Is anyone familar with skidmore soil?  How is it for building on?

Thanks

I am not familiar with skidmore soil, but you might want to look at the usgs soil survey data. 
http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/

After you launch the application, keep zooming in on your area of interest, use the box tools to draw your borders around the property lines.  Then on the top tabs, click soil map.  It defines my place as 99% singleton fine sandy loam. ....  It refers to mine as "StB" as the type. 

Next up, go get your soil survey data.
http://soils.usda.gov/survey/printed_surveys/

Pick your state, then the county, find the category that matches what the above section identifies your soil as.  For example, it calls mine StB.  They use the same term in both reports as they both use the same underlying database.  Find that soil descriptions in those surveys.  There will be a bunch of charts in the back that define what the soil is good for, ie roads, buildings, agriculture, and so on.  I just search the entire document for the StB identified above and see all the references that show the drainage, profile, terraine, wildlife, agriculure support, drainage, support for roads/building. 

So collect some data and post back with what you find out.   Remember, people build houses in the swamps, anything can be dealth with and overcame.  You just need to know what your facing. 

The land is in a valley that opens to the south.  There is about 3 flat cleared acres and then the property has about 18 acres of sloped land until it buts up against a state forest (60,000 acres). The plot is on the east side of the valley.

The 3 flat acres are skidmore soil which is course gravely soil low in organic matter that drains rapidly.  This area is subject to fast floods due to runoff from the valley that then drains very quickly.  The county engineer said a septic will be absolutely no problem here.  I'm guessing this is a good candidate for a post and pier foundation due to the gravelly nature and the tendancy to flood in the late fall and early spring.

The 18 hilly acres are SOE soil that is similar to the previous description except that it is usually 40 inches down to the bedrock.  It is subject to soil movement due to water.  This should be limited because it's fully wooded.  The county engineer said a septic would be next to impossible here.  Down the line if I wanted to build something off grid, I'm thinking I could bolt to the bedrock and be pretty safe as long as I carefully selected the site.  Do you think I can guage where the runoff is by looking at the ruts in the land?

Pro: lots of hunting land in an area that produces trophy bucks, wild turkey, black bear (I won't hunt them though), grouse, rabbits, even some wild phesant.  Good acreage at an affordable price.  Not timbered in the last 20 years.  Plenty of wood for heat.  The flat 3 acres is supposed to be OK for pasture when dry.  Very out of the way area.  Nearby river for recreation.  Good Aquifer.  Very cooperative county personell.  Electric nearby.  No building inspections. Lots of Amish. 

Con: limited building sites, probably experience some hilljack vandalisim or burglary at some time since I won't live there all the time (I'd rather be a hilljack, so I'm not dissing).  No way to know the severity of the flash floods. Area not too well suited for gardening (although I can get around that with sq ft methods).  2.5 hours from my city home.  No telling how often I can drag the wife out there.

I visit the land sunday.  I'll post some pictures.

Could you build on the hilly and run the effluent down to the gravelly soil to minimize drainage and flash flood problems - stay out of the gullies? hmm

I had that same thought Glen, I wonder how long a run would be allowed to get to the effluent.  I would  much rather build on the slope.

QuoteDo you think I can guage where the runoff is by looking at the ruts in the land?

Yes, but also you can rent some machinery and reshape the land to direct water as you want it.  Keep an eye out for patches without any grass or where vegetation is different from surrounding areas.  This may indicate where water stands and ponds during heavy rains. 

I'm guessing the reason why a septic would be difficult on the slope would be depth to rock?  Is that the primary concern?

Yes, the depth do the bedrock is the concern for a septic on the sloped area.  To be honest, I was using the soil map at a level of detail it was not designed for, so there is a good chance a site evaluation may really change the outlook.  I will have them test several different building sites and hopefully be able to pick among them. 

Effluent is only water from the tank so our inspector doesn't even care about grade on the pipe - just down hill as far as you want with the D box wall in front solid - leach lines only off the sides for a crash box to stop water from being forced down one line.  The  septic tank can still be near the house per required setbacks.

Interesting, I never considered seperating the box and the leach.  I have to have it installed by a liscenced and bonded istaller, I wonder if that will greatly increase the cost?

 Here in Ar. there is a problem with bedrock only being 2' or 3' below topsoil in places and it makes it difficult to put in a conventional septic tank, There are low profile ones available but a lot of these folks do a "poured in place" tank and the ones I have seen were only 1 compartment that I don't like. And just because one installer may be certified it has been my experience to get a second opinion on special needs cases to make sure one guy is not on the take with the local officials and cause a nightmare down the road.

I separated them here on Mike's job.  Here is Zach checking out the D box.  Note the crash box part in front of the effluent inflow - outflow to fields on both sides.



It's about 150 feet from the tank and 30 feet over the side of the hill



County here is especially trying to push an "A" license but I'm legal with a "B" license and yes - req'd license will limit the cheapness of the job.  I have to carry 2 Million insurance as likely do most others.

Well, the land is now sale pending, but not by me.  Back to the drawing board. Thanks for all of the advice.