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:
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/IMG_7647-small.jpg)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/IMG_7644-small.jpg)
After
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/IMG_7662-small.jpg)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/IMG_7670-small.jpg)
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
Glad to have you here, Rob. Nice place and looking forward to watching your adventure unfold. w*
Thanks Glenn.
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.
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?
Quote from: muldoon on July 26, 2010, 11:57:52 PM
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.
Quote from: NM_Shooter on July 27, 2010, 08:19:07 AM
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
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.
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.
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/DSC00323.jpg)
If it passes inspection tomorrow, we will be backfilling and setting the temporary pole next week. Wish me luck!
Great to see the power coming in! [cool]
What did you dig the trench with? How deep? I bet the roots were gnarly!
While I'm at it, a few more pics...
My $500 trailer, not everything as advertised but still worth the price
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/IMG_7930s.jpg)
This is the area on the passenger side of my truck in the first "after" picture above.
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/070211/DSC00076.jpg)
Quote from: rick91351 on January 22, 2012, 08:13:46 PM
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
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.
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
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/070211/DSC00065.jpg)
Nice looking piece of land.
Just curious, why "two" conduits. Was it just cheaper?
Looking forward to watching your progress. Good luck.
Quote from: archimedes on January 23, 2012, 10:02:51 AM
Just curious, why "two" conduits. Was it just cheaper?
It's what they told me to do [noidea'
I'm pretty sure you need a few more dogs... ;D. 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.
Quote from: Rob_O on January 22, 2012, 08:55:00 PM
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/070211/DSC00065.jpg)
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?
[cool] I always love pictures of others progress. Thanks!
Quote from: muldoon on January 24, 2012, 10:49:50 AM
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
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/070211/DSC00086.jpg)
Quote from: muldoon on January 24, 2012, 10:49:50 AM
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!
Inspector said I'm good to backfill, so I did a little more work today.
Built one of these
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/DSC00325.jpg)
And put it in the ground
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/DSC00330.jpg)
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
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/DSC00334.jpg)
Quote from: Rob_O on January 23, 2012, 09:23:05 PM
It's what they told me to do [noidea'
So what is the two conduits for?
Quote from: rick91351 on January 28, 2012, 07:04:41 PM
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
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
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
Both ducts have cable, I do not know why.
Finished backfilling today, just need a brace on my temp pole and I will be ready for inspection and a meter
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/DSC00335.jpg)
Quote from: Rob_O on January 22, 2012, 08:17:43 PM
My $500 trailer, not everything as advertised but still worth the price
HOME SWEAT HOME!
Maybe since the cables are still hi-voltage before the transformer you need two cables?
And after 6 weeks of getting rained out I finally got to camp with grid power for the first time this weekend. Used almost a dollars worth of electricity keeping the lights on and the camper warm!
Getting a little more voltage drop than I'd like with my current cabling, I'll have the solution to that problem ready for the next trip
Quote from: Rob_O on January 22, 2012, 08:00:25 PM
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.
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/DSC00323.jpg)
If it passes inspection tomorrow, we will be backfilling and setting the temporary pole next week. Wish me luck!
I'm baffled...what size cable are you running in those conduit to reach 500+ feet...and may I ask how much this cost? (wire only). Reason is I was going to do the same with only 250ft. and the wire is so thick it is like $6.50 a foot for the copper x3 cables to run underground...freakin' almost $5k just for the wire and nothing else????? So I gave up on underground electricity real quick.
Quote from: Mad-Dax on April 09, 2012, 09:42:16 PM
I'm baffled...what size cable are you running in those conduit to reach 500+ feet...and may I ask how much this cost? (wire only). Reason is I was going to do the same with only 250ft. and the wire is so thick it is like $6.50 a foot for the copper x3 cables to run underground...freakin' almost $5k just for the wire and nothing else????? So I gave up on underground electricity real quick.
The wire is #1 aluminum. At 7200 volts it doesn't take much wire to move a lot of power.
