Small Scale Engineering

Posted on 21st July 202119th July 2021 by Ashley — 7 Comments

Repainting a Wine Half-Barrel Table

Kevin and I recently took a bit of a holiday and spent a week and a half socially distancing at self-catering holiday accommodation. If you’ve been wondering why we were so quiet, it’s because we were enjoying breath-taking views in the Vanrhynsdorp and Elgin areas of South Africa (road trip!). When we got back from our break, Kevin got straight back to work on electrics for the next section of the container house project. I decided to rather ease myself back into the work and helped Cindy repaint a wine half-barrel table.

Posted on 16th June 202115th June 2021 by Ashley — 6 Comments

Progress Report On Work Completed

It was difficult choosing a topic for today’s blog post. We’ve been working on a few small things, but nothing really worth dedicating to a full blog post. Therefore, in the end, I decided on a progress report. It showcases a few of the smaller items we have been working on, but are as of yet incomplete.

Posted on 2nd June 20211st June 2021 by Ashley — 4 Comments

Beginning a Succulent Garden

Despite looming deadlines and a tonne of work to complete, we just had to take a break from concrete pouring, setting up of workshops, making staircases, etc etc. It got to the point where we just had to do something totally different. What better way then a day or two in the sun (or rain), working on a succulent garden?

Posted on 5th August 20204th August 2020 by Ashley — 5 Comments

Septic Tank Installation

We have a very small brick conservancy tank on the property. Even with using minimal water and with only one toilet emptying into it, we have to have it cleaned out every two months or so. Kevin’s plan was to expand on the system and make it work to our benefit. We have gone to quite a lot of trouble with our septic tank installation and even though we must still complete some of the work, we are sure this will make a huge difference in the future.

Posted on 10th June 20209th June 2020 by Ashley — 4 Comments

New Motor Unboxing & Finally Some Concrete

After several months of fighting with concrete mixers and much frustration, we donned our face masks and drove to Adendorff Machinery Mart where we bought a new petrol motor. After all the problems, the arrival of our new motor seemed a momentous occasion; so much so that we took a series of motor unboxing photos. Finally (spoiler alert!), some of the concrete that we require is mixed and poured with our very own mixer (and not a hired one).

Posted on 1st April 202029th March 2020 by Ashley — 4 Comments

Shadecloth DIY

I believe that the best way to get through a lockdown, is to keep busy. Thankfully, we have just the thing to keep us busy for South Africa’s Covid-19 lockdown period – The Container House Project. Therefore, if you see “Lockdown” in red on the header picture, you’ll know that the contents of that blog post is on something we accomplished while staying safe at home. And the first thing we did was fit some shadecloth to the side of the carport we recently erected. So with no further ado, herewith our shadecloth DIY.

Posted on 25th March 202024th March 2020 by Ashley — 4 Comments

Welding the Carport

It’s probably going to be a while before we can put up the garage for all our cars. Therefore Kevin has been working on welding the carport for us to use in the meantime. There were quite a few off-cut arcs from the K-Span roof, which we saved, to use for this purpose.

Posted on 4th March 20202nd March 2020 by Ashley — 4 Comments

Are We Participating In The Spekboom Challenge?

Last year (2019) a green initiative, known as the Spekboom Challenge, swept across South Africa like a tidal wave. Understandably, many people around the world are worried about climate change and are looking for small ways they can help avert it. It seems spekboom might be of some help. Here’s some info on the plant, the challenge and the big question: Are we participating?

Posted on 26th February 20201st June 2021 by Ashley — 8 Comments

Planting Trees; Finally Some Shade!

For the past (almost) two years, we have been living on a property with no trees whatsoever. We’re all tree people, so have been missing having some leafy friends around. It was probably a good thing. We didn’t have to worry about damaging any trees while container trucks were delivering and positioning the shipping containers for the house. But now that the house is up, it was time we got around to planting trees. We are finally getting some shade into our yard!

Posted on 5th February 20203rd February 2020 by Ashley — 4 Comments

DIY Aquaponics; To Do or Not To Do

One of Small Scale Engineering’s recent jobs for a client, was to remove a DIY aquaponics system out of the yard of a family that emigrated. Three bakkie loads later, we find ourselves with a pile of random bits of plumbing pipe, water pumps, old baths and river stone. We had a decision to make. Are we going to use these items to set up our own DIY Aquaponics system, or are we going to just get rid of it all?

Category: Yard & Garden