GeckolodgeBG

Hi yes we do see them here at certain times of year.

A beautiful photograph of a stunning bird.

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued, floor joists for the next floor go in and the guys started on the balcony and stairs.
Those big lumps of timber are 25cm x25cm by 4 or 5 meters in length.
#buildingadream #ecotourism #bulgaria #movetobulgaria #burgas #birdwatchingbulgaria #birding #tourism #brits

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued, ground floor walls up, we started to clad them,first with a breathable waterproof membrane then wood.
#bulgaria #building #smallhomes #burgas #newlivesinthesun #ecotourism #birdwatching #tourism #britsinbulgaria #newlifeabroad

A slight sidetrack from the building of Gecko Lodge BG today, because when I woke up this morning, this was my view.
A winter wonderland.
#buildinginbulgaria #burgas #snowday #ecotourism #tourismbulgaria #nature #britsinbulgaria #newlife #livethedream

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued, I haven't posted for a while, life got in the way!
When all of the wood has been treated and the panels built, it's time for the cabin to take shape, it's good to have friends to help while we secure everything.
Thanks guys x
#selfbuild #Bulgaria #ecotourism

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued,
Here we go again, for those of you who haven't seen the previous posts for the first Cabin, our cabins are built from scratch, so when the wood is delivered we have to treat it all first. #buildinginbulgaria #bulgaria, #britsinbulgaria #burgas #nature.#birding

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued,
After the disaster with the big cement truck we had to finish the job by hand, back breaking work but we got there in the end.
#selfbuild #bulgaria #uk #britsabroad #nature #ecotourism #renovation #newlifeinbulgaria #burgas #blacksea

An amazing place only 15 minutes drive from Gecko Lodge BG,conservation at its best.
#bulgaria #conservation #ecotourism #birdwatching #birdtours #nature #naturebg #photography #burgas #britsonholiday #blackseacoast #pelicans #bulgariantourism #wildlifebg #wildlife #rspb #bspb

Shuttering is a former made out of planks or special wooden sheets, to use as a mould for concrete. In this photo you can also see the metal reinforcing which will be inside the concrete once it is poured. There is then another row of shuttering built to enclosed the metal.

Here is the finished result, except that in this case due to the possibility of collapsing we had to stop pouring the concrete into the form. Usually the concrete would come all the way to the top in one pour, but in this case we couldn't do that and had to wait for the concrete to go off so that we could finish later.

Big machinery is used to do this job, this is a truck with a built in pump, which can pump large quantities of concrete high up. A powerful piece of kit that almost broke our former, mainly because the guy operating it was an idiot, but that's another story.

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued, the night before the concrete arrived we had a massive storm with torrential rain, this lead to the ground softening and our shuttering almost collapsed.
Thanks to Jimmy and Lynn for their help stopping this.
#selfbuild #bulgaria #uk #britsabroad #newlifeabroad.

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued, Ground works done time to fill the form with concrete, this time we could use heavy machinery, It rained heavily the night before which caused some stress and problems. Thanks to our friends Lynn and Jimmy for saving the day.
#buildinginbukgaria #selfbuild

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued.
This time we could get the hardware near to the foundations, so no mixing by hand, it was to be a very stressful experience!!!!!
#buildingadream #selfbuild #ecotourism #Bulgaria #Burgas #britsinbulgaria #tourismbulgaria #naturebulgaria #birdingbulgaria

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued. 1 down 2 to go, so once we had finished the first cabin we started on the 2nd.
Foundations and reinforcement always take time especially when the temperature is over 30C but we get there in the end
#selfbuild #buildinginbulgaria #bulgaria #ecotourism #lovebulgaria

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued...
Once we had finished the outside it was time to work inside, we insulated, plasterboarded, painted, wired and plumbed, sanded the floors and then furnished.
We wanted it to be very comfortable for our guests.
#tourismbulgaria #britsinbulgaria #selfbuild #nature.

