Lemicha's Aussie Place SANDPIT rocket heater n sculpture

[Lemicha]

I need to get things at this place done. It's slow and tedious when I have to keep stopping to attend to my children. But little by little it does get done. My partner is in Sweden and I have to get as much as I can for this house to enable me with the cash to do renovations and set-up a business, over there. Plus this is teaching me skills I need for later. My art works and supplies are already in Sweden so the only way my art is being expressed (and emotional relief) is through my garden/landscape. There is little use in spending money on the house as it is dead money. The house called be knocked down. My plan had been to build around it in cob/rammed earth and then pull the existing house down from the inside....anyway...
So my point of view is the garden is actually worth alot more than the house. Having something unique to offer that makes life nicer, easier and a place to relax. This is important.
My youngest, Izzy, is nearly 2. She needs to play safe around me. She loves sand. She can sit and play with sand for long periods of time. I need it warm. I need it safe from cats doing their business in it. If it rains it also needs protection. The spot I have chosen is a nice sunny spot for Winter. In Summertime it will need protection from the heat building up in there. I want a ledge/bench for her to sit on that is cosy for her and can handle copious amounts of rough handling and sand! Her sister Faith is 8 and is extremely rough and gets bored easily. My 18yr old daughter also has a little one 5 weeks younger than her aunty Izzy. So when she visits I want 'J' and Izzy to have a safe spot to explore together.
I've always wanted to sculpt a dragon with smoke coming out of its nostrils or mouth. I thought that the rocket would be able to help that. Although it burns cleanly...
*thinking*
...perhaps a narrow tube near the fire outlet area will work, going to the nostrils (if I make it so I can use it to kickstart the fire and have the ability to close it off) ... while the majority of the hot air travels to the bench and cleanly comes out its mouth??? I'll tweak it as I work LOL
My other need is for a warm composting toilet. Oh and now a place to keep mushrooms warm but dark already saving my coffee grounds...
(if ur confused...read GrahamB: Oyster mushrooms and coffee!!)
Soooooo anyways lets try posting some pics...

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What I have to work with...

1 Hill gravel and sand, rocks and clay.
2 I take these 2 tanks in my trailer, drive 40 mins to collect free sawdust. I do my shopping at the same time. My car is very economical towing the trailer with a full load.
3 Fine sawdust
4 Rough sawdust chips
5 Round pebble hill gravel
6 Crushed granite hill gravel
7 Light coloured fine clay
8 Red/orange clay
Plus 'brickies' sand and a rock pile with assorted sized rocks and gravels.

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9 My clay slaked...soaked in water overnight, then stirred and strained. Next to it is a bucket with rounded pebbles from the hill gravel, that are being cleaned.
10 The spot for the sandpit. Nice and sunny early on a Winter morning.
11 The spot is cleared...
12 Marking out the area with some old bricks. Digging excess dirt from the area to widen it.
13 The dirt is now in the garden beds nearby.
14 First filling with the crushed granite hill gravel.
15 First compression with a brick.
16 ...yep the brick broke LOL... further compressing has reduced the thickness to about half of the original thickness.

Now comes some long hours hammering away gently to finish compressing and shape the clay.

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17 I spent the next few days doing this...*yawn*
18 When the surface got too dry I used my pressure sprayer with a mixture of water, cedarwood oils and just enough water from the 'soapnuts' to disperse the oil throughout the water. However...too much can create a sticky mess and then I had to wait till it hardened up some to continue on that area. The reason why I have been using a little cedarwood oil is to help deter insect pests. Plus it smells nice. When the area warms up it should release a taint of the scent into the air. Theoretically speaking.



Slowly getting there...

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19 It was drying faster than I wanted and there were many fine cracks so I gave it a good dowsing of water, some sand and gave it a gentle sweep.
20 After I was done I left it for the night.