Last weekend I moved the trailer back to my original spot, it's about 150 feet from the power pole and a #10 extension cord will run the rooftop A/C or a space heater without a problem
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/April%2022%202012/DSC00352.jpg)
Picked this up today, craigslist find. 550 gallon tank for $200, I think it was a pretty good deal. Previous owners kids threw some sticks and rocks in there so it's getting a trip to the carwash before I fill it with rainwater.
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/April%2022%202012/DSC00348.jpg)
Water is most useful when you have it where you need it, so I got a pump. Best and biggest I could get (for $100)
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-horsepower-shallow-well-pump-with-stainless-steel-housing-68387.html (http://www.harborfreight.com/1-horsepower-shallow-well-pump-with-stainless-steel-housing-68387.html)
Going to set it up so I can pump water from the big tank to a hose, or from a smaller tank into the big tank. Hard to collect rainwater without a roof so I'll have to haul 55 gallons at a time from the neighbors house. That'll do for now
Apparently the home stores do not stock a 1" Sharkbite male adapter, so I was unable to get the tank connected to the pump this weekend.
I did, however, have the Trackcat out to do some work.
We started with this
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00369.jpg)
He did some of this
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00370.jpg)
And some of this
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00379.jpg)
And ended up with this
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00393.jpg)
So I could have this
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00388.jpg)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00389.jpg)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00385.jpg)
So when I moved the trailer a few weeks back, I knew it was going to be moved again soon and did a half-assed job of setting up the support under the tongue. Last Sunday we got 2" of rain over the course of the day and when I got there Friday I found this [waiting]
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/Farm%202012/May%202012/DSC00394.jpg)
There's enough weight on the tongue of this old beast to destroy any body parts that get caught underneath so jacking it back up on the soft clay soil was a real adventure. d*
Been a long time since I updated, mostly because nothing has really happened since my last update. Making real progress now so I'll bring things up to date...
Felt it would be useful to have a truck that could pull equipment so I bought one
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/Dodge/DSC00469.jpg)
And since I had a truck that could haul heavy stuff, I bought some heavy stuff to haul.
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00085_zps2e468524.jpg)
The bucket loader is a real bucket, and the truck isn't much better but they have earned their keep
Other than the new lawn ornaments not much changed in the year since my last post, most of the time was spent eating hamburgers and watching the grass grow
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00042_zpse45dc9ce.jpg)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00032_zps8408adff.jpg)
My little white dog in the picture on page 1 had a stroke in Spring of this year and went to doggie heaven so I rescued another dog to keep my big girl company. Truck has been a great dog, he came crate trained, knew some basic commands and doesn't freak out when we're playing with things that go boom
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00035_zps31380fe6.jpg)
I love skidsteers!! You can get so many different and useful attachments! [cool]
I thought 2013 was going to be the year of the driveway, but plans changed and I decided a structure would be more useful than a driveway so now I'm building a 28 * 36 Gambrel roof garage with an attic.
First step was to take down a few trees
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00121_zps2cf9692a.jpg)
Concrete guys built me a frame
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00155_zpsa6e6ccf0.jpg)
I added some plumbing
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00210_zps2977b7e7.jpg)
And they covered it all up with concrete. The far end is the garage and the near end is a 28 * 24 parking pad/ramp
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00222_zps846971f2.jpg)
Quote from: MountainDon on September 05, 2013, 09:52:26 PM
I love skidsteers!! You can get so many different and useful attachments! [cool]
I've had to pass on a few attachments that I really wanted and were priced to sell so I could do what I'm doing now. Like I said, my bucket loader is a real bucket but once it finally starts it stays running... although I am tired of it sprouting a new leak every time I get another fixed
So while all that was going on, I thought I should clean the place up a little. Anything green is better than dirt so I had been letting the area that was cleared last year just grow. Some areas were as tall as I am so I hopped on the tractor and mowed the lawn
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00143_zps1a208ff0.jpg)
All the hard work I put into sipping adult beverages while the grass was growing paid off, and last years mudpit is looking pretty lush now
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00150_zps05bfb760.jpg)
It has been a wet Summer, so I was able to burn off some piles
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00216_zpse481620e.jpg)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00219_zpsf63c52f2.jpg)
And the brush pile is finally getting smaller.