Gecko Lodge BG living up to it's name.
Lovely little Balkan Gecko just hanging out, we try hard to create habitat on the property where all local wildlife can live and thrive.
#addherper #reptiles #snakes #conservation

What a stunning image.

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued,
In-between building the 3 cabins we had a few side projects.
Our garden is an important part of the lodge.
Our Wisteria needed something to grow over, so we built a pergola and table, somewhere to sit in the shade.
#garden #gardening #bees #pollenators #flowers

A pause on the build pictures, just to celebrate the stunning snowy scene.
Gecko Lodge BG is in Bulgaria near to the city of Burgas and Lake Mandresko, known for its excellent birdlife throughout the year, perfect for birders and photographers #britsinbulgaria #birdwatching #nature #wildlife #UK

We had to dig a ditch, 70 Meters long to bury a big cable, so we also added some drainage.
I hate digging!!!!
But it resulted in electricity being connected after having the 1st building signed off by Burgas authorities. T
Yippee!
#anewlife #ecotourism #lovelife #birds #butterflies #nature

Gecko Lodge BG taking shape, when we cleared the land we found some saplings, which over the years have grown into beautiful trees.
The view from the balcony of our cottage and garden.
#naturebulgaria #selfbuild #ecotourism #birdlovers #lovebulgaria #gardening #holidaybulgaria #newlife #burgas.

(1) Shawshank Redemption
(2) Kill bill 1+2
(3) Fried green tomatoes at the whistlestop cafe
(4) Scarface
(5) Eat, Pray, love

Gecko Lodge BG building inspector arrives! August 2016
#buildyourownhome #newlifebulgaria #renovationbulgaria #naturebulgaria #birdingbulgaria #BSPB #RSPB #birding

This time 2 years ago we had a foot of snow, today 17 degrees Celsius!!!!! So the first BBQ of the year is on the way!
#bulgaria #BBQ #outsideliving #bonfire #lovinglife #lifeinbulgaria #burgas #ecotourism

Gecko lodge BG build continued...
Roofing was never fun, it's high and steep up there, but on this day I was treated to a great view of a Black Stork. Nature always delivers!
#selfbuild #birding #naturebulgaria #roofing #ecotourism #bulgaria #britsabroad #britsinbulgaria #holidaybulgaria

More reasons to build Gecko Lodge BG, a place designed for nature lovers, birdwatchers photographers and hikers, to just sit back and relax.
#damselflies #kingfishers #hawkmoths #amphibians #hikers #bulgaria #tourismbulgaria #ecotourism #burgaslakes

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued. Once the wood had all been sanded, planed and treated we could get on with the serious business of building the panels and putting them up. It didn't take long for her to take shape.
#selfbuild #ecotourism #birding #bulgaria #burgas #burgastourism

Building Gecko Lodge BG continued, Some of the wood arrives, it all needs painting with preservative, sanding or planeing, at least I get to do that bit in the shade!
#buildingadream #wildlife #ecotourism #birding #natureretreat #bulgaria
#burgas

A few reasons to build an eco lodge in Bulgaria, the nature here is abundant.
We work hard to maintain a place for all our critters to hangout.
#nature #wildlife #hiking #ecotourism #birding #wildlifephotography

An area is marked out on the ground and then the dirt is removed to make trenches where the concrete foundations will go

We lay a big sheet of plastic on the ground to make it easier to remove the stone we were using to make the concrete.

A very big pile of small stone/aggregate was delivered about 6 tons

Our friend Bob mixed the stone, cement and water in a cement mixer to make concrete which the rest of us poured into the frame made to hold it and firm the concrete

Continuing my post on how we built Gecko Lodge BG.
For the first cabin, we dug the foundations by hand as we couldn't get diggers on the land.
Then mixed the concrete with a mixer.It took a while! We had made the shuttering and metalworking #buildingadream #bulgaria #ecotourism #burgas #selfbuild