Backfill and Forest

Finally the foundations of the house are being buried. We're busy backfilling and compacting. This is a good sign as it means that progress is being made. The stem walls are up and now we have begun with three courses of facebrick - the few layers of brick that will be visible above ground and beneath the rammed earth. They will act as a barrier between the ground and the rammed earth walls and will hopefully prevent the movement of moisture and any damp issues in the future.

What looks like paint on the picture on the left is further damp proofing. I don't really know if this will make a difference since hydrostatic pressure works in mysterious ways and water has an uncanny ability to go where it is least wanted. At least it has been done and it's not something that will need revisiting at a later date when it will surely be almost impossible to do.

Of course we changed our minds again and decided to go with the red facebrick. It has a smooth finish and when the shutters are clamped to the stem wall, should provide a clean consistent straight edge to the transition between the brick and the wall. Perhaps it will be necessary to introduce an additional red rammed earth layer much lower down in the wall to help with the visual transition from red brick to sandstone wall.

In the meantime planting is continuing. The days have become quite hot and the demand for water has increased. Besides the water needed in the actual planting process, the plants that are still in their bags are drying out quite quickly, especially if they're in the sun - and they need to be watered daily. With the four man planting team, it is not possible to plant an entire zone in one day. So all the plants have been placed and left next to their semi-prepared holes which is not ideal, especially over a hot weekend. But tomorrow will bring an invigorated level of activity after some much needed rest and hopefully the current zone will be planted out fairly quickly. This will then be the halfway mark.