Kitchen Update

Lots happening this month on the kitchen.

Given the nature of the soil (clay) and the driveway was carved out of a forest, the ground was soft and unstable. After a good rain, it was difficult to get up the hill leaving the site. So we’ve had gravel put down on the driveway.

Just to highlight why the rock was necessary, the gravel truck got stuck at the entrance, and they had to get another truck to pull it out. The entire driveway is now rocked right up to the back of the kitchen site. The rock was needed so the cement truck could get in and pour the slab.

The rock is a base; it’s large stone that we want to settle before we do anything else with it. Right now it’s for trucks (mine has no problem getting up and down without 4WD), but we’ll grade and put a final layer down that will make it good for cars as well.

A slab was the easiest and quickest way to get a foundation under the kitchen. It gives us a solid base that won’t shift or heave. It also provides secure footing for the cooks. We’ll cover it with pavers of some type after the building’s done.

Our next job will be to lay a brick plinth wall and the full back wall and sides for the fireplace. That will form the base on which the timber framing will rest. In concept, it will be something like a medieval kitchen done by a group in Sweden.

We can start laying brick later this month, once the freeze threat has passed.

We’ll post more on the project as we move forward.

Robert