This is our first building project! We are refurbishing the fire damaged rondavel below our house to make a study centre for the children. It started out as a single round room and will be steadily transformed into a two story building with an added ‘tail’ (below) containing the new entrance and bathroom downstairs.
Tadpole tail under construction
Here is what we started with – the burnt out shell of a small circular building (rondavel). You can obviously see the lack of roof, and the electrics were burnt out and there are cracks in the walls …
burnt out rondavel
burnt out rondavel door
burnt out rondavel interior
Our builders are Mr Samhembere and team. Somewhat amazingly his uncle, Mr Patrick 1 – also working on this project (below) – helped to build the main house here in 1975 …and swore he would never come back!
Mr Patrick 1 forming the special tadpole curve
A highly complex methodology was used to calculate the shape of the curves you can see being formed here in stone and brick by Mr Samhembere senior (Patrick 1). Later you will see what a great outcome this unique shape produced in our building
Mr Patrick 1 building the special tadpole curve
And now we start to see the walls going up and the building shape appears.
The end of the tadpole tail takes shape
As you can see below the location will give the upstairs room a view of Troutbeck lake
Second level of the tail is added
At the end of a busy day
And the finished structure with custom made lintels.
Tadpoles walls are finished
Eastern Highlander 
Very interesting structure indeed. Just wondering, what are the dimensions and how many rooms will it have ? You mentioned it will be used as a centre for children, how many children will it accommodate ?
Proverbs.
Hello Tsano! and thanks for the question, its going to be about 80m2 I estimate. Entrance, bathroom and room downstairs, one large open plan upstairs. Original rondavel was over 5m diameter. Number of kids could realistically be 12, but first its for my 2 and their teacher!
Wow–impressive—swamped at moment—more soon! xx
Pam Manix
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. Douglas Adams
To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time. Leonard Bernstein
the building looks amazing.
Cool building. Impressed by the shape. Hope it will not burn out like the old one.
Great work, love to read some more stories.
X