Pole home on the cheap .

JC-jetro · Dec 10, 2008

Iron horse,

My hat's off to you mate , one heck of job you have done down under. Marvelous work indeed. I'm simply amazed. Need to study your pics closely to obtain maximum pleasure.

JC,

Eagleview · Dec 11, 2008

Comments like those make all the black thumbnails seem worth it , thank you all . I have been to hospital once because i am stupid . I had loose boards over the bare floor joists while putting up the walls . I went to get the tape measure and "nearly" stepped on the end of a board that did'nt quite make the next joist . I thought i must remember that , i picked up the tape , turned around and put my foot straight on it . Well , we both went through the gap and headed for the ground 6' bellow . The board made it first and stood on it's end waiting for me . I landed on it with my rib cage with my full body weight as my feet were not touching the ground . We sort of stayed like that for a couple of seconds while i molded myself around it and then we fell over

. I crawled on my hands and knees to the car and slowly drove the 30 miles into town . I remember leaving a message on my pocket tape recorder that was in the glovebox that told why i died . I did'nt think i would make it to town , and no one would know why . After a few XRays i was told i was lucky to be alive and that they burried a builder that did the same thing last week . He had torn his Aorta (sp?) off of his heart .

Yes Bill , i am off grid . We use a 1942 model single cylinder Crossley Diesel to turn a truck alternator which charges our batteries . I bought it brand new , it was still on the Oregon pallet it was made on . Building the house with a generator was a huge pain , even if i wanted to drill a hole , i had to walk down the hill to the shed and start it up and then turn it back off again when i had finished .

I do actually Eddie but you guys will think i'm crazy

.

Tororider , our boundary is on the other side of the trees in the photo and about the same the other way . The block is long and narrow , 1 mile long actually . As you can see we are surrounded by several thousand acres of grazing land and forest that we use as our own . We have no imediate neighbours . We are in Northern NSW , 200 miles South of Brisbane .

Thanks again , Reg .

jinman · Dec 11, 2008

Iron Horse said:
Tororider , our boundary is on the other side of the trees in the photo and about the same the other way . The block is long and narrow , 1 mile long actually . As you can see we are surrounded by several thousand acres of grazing land and forest that we use as our own . We have no imediate neighbours . We are in Northern NSW , 200 miles South of Brisbane .

Nice, nice location, despite how remote it is. It stikes me that you are probably better off without the urban accoutrements. I'm not too sure, but I think you and Harvey Lacey share a similar gene. You both certainly seem to be cut from the same creative cloth. You've done a great job of creating a unique and beautiful environment.

Looking at your property, you would be hard pressed to convince anyone that Australia is very dry in most places and also lacking in timber. What is the annual rainfall average in your area? You must be in the Tarnworth-Moree-Dubbo triangle or closer to the coast.

Eagleview · Dec 11, 2008

jinman said:
Nice, nice location, despite how remote it is. It stikes me that you are probably better off without the urban accoutrements. I'm not too sure, but I think you and Harvey Lacey share a similar gene. You both certainly seem to be cut from the same creative cloth. You've done a great job of creating a unique and beautiful environment.

Looking at your property, you would be hard pressed to convince anyone that Australia is very dry in most places and also lacking in timber. What is the annual rainfall average in your area? You must be in the Tarnworth-Moree-Dubbo triangle or closer to the coast.

Thank you , our average seems to be around 36 inches a year . We are near the East coast , 50 miles North of Coffs Harbour if that helps .

We can get 4" in an hour at times . I went into town one day , when i got home we had , had a storm . There was water over a low spot on our road . The Gum tree in the right of the photo is were the low spot is . So i parked the F100 well away on the highest ground and walked through my paddock to the house . The sun was out , and after a couple of beers i went back down to get the F100 . Because of all the catchment area around my property the water flowed for some time after the storm . This is what i found when i got down there . The creek had broken it's bank and surrounded my truck . 2 hours later it was all gone .

Yes we like the quite out here , on a hot night we sleep with the house wide open . We have a little Fox Terrier that would let me know if anyone was around . The women in town that my wife works with say to her "are'nt you scared on your own when Reg is away in the truck?" She tells them that all the people that may do you harm are living in town next door to you guys and there are no monsters in the bush .

Who is Harvey Lacey ? Thank's , Reg .

czechsonofagun · Dec 11, 2008

Iron Horse said:
She tells them that all the people that may do you harm are living in town next door to you guys and there are no monsters in the bush .

Who is Harvey Lacey ? Thank's , Reg .

Harvey is a TBNer and a local legend. Harvey Lacey

The thing about town is only half true, the second part is the person who could help when the deep kimchi strikes is in the town right next door too.

jinman · Dec 12, 2008

Iron Horse said:
Who is Harvey Lacey ? Thank's , Reg .

Reg, I should have said wroughtn_harv instead of Harvey Lacey. That is Harvey's TBN username. If you go to his website, click on "projects" at the top to see many of his creative skills.

Eagleview · Dec 13, 2008

jinman said:
Reg, I should have said wroughtn_harv instead of Harvey Lacey. That is Harvey's TBN username. If you go to his website, click on "projects" at the top to see many of his creative skills.

He is a clever chap , he obviously spends a fair amount of time staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping

.

Eagleview · Dec 14, 2008

These are a couple of photos in sequence of my property looking back towards the house (spec in the middle of second shot) , i thought it may help with understanding the site . My land is the whole tree'd area in the photos . Our Eastern bounday is the Sandstone escarpment , this is why we do'nt have TV reception . From what ive been told we are not missing anything

. The whole parcel of land was in a badly overgrown state , it has taken a lot of work to selectively clear the trees and clean it up . The packs of wild dogs , cats and foxes had the wildlife against the ropes . I have shot and poisoned on a regular basis and the difference is amazing . The place is like a Fauna reserve now .

Reg .

EddieWalker · Dec 14, 2008

That Squirrel doesn't have a tail!!!!!

Great pictures of a beautiful area. I'm amazed at how green it is there, but realize that's a seasonal thing. Do you have any deer in your area? I know there are some pretty big herds of various species further north, but don't really know the country well enough to know what is where. I hear the Sambar in Australia are bigger then in their native lands, and of course, the Hog Deer hunting there is the best anywhere.

Eddie

jinman · Dec 14, 2008

Iron Horse said:
Thank you , our average seems to be around 36 inches a year . We are near the East coast , 50 miles North of Coffs Harbour if that helps.

36" of annual rainfall is a bunch. I only wish we averaged 3 inches per month. We are more in the 25"-30" range where I am located in Texas. What we do have is lots of ground water and lots of reservoirs.

Your land is beautiful and a great setting. It's easy to see why you love it. Along with good rainfall, aren't your season temperature variations pretty mild?