Developments

OUR NEW LITTLE ORGANIC CABIN

Our little cabin: 'Cypress House'

When we brought the property the accommodation consisted of a converted liveable shed. We have made the shed quite comfortable and very liveable but it is not and never will be a healthy environment to live in full time, especially sleeping. Its construction of steel, aluminium windows and reinforced concrete floor does not constitute a healthy space for long periods along with electrical wires encircling the building and fibreglass insulation. We needed another living environment where we could at least sleep and be self-contained if we had visitors staying in the original ‘shed’ cottage.

So we set about building a small cabin (9m x 5m plus verandah) with the following features in mind – using only natural materials as much as possible and materials that ‘breathe’. Minimal use of steel and concrete. Using mostly renewable and sustainably harvested materials. Minimal electrical wiring and power usage (at the moment we are living happily with no electrical wiring or power usage). Using solar passive principles to keep the inside of the cabin cool in summer and warm in winter. We believe we have achieved all these features in our new cabin and find it a very relaxed, calm and inviting environment.

The main construction material is cypress pine timber (durable, hardwearing, sustainably harvested, ease to work with and naturally white ant resistant). This material allowed us to avoid termite chemicals and is helped by elevating the floor 400mm to 900mm above ground level, allowing constant inspection. As well as the weatherboards and batons, cypress pine T and G boards were used on the floor, ceiling and 2 walls. The other 2 walls we used gyprock. The house frame was constructed in blue pine (pine injected with natural pyrethrum which also provides white ant resistance).

Timber windows are used around the cabin with the northern side extensively glassed with floor to ceiling windows and doors (to allow warmth and light to penetrate). The small kitchen is solid timber once again using cypress pine with hoop pine bench top. In the kitchen corner on the southern side of the cabin is a ‘cool’ cupboard. The cupboard is floor to ceiling. This cupboard has a vent on the floor, which draws cool air from underneath the cabin and expels it from a vent at the top of the cupboard. The constant cool environment (cold in winter) allows long-term storage of food and can even take the place of a fridge in winter.

Insulation of the cabin proved a tricky chore to find a completely natural and effective solution. Cellulose was chosen for the ceiling (shredded newspaper mixed with borax and pumped in), but cannot be used for the walls. 100% pure wool insulation is no longer available so this led us to be more innovative. We ended up using apple crate liners packed closely together and stapled to the walls. The bubbles in the liners has an insulation effect and cost us zero as supermarkets are glad to get rid of them. Underneath the floor we have used a thick layer of untreated sawdust/shavings held up by plywood. All in all these insulation methods have proved very effective.

All the timber inside and outside the cabin has been painted or stained with ‘organoil’ and organic paints and stains. We also used organic paint for the gyprock inside.

At the present time there is no power to the cabin. Cooking, heating and hot water is supplied by the slow combustion woodstove. Cooling the home and fresh air is supplied by opening the windows. There are many windows and they are large in size and have been located to open where maximum airflow will be achieved.

Water to the cabin is gravity fed from the large water tank off the main shed and provides enough pressure for the sink and our favourite claw-foot bath. Only certified organic, biodegradable detergents, soaps and personal cleaning products are used ensuring clean ‘nutrient’ water is filtering out to the paddock. An outdoor tap is handy and has sufficient pressure for watering the herb garden and pots.

The water harvested from the cabin is stored in a large rainwater tank that is gravity fed down to the vegetable gardens and orchard. This store rainwater also supplies the drinking water for our ‘house’ livestock that provide daily harvests back to the cabin kitchen along with the daily harvests from the vegie gardens and the orchard.

Portable solar lights along with a generous use of candles supply lighting.

The outhouse… ‘The Dunny’ just outside, houses the compost toilet and is as simple as effective.

The cabin faces northeast for the inspiring views of the mountains and forest and to capture the summer sea breezes and maximum sunlight in winter.

All in all we are very happy with our little organic cabin. It’s rustic Australiana exterior blends into the landscape perfectly. On the inside is a beautiful living space that exudes such a healthy environment. Forget the ‘McMansions, every place needs a little organic cabin to stay tuned to mother earth.