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00262_zps52c239bb.jpg)
The lumber fairy came by this morning and left this for me
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00307_zpsa5f86770.jpg)
Going to be a long weekend...
Woke up Saturday with a debilitating migraine and spent the majority of a beautiful day in bed with a pillow under my head and another on top [frus]. Managed to get rid of the headache and get to camp and set up by dark-thirty
Was in no hurry to get started this morning so I dragged some brush off the pile, lit another bonfire and played with that for a while. After about 90 minutes it had burned down enough to cook lunch and by the time we got going it was already past noon...
1:00
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00308_zps69401e3b.jpg)
2:00
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00311_zps97a4e723.jpg)
My friend showed up around 3:00 and we started raising walls
3:45
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00313_zpsca74dcc4.jpg)
4:15
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00314_zps4d00c78a.jpg)
By 5:00 he had to go on daddy duty so we stopped here
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00315_zps51406321.jpg)
With a couple helpers and an early start I could have framed the whole first floor in a day. I didn't have either so I'm feeling pretty good about the progress made today and I hope to have the rest of the walls up next weekend. The next wall is going to be a heavy beast with 56' of 2*10 header so I'm hoping for lots of extra hands next time around
Hope everyone is enjoying the show...
Last weekend I decided it was time to fix the other blown cylinder on the loader. Couldn't get the pin out of the top of the cylinder so I just loosened the hoses and pulled it apart on the machine
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00331_zps2d8016a2.jpg)
Something looks a little funny here...
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00335_zpsa3d4231a.jpg)
But it was a Saturday and I had the seals so it went back together anyway
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00341_zps169f3212.jpg)
And it works! So I started working on digging out a stump and maybe 15 minutes in it blew this hose
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00342_zps78cf299d.jpg)
So... I lost a day of work, and still have a busted loader
So Friday evening I met with the crane guy about setting the trusses, and although we had been having spotty showers it looked like the worst was going to go North of us... but it didn't and we got about 6 hours of steady rain... weatherheads said the property got about an inch... So much for Saturday!
But all was not lost. I live about an hour South of this little track called Kentucky speedway. And last night they were having a Nationwide race at that track. And a friend posted on facebook she had tickets to give away. And a few hours later I was here
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00362_zps095860d9.jpg)
Turned into a late night, and I let my girlfriend sleep in so it wasn't until about noon that I got to the property and got going. First thing I found was a gift one of my neighbors had left me... wish he had left a feeder to put it in :)
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00366_zps27754ad4.jpg)
Before I got started, I got a picture standing on top of a 7' ladder. This is going to be more or less the view from my bedroom window. Bottom of the hill looks like a great place for a deer feeder
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00364_zpsd82a9795.jpg)
Had a bunch of wood cut and laid out from last time, so within an hour I had the first new section standing
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00367_zpsfb4688e8.jpg)
Then I started laying out the rest of the walls. Cut, measure, drill holes for... wait? Where's the drill? Fortunately I had a friend coming out later in the day, so while I was waiting for him to show up with the bit I needed I cut and laid out everything for another 36' of wall and we got it mostly standing. By the time I decided to pack it in I had made it this far
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00368_zps4f72728a.jpg)
Trusses are scheduled to arrive Friday, and the crane guy will be there Saturday. By then I need to get all the headers in the wall above, and build a wall for this end of the building
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00370_zps030fd283.jpg)
Going to have the crane guy stand it up for me, he's a friend of my neighbor and several other people so I'm hoping he can stand up the wall Friday night then come back Saturday AM to set the trusses, he lives right up the road so hopefully he'll help me out a little
Comments and criticism are welcome
Just talked to the truss guy, he will not be able to deliver Friday [frus]
Was supposed to go on vacation the following weekend, looks like that is cancelled
Gotta have windows to enjoy the view. Found two of these at the Re-Store, there was also an arch window that would have fit perfectly over the pair but I didn't have the headroom
(https://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u238/rochsne/land%20pics/2013/CAM00202_zps6e5203e4.jpg)