The Entrance Gates

The Entrance Gates

The entrance gates have been a labor of love. Dreadknot and I both decided that we would like sturdy wooden gates that offered security while at the same time being esthetically pleasing.

Due to the enormity of the project, it seemed that the most time efficient and cost effective method would be to build the gates off-site and then ship them once completed. Dreadknot went ahead and drew up the design of a steel frame on which he would attach the Redwood gates. Both mediums (steel and Redwood) were chosen for their durability. Redwood is known to be insect, weather and rot resistant due to a natural chemical found inside the pores of the wood.

The steel frames were formatted in our backyard workshop at our rental home, welded together and treated with rust resistant paint. Once the frames were ready we carefully chose our redwood planks from a source which certified that the wood was sustainably farmed and harvested.

Cutting, gluing and clamping to create the arches

Precision measuring 

The gate arches are looking incredible!

Waiting for the first coat of varnish

The design of the gates consists of an arch in the middle, tapering down to the sides which attach to the steel frames which in turn are welded onto hinges which will be welded to the posts. 

Creating the arch required an immense amount of precision cutting and gluing. There was no room for error as the gates had to fit exactly onto the frame.

Hawaiian-style outdoor workshop

This process took many weeks and finally the finished product was painted with a varnish.

Beautiful Hilo Bay

Renting a UHaul to collect the gates from the docks

These gates are heavy!!

Once transported to our property we erected the frames onto the post and then the gates onto the frames. All of this was very heavy and although I did help with some of the heavy lifting, kind neighbors passing by offered their assistance. Such an awesome show of  aloha once again. 

Gate frame is welded into place. Redwood gates will be installed onto the frame tomorrow. 

While Josh was working until sundown on the gate installation every day, I worked consistently on the garden. We were delighted at how many of the plants, especially the herbs had flourished over the past few months and quadrupled in size. Most notably the lavender, rosemary and pineapple plants. The experiment of growing oregano as ground cover has also been very successful. 

The only weed that we’re really having a problem with is a thorny creeping ground vine called Mimosa Pudica, also refered to as Sensitive or Shy plant. This plant closes its leaves when you touch it and has a pink flower. It thrives in the open, in sunny spaces and takes over if left to its own devices.

The gate frames were welded into place and the Redwood gates successfully mounted onto the frames. Dreadknot is the hardest working person I know!

Another visit to Puna Rock company was in order to obtain the gravel to fill in the footings of the gate posts, which amounted to a lot of shoveling but was well worth the effort.

Next installment will be front of property fencing.
Enjoy the video: 

Gate Post Installation

Our YouTube Channel Video

Celebrations are in order as we have picked up our approved building permits!

The first blueberry crop

We’re back on the Big Island on our sustainable living dream adventure. This time our main objective is to install heavy duty gate posts made from steel, rebar and cement. Up until now our security has consisted of a heavy chain attached to two big trees across the driveway and everyone we meet in the neighborhood always stress the importance of having a gate to prevent trespassing and theft. We must add that we have met many neighbors simply by working on the driveway, doing weed-whacking or maintenance, if people drive past and see us there, they stop, introduce themselves and welcome us to the hood...we have been quite astounded by the sheer volume of friendliness and aloha and feel really good about choosing this street to live in as a result!

Fortunately we had the foundation holes dug with an excavator by the guys who installed our septic system last time we were here. It would not have been fun digging through lava rock with a shovel and O’o bar! All the power tools used by Josh are battery operated as we don't have electricity yet. Our ultimate plan is to have solar electricity even though the option to hook up to the grid is available.

Dreadknot making the cement forms

After removing the grease from the steel posts, we noticed rust setting in overnight but it was easy to remove with scrubbing

The primer paint layer is on!

Giving the posts a nice layer of protecting paint

While Josh prepared the concrete forms and painted the posts, I decided to go and get a truck load of soil from "Puna Rock", (a company specializing in rock, gravel and soil).... and then personally shoveled 1.5 tons of  the cinder soil I bought ($71 for 1.5 tons) into buckets which I carried to various parts of the garden that needed it. I am going to be very stiff in the morning. Great day of work though and feeling like we’re getting things done!

