Intro post, 27 acres in Finchville

[Rob_O]

HI, my name is Rob and I'm a cabinaholic.

Just bought 27 acres of land near Louisville KY. 5 miles from Valhalla golf course, 10 miles from the edge of the city and 600+ feet of forest between me and the closest neighbor. In the long term I consider it an investment property, for now it's a place to build the home *I* want to live in

Currently working on clearing a patch to build my shed, there was an area bulldozed about 5 years ago but Mother Nature has been working hard to reclaim her land. Poison Ivy, scrub trees and more ants than you would believe.

Before:




After




I'm in debt to my ears with this place so progress will be slow. Hope to have a little gravel on the driveway before the end of the year, and start building my shed just before Spring. Once that's done I can start thinking about the big house

[glenn kangiser]

Glad to have you here, Rob.  Nice place and looking forward to watching your adventure unfold.

[Rob_O]

Thanks Glenn.

[muldoon]

pretty place rob.

heres something that worked for me in clearing,

http://www.tractorsupply.com/agriculture-farming-ranching/agriculture-chemicals/weed-killers/groundwork-reg-concentrate-brush-killer-40-oz--4221111

it's a generic glysosulphate mix (similar to roundup but 3x the concentration at 1/4th the cost).  cheapy 5 gallon sprayer.  hose the places to kill vegetation in large swaths.  don't have to soak every inch, just good pass.  many trees can be killed with it as well, just machete a few inches of the bark back and soak the wood inside - after a few weeks nature does the rest.  it's pond/fish safe which is where I originally heard about it - regarding willows and mesquite from other pond owners. 

other than that, riding lawnmower on the cheap you dont mind beating up a bit is a nice to have. 

that last picture looks like a hammock spot just waiting to be setup.  welcome aboard. 

[NM_Shooter]

Welcome to the madness!  Lots of good info here. 

Looks like you have some nice hardwoods there.  Good flat building spot too.  How rocky is the soil?  Got any utilities on the property?

[Rob_O]

pretty place rob.

heres something that worked for me in clearing,

http://www.tractorsupply.com/agriculture-farming-ranching/agriculture-chemicals/weed-killers/groundwork-reg-concentrate-brush-killer-40-oz--4221111

it's a generic glysosulphate mix (similar to roundup but 3x the concentration at 1/4th the cost).  cheapy 5 gallon sprayer.  hose the places to kill vegetation in large swaths.  don't have to soak every inch, just good pass.  many trees can be killed with it as well, just machete a few inches of the bark back and soak the wood inside - after a few weeks nature does the rest.  it's pond/fish safe which is where I originally heard about it - regarding willows and mesquite from other pond owners. 

other than that, riding lawnmower on the cheap you dont mind beating up a bit is a nice to have. 

If you look real hard, about 3/4 to the right and halfway up in the second picture, you can see the land falls away into a small valley with a creek bed, that is the direction I've been clearing. It's full of random garbage and trees that are too big to bush hog so progress has been steady, but slow. Once I get the medium size trees and garbage cleared I can send in the tractor

Thanks for the tip on the brush killer. I will be needing a bunch of that stuff before I replant the clearing with field grasses and wildflowers. I'll get the busted-ass riding lawnmower later, for now I need a tractor to do the rough work and I have someone that will do the job cheaper than I can rent the equipment.

Welcome to the madness!  Lots of good info here. 

Looks like you have some nice hardwoods there.  Good flat building spot too.  How rocky is the soil?  Got any utilities on the property?

Yes, lots of good info here. Framing techniques have changed in the last 20 years and I have some learning to do

Tree ID is a new sport for me. I won't clear anything big enough to be useful until I know what it is.

Soil is a shallow layer (<5ft I'm told) of heavy clay with lots of rocks. Electricity and water are about 1/4 mile away

[Rob_O]

I may be going the "Camper Cabin Way". Going to look at a 16' travel trailer tomorrow or Friday. He wanted a grand, I offered $500, he called me an hour later and said come get it

Owner says one or both of the water tanks is rusted out/cracked/leaking (Yeah, it's old) but it has a newish rooftop AC unit, working 3-way fridge, working gas stove/oven, newish porcelain toilet and a roof that doesn't leak - didn't ask but I assume it has some sort of furnace as well.

If all the mechanicals work as he says, I'm going to grab it and run.

