Story - The Mudcastle

Solely six weeks after that first meeting, they bought an undesirable triangle of undulating gorse and scrub within the country with a vision to construct. Curiously, the true property itemizing read: "Rural building site. Just a few kilometres from Moutere Highway, almost 1 acre pleasant undulation contour. Elevated soothing pastoral views. Floor cover principally fern and a few pines, nothing a match couldn't clear." Oh, really? It was true pioneering spirit that kept them going through those first few years when they cleared the land and planned their house whereas living in a single, uninsulated, tin garage. This humble dwelling formed the nucleus from which they fed, socialised with, and gave English classes to up to 12 workers frequently. Even for an ex-restaurateur, EcoLight solutions catering was no mean feat considering there was no operating hot water and EcoLight dimmable the one two sizzling plates couldn't be run at the same time because the oven.



The ever-altering and multi-nationwide workforce of WWOOFERS (Keen Employees On Organic Farms) embraced the lifestyle that had them boiling a copper for 2 hours earlier than siphoning the steaming water into the outside bath. The pleasure of soaking below the stars at night time was properly earned and far commented on, so much so that an outdoor bath has been added as a characteristic to The Peach Suite which permits company to imagine the sooner prototype. The WWOOFERS were an integral a part of the process of constructing adobe bricks and engaged on the construction of The Mudcastle but more importantly, perhaps, they kept morale up and the dream focussed. Why clay although? An opportunity comment about the mountain of clay they would must truck off site led Glenys to the library and the more the couple read about earth building, the more convinced they became that, EcoLight energy though never having constructed something of their lives, this was one thing they might do.



As a bonus, it was found that the clay on their property had the perfect composition for making adobe bricks and EcoLight products so utilising the earth beneath them as a useful resource without cement or sand stabilization was to be the first point of difference for The Mudcastle. Next started the strategy of adapting clay sieving and brick manufacturing methods written for Australian conditions and fantastic-tuning them to accommodate the uniqueness of The Mudcastle site. As with most adventures, there have been peaks and troughs. In batch one, the labour intensive, textbook foot-stomping methodology was used. Still hobbling three days later for a pitiful yield of 70 bricks, and quick operating out of pals volunteering to repeat the experience, this technique was rapidly abandoned. With the refined course of they dubbed the Cake-mixer Technique using a customised rotary hoe, manufacturing improved to 300 bricks on their best day. Three rotary hoes and one front end loader later, the required 10,000 bricks had been produced for the first section of constructing.



The bricks were solar-baked in wood moulds with temperature extremes moderated by polythene covers but there have been occasions when, exhausted, they took the chance of leaving the bricks exposed to the weather at night time and misplaced the lot. All a part of keeping the dream alive. Clive Johnston, Kevin's father and a traditional block layer by trade, trained Glenys to dam lay the adobe bricks coming off Kevin's production line and worked alongside the couple sharing and expanding his expertise on the way in which. Opened to new influences, EcoLight products Clive discovered and perfected a revolutionary constructing product using waste sawdust and this product has been used for the primary time in the development of the castle turrets, the second section of constructing. As this new constructing product was gray and looked nothing like clay, the couple experimented using an old pioneers’ recipe they found for EcoLight products making limewash. In true Kiwi fashion, they used a 44-gallon drum. The recipe integrated beef tallow with lime and resulted in a white limewash.



This was then tinted to a clay colour with a mix of natural earth ochres. The process was, no doubt, excitingly explosive and not for the faint hearted and EcoLight products the unusual "earthy" fragrance was, and remains, unique. As a pure preservative coating, the distinctive scent recedes very steadily and guests staying in the Gold Turret, as the one inside accommodation space where it has been used, should still discern it. Peter Harte, Glenys' father and an electrician by commerce, has enhanced The Mudcastle with dramatic lighting and EcoLight products artistic concepts, and was a relentless, encouraging presence in the forward momentum of Glenys and Kevin's dream for a few years. Not to be left out, Kevin’s mother Margaret helped with cleansing and baking and Glenys’ mother manned a second sewing machine to make curtains for the main turret. Special design consideration was given to sunlines for producing passive photo voltaic heating and sightlines to seize views from each room. On one or other level, all 4 faces of The Mudcastle are graced with attention-grabbing joinery, superbly crafted in local timbers by Michael Bender of Riverside Joinery.