Preparation of the steel posts included removing the thick layer of rust prevention grease that covered them, followed by an outdoor metal primer coat and a few black coats of paint. Untreated metal rusts like crazy here as Hilo is one of the wettest parts of Hawaii as evidenced by the multitude of rain showers we experience every day.

The mounds of rock, gravel and soil from Puna Rock

Unloading the cinder soil from poor overloaded "Pony Truck"

Every time we come and do a project on our property we buy various plants to add to our blossoming edible landscaping and eventual food forest. This trip we bought and planted another Dwarf Apple Banana tree, rosemary, various varieties of mint, two varieties of blueberry bushes and I'm experimenting with planting oregano as a ground cover

Our edible landscaping plantings

Our happy little edible garden

We upgraded our tent  that we camp in while working on our projects from a small 2 person to a large 6 person tent  and it feels quite palatial! We've become very organized campers as a result and harvest rain water off of the overhead tarp, as well as collecting potable water from the community water source nearby. We even have a solar shower bag which we fill with water and hang up during the day, allowing us to have a warm shower in the evening.

The new tent!

Dreadknot is the breakfast chef and I usually cook lunch or supper. We have a great camping setup for preparing scrumptious food while we're out here working!

Camp cooking breakfast

After erecting the steel posts with rebar (which we purchased from Hilo Steel) and a conduit pipe for eventual lights, we had a cement truck from Block Hawaii deliver the perfect volume for the pour into the foundation as well as enough to fill the center of the posts. These posts are strong! Josh is an incredible designer and amazing builder... I’m so lucky to have him in "Team Hale Pueo" (the name of our home is going to be Hale Pueo - home of the indigenous owl ).  We even had two visitors to our property while we were here! It's starting to feel like home.

"Surprise"

Gate posts in position!

The cement truck filling up the post form

Making sure the cement is spread evenly

Two Feathers holding up the ladder while Dreadknot shovels cement into the center of the posts.

We woke up to this incredible sunrise view from our tent door. At night we are serenaded to sleep by the mating songs of the coqui frogs.

View from the tent door

Anthuriums blooming in a shaded spot

Dwarf Apple Banana Tree

 After doing a little more planting and landscaping Josh gave the gate posts a final coat of paint. 

🌴

So proud of my baby pineapple!

The man and his gate posts!

Mission accomplished!

🏡

VLOG: Installing Septic tank and growing our food garden

Here's our 3 minute video blog of the exciting next step of our homestead building adventure.
We're slowly learning how to edit the video content which is definitely a work in progress.
Likes and comments on the YouTube video are much appreciated:

https://youtu.be/pzFxN4AAOp0

Lava fields, a marathon and what to do with poo!

Beautiful Hilo Bay with Mauna Kea in the distance

Another eventful journey to the Big Island of Hawaii to continue with our sustainable living dream. Sunday was St Patrick’s day and it also happened to be the day of the Big Island International Marathon in Hilo. We have both done this race before and this year Two Feathers dedicated her run in memory of her late brother Rory as his birthday fell on this day. The weather started out sunny and humid and a stiff wind blew up towards the end of the race in which she placed 3rd in her age group which was an additional nice little surprise!

Picking up race numbers at the Grand Naniloa Hotel

Big Island international Marathon

We learned a lot of new and useful things this time in Hilo , for example: where to get free potable spring water and also where to get free mulch for our developing garden.

Free mulch at the green waste facility in Hilo

Self load or they load....much easier

Potable spring water on tap

We shipped our second truck over which we had purchased for our Big Island property when Two Feathers ran in the Pony Express 100 miler in Utah a couple of years ago. Now that we have secure storage in the form of “Connie” the container we could bring the “ Pony Truck” over to have as our very useful utility vehicle and transport. Shipping it over with Young Brothers shipping company from Honolulu to Hilo was easy, reasonably priced and stress free and it has been an absolute pleasure to have, enabling us to do so much more than before.

Collecting the truck at the Port of Hilo

"Connie" the container and the "Pony Truck"

The main event, so to speak during this episode is to have a septic system installed which involves heavy machinery to excavate holes for the tank and drainage field. Dreadknot has coordinated with Civil Construction who are doing the job in order for us to get signed off on our permit.

