Initial landscaping phase complete

We completed the excavation of the lake over a month ago and since then, nature has been doing its part in filling it up!  The lake has been filling up a lot more quickly than one might imagine as the surrounding land has also been draining into the lake through the top metre of porous soil.    The lake will fill up by another two metres before it reaches the limit of the clay soil that retains the water…. certainly, by the end of the rainy season it will be full to its natural level.   

Once this level has been established we will carry out some more re-sculpting of the edge of the lake to add a path way just above the water line.    In terms of the rest of the land, the excavation of the lake was enough to raise the level of the rest of the land by about one metre.  We will allow this land to settle for some time and then we will add another layer of top soil that is more suited for planting.  There is another area of the land where the house is to be situated that will be raised up by another meter or more, in places.   However, this will be raised closer to the time the home is built, once the design is finalised.

In the mean time, we will be planting about 40 saplings to add to the 35 mature trees already growing on the plot.   We will also be transplanting a number of additional mature trees on to the land.

 

Modern two bedroom two story home

This is another of our stock designs.  This house features two large bedroom suites each with walk-in closets and spacious bathrooms.   The bedroom suites are linked by a walkway overlooking the large open plan living/dining room.   There is also a separate lounge area.

Finishing details and boundary walls

We are close to completion with this modern two bedroom home.   We are adding finishing details to the house and building the front and rear boundary walls.  Once the walls are complete and the site cleared a little more we will pour the concrete driveway and also build a modern style sala in the back garden, though we have not been contracted to carry out the actual landscaping of the gardens.

Roof frame and block work

In my last blog post about this project we were just preparing the re-bar for the columns and beams of the concrete structure.   Since then, we have completed all of the concrete structural work and have nearly completed the roof structure.   Block work is about 80% complete and we are preparing to move on the roof tiling and rendering.

An island is born...

We have been a little hampered by heavy rain recently, but the future lake on this project is slowly growing in size. We have now created what is soon to be an island within the lake, once filled with water. We shall be transplanting some additional mature trees on to the island before the water rises, and there is also a lot more excavation to be done.

Breaking ground and earthmoving

We have recently begun work on a new large scale project.   We will be building a home on a plot of land of just over 11.5 Rai (4.6 acres) in area.   We have not yet finalised the design, though have established the 'footprint' of the home and have a high-level plan for the land and landscaping.  The plot of land was previously used for rice farming and requires significant re-sculpting in order fit in with the design we are working on.   It is desirable to raise the height of the land to various levels.  We are digging a large ornamental lake of about 1.5 rai in order to provide the soil to fill the rest of the land.   The lake itself will be 10 metres deep and feature a large island.  The land is being filled up in layers of about half metre depth, stepping up to two metres in places.

Currently, we have completed about 30% of the lake excavation.  We intend to have it completed by mid June. Finalising the design of the home and landscaping, however, will take several more months.  This will be a long project with many interesting challenges and intend to blog about progress as we move forward.