Bought our land on the river

[GaryT]

We've been looking for a camp or land on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick, Canada for several years.  Land with riparian rights is difficult (and can be VERY expensive) to find.  An old friend decided he could part with what he calls the wood field (where he's stored fire wood and timber for years) and the land down to the river, including 100 feet of riparian rights at the tail-out of his salmon pool.  Couldn't be happier...and our young English setter is even happier - grouse and woodcock everywhere.  Here's the view down to the river:



The "wood field" proper:


The driveway will go here.  The property is on a little lane with only two other camps on it:



The land is a high perch, above the level where river ice can wipe out a structure.  Likely will wait until next year to start building.  This year we'll just concentrate on the permitting process, which is a real bear in New Brunswick.  We'll be building a two bedroom, single bath camp on a crawl space.  It will be winterized.  We're only allowed to be in Canada for a total of six months per year, some of which will be centered around Christmas time.
Gary

[Adam Roby]

Congrats on the purchase Gary,  looks like a sweet spot!

[GaryT]

Some further work on our land in New Brunswick.  Hoping to build this summer.   https://theriverscourse.blogspot.com/2018/11/late-fall-fun-in-new-brunswick.html

Gary

[Migraine Craftsman]

Grats Gary, awesome spot with water access which is huge in my opinion. Looks peaceful it's going to be a great spot for you. That is what I am working towards, cheers for you 

[GaryT]

Thank you, MC!
Gary

[GaryT]

Moving along:  we had the well and septic systems installed in the last month or so.  We're buying a used travel trailer to put on the site for a place to stay while we build the camp next year.  The temporary electric is going in as well; that was a fight with the province...they said they won't grant permits for them if they know a trailer is going in because people "those people" just use the temp. service and don't install a proper service.   I asked the nice man if he considered me trailer trash and went on at some length about myself and the things I do for the province...by the time I got done, he just said, "I'll be happy to give you a waiver so you can have the service."  Score one for the good guys.

Anyway, the septic system in that area is the same size for any abode with 1 to 3 bedrooms.  I do believe I could run a Holiday Inn on ours.  The tank has two "clean outs".  One is for the usual, the one nearest the field has a valve that must be cleaned each year.  (I suspect most people remove it after clearing inspection.)   Our installer is considered the best in the area.  Just him, a helper and a big old excavator.  He works wonders with the thing. 

The tank:


The leach galleries (never saw these before)


The leach field:


All done:


The well driller has drilled just about all the wells in the region.  He's about 80, and learned the trade from his father.  Well is 67 feet deep, cased down to 57 feet, and gets 15 gallons per minute:


For now (until winter), the air tank will remain next to the well:


He recommended that I build a cover for it, so I used a friend's tools and shop to build one (and then used his Kubota's front end loader to move it to the site a few hundred yards away)


In place (access door not screwed on yet)


That's the temp electric service in the background.   In another case of "it's not what you know, but who you know", I was able to enlist the help of a 40 year employee of NBPower to get the power to the site the easy way (from nearest neighbor's pole) as opposed to the way the power company wanted to do it, bring the power in from 1/4 mile away and costing me a fortune in poles and underground entrance.   Total cost to power company "my way" was $768.

I prefer step by step photos over videos, hope you all don't mind.
Gary

[Don_P]

Looks good, I'vnever seen those leachfield units either, interesting. Ah, yeah, video has its place but generally never been a big fan of reality TV.

[GaryT]

Don, the units interlock, and the perforated tubes run through them. Our installer says they are the best thing since sliced bread for a septic system.  I sure hope so.  We were fortunate to have good gravel (old river bed, likely, from a zillion years ago), so the only sand he had to bring in was to surround the big tank.  Man, that guy could run his excavator.  Most bulldozer operators could wish they could level a site like he does with his bucket.
Gary

[NathanS]

Looks awesome Gary. You have knocked out 3 of the biggest unknown expenses: well, septic, electric. That has to feel good.

Looking forward to seeing your build, I like the picture format too.

[ChugiakTinkerer]

...
Man, that guy could run his excavator.  Most bulldozer operators could wish they could level a site like he does with his bucket.
Gary

Apologies for the thread diversion, but I agree wholeheartedly.  Watching a skilled equipment operator is like watching a ballet dancer.

[GaryT]

Finally came to grips with the floor framing for our camp on the Miramichi River. We are building on helical piers.  After a lot of thought and conversations with others, I decided to go with open web engineered joists, which would span the entire 25 foot width without a center beam.  When our pier guy got a look at the almost-final plans, he sent it to his engineer and came back with a jaw-dropping quote; more than 17K Canadian, mostly because of the diameter and wall thickness of the piers that would be needed.   We batted a few ideas around, and I said what if I went old school, put a center beam in, and used 2X10 PT  for beams and joists - joists laying on the beam.   That brought the price down almost 4K.   I've lost enough sleep over this subject, and I'm glad i went back to what I've done in this situation for years.   The only real savings (they are more expensive than a 2X10, piece by piece) when using the engineered joists (either TGI or open web) is in the labor department.   And since no one is paying me to build my own place,  I'm sure I'll realize further savings beyond the reduced pier price.

I'll have to scan the plans to show you where we're going with this project.   Can't wait to move our trailer off the site....it's sitting right where the camp goes:

Gary

[GaryT]

Here's the floor plan:


Gary

[ChugiakTinkerer]

That looks nice.  Weird how more piers costs less than fewer piers!

It may just be the default floor layout graphics, but your side-to-side spacing for the toilets looks pretty tight.  If you are subject to a code authority they may want to see 15" from the centerline to adjacent fixtures.

There aren't too many ways to lay out an 8x5 bath and still meet code.  If that's an issue, in the master bath you may need to shift the toilet to the south wall and perhaps have to put the vanity there as well.

You may want more storage in the master bath as well.  You could split the pantry in half and have a linen closet in the bath.

[GaryT]

Good points!  The good news is that floor plan is a scan of the floor plan my partner made using some "made for the amateur" design software.  Her errors of omission have been rectified by the professional up in Canada that is doing the final plans for us, based upon her early efforts.    The changes, particularly those you mention, have been minor.
Thanks for taking the time to look at the plan critically!
Gary

[GaryT]

Thought I'd add the elevations:





Gary