[matt walker]

Lemicha! Wow! That is amazing, what a neat technique. Your garden area is gorgeous with all the rock work, I love it. I think your dragon idea could work very well, and your materials look just right for a build. You might consider having the body be the mass/bench and the head/nostrils the end of the exhaust. He would blow steam out for a long time before it was all dry, and smoke a bit on start up and cool down.

[pa_friendly_guy]

You do very nice work Lemicha. As you discribed the process I thought to myself " My that is alot of work, there must bve an easier way to make that project " Then I saw your finished compacted area and it looks lovely. Congrats on a job well done. People feel I am crazy for digging all the rocks out of my garden, They feel it is way too much work the way I do it, but then they are amazed at how well my garden grows. Keep doing things your way, it is working well for you. Maybe you could get a Bigger hammer with more surface area, lol, other than that your project is working out wonderfully. I too enjoy the stone work. I have never seem an ugly stone wall.

[Lemicha]

[Lemicha]

[pa_friendly_guy]

Sounds like you have a well thought out plan. With your shoulder limits I understand the issue with useing a bigger hammer. I too view the garden work as an alternative to a gym membership, My neighbor drives his car 6 miles one way to go to the YMCA every day, I just work right here in the garden, get a great work out, and save alot of gas besides. And I get the permanate improvement of my soil. That will last a lifetime, maybe even more than my life time, since I have had some health issues myself. I do believe in planting trees that I will never sit in the shade of, and enjoy the idea that I can do something that will live on after I am gone. Just look at what George is doing with his walnut plantation. I applaude his efforts as well as your own to make your little place on this earth just a bit better. Keep up the good work.

[matt walker]

[Lollykoko]

I'm looking forward to the next installment!

[Lemicha]

[Lemicha]

Well yesterday I tried to figure out how to use my pics from FB to post pics here....Got over trying to work that out...sighed...opened a Flickr account and reloaded my pics so I could share them here. Then had to learn that platform to make pics smaller when needed etc... So that wasn't too hard and then work out this forum platform to make it look how I wanted. LOL I used to be the editor for a local community magazine (unpaid) old habits.... So by the end of the day and many interruptions with childrens needs I didn't get finished before posting. Lets see what I can do today while the icy cold wind blows out there!
Thankyou for the interest so far...its nice to share with like-minded people that understand the work and the process!
Okay...so after letting the water and sand slurry, brushed over the floor, set overnight. I found it already going 'off'. Even with the cold moist mornings. Hmmmm interesting...tested the hammer on it and it compacted in. I found that perhaps I didn't need so much sand though and perhaps the silt from the clay would have been better...still learning. I found that I needed to add more height to the side that I originally dug out from the higher side. I thought that may be the case so was not surprised. I am trying to make it slightly angled downhill in case of any water or moisture getting in. I don't want mould or mildew problems around kids...or adults for that matter. Plus the spores travel....



17th June 2012
1 The surface is nice and plastic. I like how I could shape the earth into the beginnings of a gutter formation. I am separating the larger granules of gravel away from the floor and using it around the edges. I am doing this for two reasons. Firstly is for a stable base for the walls/bench. Secondly I am taking into consideration the closeness of the garden bed and the drainage needed. I do intend to continue rock and gravel about a foot wide. Between the wall and the garden soil. Also I am going to gutter the edge of the floor to run under the rocks that lead to the lower point drainage gutter in the front/lower-side to the garden-bed.
2 Compacting nicely but still a little mushy in the corner...With too much water there still, the surface of the clay keeps sticking to the hammer. Waiting a half hour in that area made a big difference I just worked elsewhere in the meantime.



17th June 2012
3 I took this picture, then changed the settings of brightness and contrast so that you can see the change in the floor surface.
19th June 2012
4 Adding more crushed granite hill gravel and moistening it, ready to be compacted down.



