a network of regional businesses connected to family farms. This
could provide needed economic sustainability in the family farm sector.
Of related interest (insulation,
that is), someone on the ferrocement list recommends clay coated straw as
insulation with good R values. However, he is in Austin, Texas, which is
much drier than Indiana. and the same issues exist here.
Best,
Steve
Steve Bonney
Sustainable Earth, a not-for-profit
membership organization dedicated to the development of sustainable food and
farming systems
100 Georgton Ct.
W. Lafayette, IN 47906
(765)
463-9366
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 11:42
PM
Subject: Australia Felix Permaculture
Update
Hello Everyone,
I trust that this greets you all well. The last
6 weeks or so have been tumultuous to say the least! We sold and moved out of
Wood St, bought and renovated Casey St and brought into the world our darling
baby boy (at home) Zane Thomas Burke on the 18th of July. After a bout of
acute mastitis Lisa is again well although the "2 under 2" keeps us busy. We
are indeed fortunate to be a part of a very loving and supportive family,
which many people aren't.
This is my first day back at work and I'm
looking forward to catching up with you all and getting into it!! We still
have a bit of moving to be done, the bulk of which will be done over the
coming weekend. Over the next few days we will be contacting you
and going over your respective projects and getting timetables in place.
After 6 weeks of hard slog we have transformed our new
property into something quite special. Internal renovations are more or less
completed. The property is two one bedroom double brick flats
(joined) which we have converted into our new offices and
residence. Stage One has seen us fully renovate and modernise the
building, with many energy efficient features that fortunately haven't
compromised the late 1940's architecture.
- A local Feng Shui Consultant (Suzanne Seddon)
was called in following the gutting of the building and she gave us great
advice on appropriate paint colours, room use and fixture placement
- Solid timber benchtops (which I joined myself)
feature a range of species that many of our clients have growing, and are a
sight to behold - especially the Sugar Gum Breakfast Bars - from 22 year old
plantation grown stock (Kyabram Sewerage Farm) with a rare and unique
Striped Red Ironbark Edge Strip throughout . Elsewhere we have featured many
other species that we recommend - with a lot more to go on display in
cabinets, tables and draw fronts
- We have installed Gas boosted Solarhart Hot
Water Services (with a useful rebate) which is the best from a
greenhouse angle
- Also natural wool insulation has been installed
together with complete draught sealing throughout. The Victorian Government
Sustainable Energy Authority office here in Bendigo was particularly helpful
in advising us on how to make this retrofit more energy efficient and are
well worth talking to
- Complete floor sanding and polishing - we are
fortunate to have furniture quality timbers (mostly Vic Ash) which have come
up exceedingly well
- Door Frames, Architraves and Picture Rails were
all dipped to remove paint and reinstated with a coat of the wonderfully
aromatic Organoil finish
- New 2 Room Office fitout to accommodate Konrad
Ensor, myself and other Australia Felix contractors
- Client Lounge where we can catch up and go over
projects
- Energy Efficient Lighting throughout, together
with installation of all 5 energy star appliances
Stage 2 sees the smaller
internal renovations completed, and external renovations to be commenced.
Naturally there is a Permaculture emphasis on the whole project with this
particularly obvious outside of the building.
- Radial Milled Timber Drop Segment Fencing (both
internal and external)
- Permaculture landscape development (Zones 1 -
3) with Evan Davies of Gravel Hill Community Permaculture Gardens
- Sunroom development to improve the energy
efficiency of the building
- Pergola construction (using Radial Milled
Posts) for shading with useful deciduous vines
- Conversion of the new pantry into a cool
cupboard
- Rainwater tanks for drinking water and garden
use (shandied with Grey water and irrigation thru low pressure Leeaky
Hose)
Stage 3 will see further final renovations,
retrofitting and planting. The main thrust however of this stage will be the
installation of a grid interactive photovoltaic system which will bring our
greenhouse impact down to even lower levels.
We are very keen to have the property operate as
a snappy display of urban Permaculture and invite all of you to drop in and
check it out. We will be having an formal opening at the completion of Stage 2
to show off the place and to say thanks to you all. We will keep you posted of
the date of this event.
Thanks to you all for the support and patience
you have shown us, and I would also like to thank David Griffiths and Konrad
Ensor for keeping the wheels turning. We above all want this development to
improve our service to you - as clearly this has been tested over the life of
our business. My personal commitment is to operate as professionally as we can
and we at last have premises that allow just that.
Our Contact Details are as
follows:
Australia Felix
Permaculture
103 Casey
St
Bendigo
East
Victoria,
3550
Ph 54418977 Fax
54444483
Darren, Lisa, Isaebella,
Pearl & Zane
105 Casey
St
Bendigo
East
Victoria,
3550
Cheers,
Yours and Growing,
Darren Doherty
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