Limestone walls

An important element of the passive design of these buildings was the creation of a thermal mass within the building envelope, to act a temperature moderator between seasonal and night day cycles. Wanting to use a masonry product with a low carbon footprint, we sourced some salvaged limestone blocks from Richmond in Melbourne.

Some of the blocks with tags and art retained.

Salvaged Blackbutt re-purposed as shiplap cladding

Considering the bushfire BAL 12.5 applied to the development, we needed to source a cladding that meet the requirements of the attack level. Choosing timber cut that choice down to a few species and blackout was one. This cladding material had been used by Tubemakers in Port Kembla as pipe stacking bearers, until reclaimed and milled into shiplap profile. We love the look of this special material.

Blackbutt cladding on the end gables.

From seabed to High Country

Limestone blocks salvaged from a Richmond (Melbourne) factory need refacing to remove grime and wall paint. Antonio was keen to help and got through about 2000 big blocks in few weeks. He even uncovered a few fossils of sea life.

The block master, making short work of the ancient seabed.

My winters art work for the accommodation

Four down two to go! My mosaic tables for the private garden area for each room. They are all salvaged tables from an auction house in Melbourne. $10 each and now priceless! LOL 

The fold up iron chairs were $10 each too from a coffee shop in Albury that decided on new plastic ones and were throwing these one away! Love them they are perfect for all weather and strong metal frames. This table has a brass sea horse in the centre, it broke off the end of a serving spoon. The spoon was a gift from my friend Viv Bright it broke about 10 years ago, I could never throw it away and finally I set it into the centre of my work! 

Frustrated Rock Climbers!

The rock climbing harnesses have come in handy for the monkey's on the roof!  Lin and Clay have finally got the safety message!

Spring and progress

Sorry for the slowness on our Blog! Its been a big Winter and building is progressing faster now that Spring has Sprung, the finer weather is finally here! We have achieved so much really Steve has not only moved into his 6th decade but has been building and project managing the New Spring Spur Riders Retreat.

We are all very excited to announce our new online booking system! 

The olden days checking the Post Office every day for booking forms mailed by the POSTIE seems a thing of the past like the delivery by horse and cart of BOTTLED Milk, Yes I remember those olden days as a kid hearing the clip clop of the Clydesdales massive shoes on the newly made tar road!

Our dreams are coming true the final stage of our infrastructure and a place we can share with our family and friends long into the future.

Framing the view

Now that the framing is complete it is time to frame the view, the mountain landscape that is the destination for our renowned Packhorse Expeditions.

Big Hill fills the sky line, looking out to the south.