[Rob_O]

Bump from the dead. It's 2012 and I'm finally getting my power lines in the ground. This weekends project, 500+ feet of ditch and double that in conduit.



If it passes inspection tomorrow, we will be backfilling and setting the temporary pole next week. Wish me luck!

[rick91351]

Great to see the power coming in!   

What did you dig the trench with?  How deep?  I bet the roots were gnarly!

[Rob_O]

While I'm at it, a few more pics...

My $500 trailer, not everything as advertised but still worth the price



This is the area on the passenger side of my truck in the first "after" picture above.

[Rob_O]

What did you dig the trench with?  How deep?  I bet the roots were gnarly!

Trench is 36" deep and 18" wide. Customer of mine has a skid steer with a digger attachment, roots were no problem but the end table sized rocks challenged it a bit. Took about 10 hours to dig 520ish feet with the rock and the sticky clay soil

[rick91351]

Looks really good.  Some times those $500 trailers work out good.  We purchased a $2500 fifthwheel thinking well a year or two and we would have a house build and all.  Holly cow we are still 'camping ' at the fithwheel summers.  But it is still a blessing.....  We can get in out of the rain.  We can spend a few days now and then, cook and take a shower.  Go to sleep in a bed.     

[Rob_O]

One more picture and I'll stop for tonight.

In the second "after" picture there is a tree just off the drivers side of my truck, in this picture it's between my lovely girlfriend and the chair. I've done more clearing since then and that brush pile in the background is now about twice the size

[archimedes]

Nice looking piece of land.

Just curious,  why "two" conduits.  Was it just cheaper?

Looking forward to watching your progress.  Good luck.

[Rob_O]

Just curious,  why "two" conduits.  Was it just cheaper?

It's what they told me to do 

[ChuckinVa]

I'm pretty sure you need a few more dogs... . Looks like you are making progress. I envy the 27 acres. I think it is pretty rewarding to clean an area up and "reclaim" it. I have an area along our creek in our yard that was over grown with grape vines and honeysuckle. It took me about a month to gt it cleaned up with a chain saw and my small tractor but I have kept it clean for 7 years and it still looks great.

[muldoon]

Congrats on getting the electricity underway, that will be a huge help and step forward once completed. 

Can you post more pictures of your firepit with the low grate visible in the lower right?  Have you put a pig in the ground on it yet? 

[OlJarhead]

   I always love pictures of others progress.  Thanks!

[Rob_O]

Can you post more pictures of your firepit with the low grate visible in the lower right?  Have you put a pig in the ground on it yet?

Here's another pic, there are several more layers of stone now and it stands about a foot tall. It's designed so I can keep a fire going at one end, and rake coals to the other end for cooking. The grate just sits on rocks

I'll get a cajun microwave when it's pig roast time, for now the pit and the smoker do the job

[OzarkBrandon]

Can you post more pictures of your firepit with the low grate visible in the lower right?  Have you put a pig in the ground on it yet?

I guess that would be okay, but I'd rather see more pictures of the girlfriend...  Contrats, that is a nice looking gal, and the land doesn't look too bad either!

[Rob_O]

Inspector said I'm good to backfill, so I did a little more work today.

Built one of these


And put it in the ground


Also started to put the safety tape in the hole, but ran into a problem at the low end of the ditch, glad I got the conduit in before the 2.5" of rain came

[rick91351]

 

It's what they told me to do 

So what is the two conduits for?

[Rob_O]

So what is the two conduits for?

My neighbor asked me that as well. Again, It's what they told me to do and I have no clue why.

Got the ditch pumped dry today, went to Harbor Freight and spent $200 on a gas powered pump that will probably never get used again. My neighbor came over to "help" dragging a couple hundred feet of extension cord and a little utility pump, that pump was more help than I would have imagined getting the last couple inches of water out of the hole. No pictures, visualize the same ditch without water

[Rob_O]

Seems the utility guys can move when they decide to. Went out Tuesday about 4:30 and they were setting up, last night they had the pull boxes and tub set, tonight the transformer was in place. If we can get the last couple hundred feet backfilled before the next monsoon hits, I will have power next week

[UK4X4]

two duct lines

well I'm guessing but down the road in the future when you want a phone -fiber hookup or some more ampage for that welding shop

you don't have to dig up the whole thing again, just pull the new cables through