19th June 2012
5&6 While the gravel is settling with the water, I started getting more rocks to start the bench. It started as a wall but after going through the pics of the rocket & bench, both of Matts and others on the cob site I posted in the resource/educational thread. I decided a warmed bench was the only way it could now be. Just love the idea of seeing the kids sitting in there cosy and warm and able to climb up and down. Also I don't know if you have noticed... to the left on pic 6 there are rocks seperate from the others. They have nice flat sides to them. They will be kept for showing through on the cob walls. Eliminating accidents with kids...or places where redbacks can hide...!!


I am so glad that I asked for a load of rocks. Instead of asking for graded sizing I asked for a plain load with whatever comes. I ended up with a really big load because they appreciate you doing the work grading it yourself and not them. They just become the transporters earning easy money. Plus its much cheaper and as I work I grade it and use the sizes I need at the time. Large at the bottom foundation moving up through the sizes to small gravel almost river sand sizing. For those of you that have dug the ground or studied the different layers/levels of geology. You will understand what I am doing. Nature is a good teacher. I figure if I follow the way nature holds the land solid, my work will hold over time too. Again, theoretically speaking...



19th June 2012
7 I had to add more gravel again to make the area higher.
8 I dug out a really nice big corner rock!! ...Heavy... but perfect for the spot. Also there is a little patch of orange-y coloured gravel near the bricks...that's a test for me to see the colour variation from the crushed granite in the sandpit floor to the smooth pebble gravel.... I love the rich colours!



19th June 2012
9 A different angle of that big corner rock!! The orange coloured rock near it is from the smooth pebbled hill gravel pile. Its made up of large sand particles (river) and smooth pebbles. I thought it may be useful in the heating chamber.
20th June 2012
10 A cold day...this is lovely for a fire to cook on...but it is extremely greedy for wood!! This also shows the area near the sandpit where I will have the blackboard for drawing. ...I can also have a wooden slat bench and hooks... for taking off coats and shoes and having somewhere for them to be stored.

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20th June 2012
11 The area is ready for more gravel to be put on again... I have been thickening the wall/foundation of the bench. Using the larger rocks in the middle on the ground as a base, then filling the gaps with smaller and smaller ones down to the gravel. I'm really enjoying it take shape!
26th June 2012
12 Because everyone should pop there face at least once into their writing and photography/artwork/gardening/building. Putting a face to the words and pics! Plus I don't wear make-up much these days... take a snap on that rare occasion that I don't look like a hag

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26th june 2012
13 Trial of sandy mix for near the entrance to the bench, from the burn area. It seems nice enough. If it looks right when its dry, I will use a similar mix for the burn pit and tunnel. The cob mix has just been put on. I should have taken a photo of the mix to show how wet it was. It was really sloppy. Each handful just went together easily with just a little tapping with my fingertips. It went ‘off’ fast and within half an hour I could use my fingertips carefully prodding it and making it smooth downThe mixture was really wet and sloppy. I thought that it would hold onto the small gravel and seep a little into it.
14 Already setting, I was able to just touch the cob carefully with the metal of the hammer to mould it tighter and smoother. (By tighter, I mean that the particles literally get closer as the water molecules evaporate and leave tiny air-pockets and by applying a little pressure the particles are squashed together closer)

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26th June 2012
15 Looking down at the sandy cobwork. The first bit of cob has settled really nicely. Drying nicely albeit slowly as we keep getting rain. No cracking. Interesting. ...Yes I could cover the area to stop the rain getting to it. But I am also watching how the cob mix stands up to the weathering. Since I will be doing a fair amount of cobbing, I need to know how my particular materials are needing to be mixed for what result.
16 A view down low looking directly at the bottom of the bench, from where the fire chamber will be situated. Also where the flue will be.My thought is to divide it here...the divider gives added support to the seat/bench as well as forcing the hot air in the 'U' shape for faster warming capabilities I have even thought that the floor of the 'IN' side will be higher than the floor of the 'OUT' side. Too me it makes sense to follow the cold flow out. Well the image in my head seems right. (Similar to how the pipes are situated with Matts rocket)