Meanwhile we’re enjoying a movable composting toilet in the bush, communing with nature.

Bush toilet

We’re even able to have a warm shower now as Dreadknot bought a solar bag shower typically used for camping and it works perfectly. What a treat after a hard day of manual labor!

Our camping has become more comfortable each time and now with "Connie" thrown into the mix, even more so! We have a table and chairs, a camping stove and ice chest which allows us to cook meals instead of eating out all the time.

Cooking on the camp stove

Chocolate Macadamia nut pancakes with fried banana

Our landscaping and planting of an edible garden has progressed too. We’ve added a couple of pineapple plants, two Emerald Blueberry bushes, some French Lavender and Rosemary to our little garden named "Papaya Plantation", as papayas are the dominant food plant in this garden area.

Adding to our fledgling food forest: Emerald blueberries, pineapples, French lavender & rosemary 

The first garden footpath

Guardian of “Hale Pueo” ( Home of The indigenous pueo owl)🦉

The second garden area we have started called "Papaya Plantation"

Next up is a garden we are naming the Amajam Friendship Garden, named after our dear friends Amanda and James who are our first patrons for our sustainable living dream project. A huge thank you to both of them and we can’t wait to complete this next beautiful garden intended for reflection and meditation.

The beginnings of the Amajam Friendship Garden

Our previously bought fruit trees (avocado, lychee and tangerine are thriving and in blossom) and our Ohia Lehua trees are all healthy and in full flower with brilliant red blossoms.

Ohia Lehua in bloom

We took a drive down to a subdivision called Leilani Estates which was devastated by a volcanic eruption last year. We had previously fallen in love with this area and had put in 3 offers on homes here, each time being outbid by someone else. After feeling quite disappointed we chose a different area to purchase land without a home, which in the end took us out of the pathway of Madam Pele’s (goddess of the volcano) wrath. A huge portion of the subdivision had been obliterated, along with one of my favorite drives through a mango tree tunnel and a huge portion of this corner of the island all the way to Kopoho. 

The lava flow at Leilani Estates

The road and community obliterated

How sustainable is a septic system?

"Septic Systems require very little energy (and if the system is gravity-fed, virtually none), and no chemicals; once the water moves through the drain field, it is “clean”—free of harmful pathogens—and replenishes the groundwater below it. Septic systems can be a part of a sustainable wastewater treatment solutions": (from an article on Green Builder Media: Better Waste Management).

Aerial view of the excavator at work

“Many people do not realize it, but a home septic tank is actually a very environmentally friendly part of the community. Whether you live in the country or the suburbs, having a home septic system is good for your neighbors, the community and the environment as a whole.

Unlike some commercial waste treatment plants, that use artificial and potentially hazardous chemicals, your home septic tank relies on a completely natural process. When you flush the toilet, the waste your family generates is broken down by healthy bacteria, rending the waste products harmless and avoiding environmental contamination.

One of the reasons proper waste treatment is so important is that household waste products can present a disease risk to the community at large. Many serious illnesses are spread through contaminated water and soil, but a well-functioning septic tank can prevent this danger and protect everyone in the community.” (Appropedia: septic tanks)

Excavating the black lava rock

“How Septic Systems Work

Septic systems have two key components, a receiving tank and a leaching system. A sewage line carries wastewater from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room to the underground septic tank, where heavy particles settle out of the liquid, forming a layer of sludge on the bottom of the tank. Light materials float, forming a layer of scum on top of the water in the tank. Bacteria use the solid materials, liquefying these waste products. To allow sufficient time for particles to settle and for bacteria to break down the sludge, a septic tank should be large enough to hold at least one day’s flow of wastewater from the home, and to provide storage for sludge and scum.” (Longislandsoundstudy.net)

Our 5 bedroom capacity tank

The leach field filled with cinder for optimal drainage

Now that we have our sustainable waste management system in place we can progress onto building the actual house structure which is very exciting.

Delivery of the excavator

We need this machine to dig through lava rock

The first truck load of cinder

All the lava rock rubble was moved to create a driveway to the second half of the property

The final product: septic system in place!

A huge mahalo to Lance, Alika and Hoku for doing such a professional and great job of installing our septic system into our property.