We built our lodge structure and frame on a concrete foundation using Lawson Cypress, a durable, breathable hardwood, endemic to the Pacific Northwest United States.


A Kiwi company near Greymouth sustainably harvested our cypress as plantation timber. We personally selected two house lots of freshly cut timber and brought it to a local mill near Hokitika to prepare it for framing and cladding. The cypress is durable enough to withstand bright sun and three meters of torrential rain each year without needing to be tanalised, treated with toxic chemicals, or painted.

We built additional internal framing and furniture from American Red Cedar, sustainably harvested near Fox Glacier. We treated this internal wood with all natural oils containing citrus hardeners, linseed oils, etc. which we purchased from a natural house company in Christchurch. Natural oils are not only far healthier than polyurethane, but allow the wood to breathe and maintain the original natural fragrance of fresh timber.

What this means for the Eco Lodge

Power - Water - Kitchen - Bathroom


Power at Beaconstone

Solar power is quiet, clean, healthy, simple to maintain, and less expensive than drawing power off the highway grid. The house and lodge are powered by active and passive solar power. Many of the lodge windows face the north to pick up the sun throughout the day. Eight 80-watt solar panels and eight 24-volt deep cycle batteries provide the power for the house and the lodge. An inverter draws the power from the batteries into the proper 230 volts for appliances, such as our lights, washing machine, and refrigerators. Three hours of full sunlight will provide enough electricity for daily use. The electrical wiring is around the tops of the walls, so any electrical field is away from where guests sleep.


Water at Beaconstone

Rainfall is our sole water supply for the house and lodge. Rain that falls on the lodge roof travels through a channel into a down pipe and then into a storage tank. From the storage tank, it is pumped into the main header tank, which sits upon a hill that we built behind the lodge. We purify our water through a series of filters, one between the holding tank and the header tank, and several others at each cold water faucet.


The kitchen at Beaconstone

The kitchen includes an energy efficient refrigerator, imported from Denmark. Thicker walls inside the fridge provide extra insulation and allow the fridge to run at a fraction of the energy of a traditional refrigerator. We installed a wooden cupboard ventilated at the top and bottom, modeled after traditional New Zealand batch cupboards. Additional kitchen features include a wood range stove that can provide infloor heating in case of a gas shortage, a natural convection fan, and of course, a compost bucket.


The bathroom at Beaconstone

The stately thrones are perched above two showers in a unique tower structure. Modified from a traditional Clivus-Multrum composting design, these toilets are double ventilated--both by fresh warm air circulating through the bottom of the chamber and the prevailing wind which passes over the apex of the chamber. We researched several composting models throughout the South Island and decided not to cut any corners in the design--the result are clean, comfortable, and fresh toilets, with a stupendous view. A night toilet is inside the lodge for the convenience of our guests.