own 5.5 acres ? best building ideas for slopped lot

[cvcman]

Ok i own 5.5 acres of land which faces 130 acres of woods owned by a farmer nearby. There are a few houses about 300 ft away towards the road. The lot is slopped downward away from where the house/cabin would be and then goes back up hill.

I would post pics if I knew how,lol

Question is, how big for wife and I ? There is no gas on the land or water so it would have to be well and septic and propane/wood/oil heat ?

We have no kids and I would like it ot be as close to 100% energy efficient and maintenance free

[Redoverfarm]

cvcman sounds as if you are in the planning stages.  In answering your question that is entirely up to you as you know you or lifestyle and what it would take to make you and your wife confortable.  If you currently live in a large house with unused space you could judge what you need by the unused space you currently have. Are there any plans on additions to your family in the near future? This is also a consideration.

Sounds as if you are going into a somewhat rural area where urban utilites do not exist so rural building practices take over.  Well, Septic and the like are common in rural areas.  I would do the research on good insulation practices, good heating alternatives, and apply them to your house.

The house placement on the lot should also be planned as exposure, functionality and aesthetics to gain the best possible use of the land whether it be wind, solar or a combination of both. You don't want to place your house and then be unable to place a septic because of the location.  Then again you would not want to place your house or septic in the only location to were there may be water for a well.  IMO the well is primary.  Find the water and place everything else in a location that remains keeping in mind the exposure, funtionality and aesthetics .

I know this probably doesn't answer the questions you have but may be a little bit of encouragement/discouragement   What you are asking is what most people are seeking. 

There is a section of the forum which deals with posting pictures with Photobucket. A search in the blue bar next to "home" should reveal it's location.

Good Luck.

John

[ScottA]

I suggest you do some reading to narrow the scope of your questions. Also you'll need to determine where you will get water / power / fuel for heat etc. so you can make plans accordingly.

[MountainDon]

Re posting photos... Images must be hosted on a service like picasa, photobucket, etc. There is a tutorial on photobucket..

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3512.0

It's not all that hard to use if you have a modicum of computer smarts.

[cvcman]

ok here is the link, pic is not great my land goes straight back down the hill thru the hedge and up the hill 30 ft into the woods. It also goes to the left of my car about 200 ft







edited to show pix.

[JRR]

In my neck of the woods, that lot would be called "flat"!  Good looking building site.  Does it slope to the south? ... if so, that's even better for light gathering.

[cvcman]

the pic is taken looking East from the West, South is to the right

[taveuni13]

Yeah, most of that is looking pretty flat.    Is it your intention to build on the slope for some reason, views?  What's the climate like?  Prevailing winds, etc.?  Is there any kind of water course running along there?  Looks like maybe riparian vegetation in there, not sure of course.  Don't want to build down in a drainage area.   Looks like a lovely spot though.

[cvcman]

i will post a few others, flat it is NOT. Its a pretty severe haill going down away from the car and then back up the other hill.Ill post a few more

[cvcman]

when looking at my first pic where you see my car its hard to tell how slopped the land is but look the way the car is facing and it looks like some bushes half way down the lot, well they are tree tops !

Note the other pic I am posting here is at the bottom by these trees looking back up toward my car, the one with the deer is at the fot of that hill looking up the next hill.







edited to show pix gk

[cvcman]

tav, I would think to build at the top of the hill to the right of where my car is about 400ft driveway off road. I would face the house to the East South East as I would be facing the woods and a 50 acre cornfield to my propertys South side.

Its dry except this time of year down in the valley area which would be down slope about 300ft from the house.Agian there are a few houses on the road but my lot flags behind the one house and I would probably build on the top of the flat behind this house off to the right.

This way I would never have anyone build behind me

[taveuni13]

Ah yes, that perspective was a bit decieving.  Sounds like a great plan.  Can't wait to see your progress on it.  As far as general tips building on a hill, I guess one of the main questions would be how much to dig into the hillside with living space.  This might depend on the structural system you choose and the climate, whether or not you want to try and use the relatively stable sub-surface ground temperature to help moderate the temperature of the house, and how much to try and use passive solar techniques with your southern exposure.

[jb52761]

Looks like a nice piece of land to me. I suggest, when you get the foundation ready, throw one hell of a barn-raising....invite all your family and friends, tell them to bring their hammers and other tools, have several grills going preferrably somewhere close to the keg of beer, tell the band to be ready to play around 5-ish, and have someone be in charge of the parking area......I'll bring my own lawn chair..... ...jb

[MountainDon]

Barn raisings work best when the participants know what they are doing, and when there is at least one person possesing good foreman skills. And no beer until the tools are put away. 

[apaknad]

works for me if you wait til spring and let me park my rv there

dan

[cvcman]

lol, parking area now theres a good idea, for you anyway

I would see the layout of the land perfect for a walkout basement even if we built a small cabin style and finished the basement with a wood stove in the basement with a big central register to heat the upstairs etc...

We have no kids just wife and I and live in a 1200 sf ranch now with finished basement in the village about 3 miles from our property

[cvcman]

anybody check this out

http://www.bungalowinabox.com/brigadoon.html

[MountainDon]

I've never seen those before. One thing most of these have in common is that you can do it for less money if you study up and ask questions beforehand, and then go ahead and build it yourself from a list of materials from a regular lumber yard.

[glenn kangiser]

I agree -- John's plans and DIY will be cheaper and easy.

[cvcman]

where do I see "Johns" plans ??

[Jochen]

where do I see "Johns" plans ??

Go the top of this page and look for

• Click HOME to return to the main CountryPlans.com website and our PLANS.

or even easier

http://www.countryplans.com/plans.html

Jochen