Gravel

Well, it sure has been a few wet weeks in our little area of the world. I think for the past two weeks, we have had only three or four days without rain. The work site has been so muddy that I have been unable to get anything done. All I have done is behind the scene's work: stuff like picking up building supplies and mapping out location of future home on the property site for my father.

So far I have gotten all of the plumbing purchased and put away for all the drain work under the slab. I don't know if I will have time before the snow flies to get it in and the slab poured, but at least I have it. Its amazing how much thought and how many different fittings are needed for the waste water system. With the help of my cousin, I am pretty certain I have what I need.

As for mapping out the building location, I and my father were curious where it was in comparison to all of the satellite and topographical maps we have of the property. I borrowed a friends GPS device and went out and got the coordinates of the building. It is supposedly accurate to within 42 feet according to the satellite intel. With this info, I was able to use google maps and fairly pinpoint the location on the satellite image and figure out where I was to some degree of certainty. So far it looks like I am at exactly where I thought I was at.

One thing that did happen between raindrops was the road had a layer of gravel put down on it. Boy does it look good! Now it is somewhat protected from wheel ruts and after winter when spring comes and we are ready to start building in ernest we will be able to drive into the site. If the gravel had not been put down we would have been axle deep in muck with the thaw I am certain. Now to see what can still be done before the snow flies!

Form Time!

Well, its been a little while since I last posted and much has been done. The road is in and the building spot has been cleared and it looks fantastic. Having that done really shapes the look of the land and makes me realize I was correct in the location I have picked. There have been many people who have stopped by to visit and they all remark that the spot is excellent which i of course am inclined to believe.

Yesterday I went to my cousin who has my mill. Now when I say my mill, its not all mine, but rather a joint ownership with several family members. My biggest contribution to it over the years was half ownership of the Detroit 3-71 that powers the whole unit. This was a production saw mill back in the day and my grandfather had picked it up from somewhere and many changes and rebuilds later it stands at its current configuration which includes my contribution to it, hence the my mill part. Now, last year my cousin who is remodeling his house kicked out a lot of dimensional lumber of the sixteen foot variety, particularly 2x6's which I needed for forms. Anyways, I show up and he offered me their service as my form boards, so that saves me from having to go out and buy boards for that purpose.

I hauled the boards to the site, prepped a lay down area where I could saw and set about forming up the slab. Tonight I will be squaring it up and my cousin is going to be bringing over a laser level which I am told is an excellent way to level the form. If all goes well, hopefully I will be ready to pour the slab by this weekend. We will see if I am able to make that work.

Clearing

Well, its been over a week now and I have been in the process of having the property cleared of trees where needed. A local logger is providing the work and so far has done a top notch job. He has opened up the pre-existing logging road along its edges of trees and has also removed most of the trees from the area where the actual house will be. Once he is done he will be using his dozer to stump and shape the road and building spot.

I have purchased much of the material for putting in the septic system. Hopefully by this coming weekend and long before the snow flies up in this region I will have installed the system so it will be ready come building time.

Winter is fast approaching and I don't know if there will be time to prep and pour the slab in anticipation of building this fall/winter yet. I have the sneaky feeling that the snow will fly before that point is reached and it will have to wait for the spring thaw. My fiance and I plan to at least have the building spot prepped before the frost comes, so here is to crossing our fingers!

House Location

Well, the search for the best site to place the house has come to an end. My Fiance and I have chosen one particular spot on the forty acres that we like, but the driveway will be very long to get to it. Our thought though is leaning towards the idea that a good location and view is better than an little extra trouble to get to it. I think in the long run, we will be happier with this location than another that may be more convenient but does not offer views which are one thing I am not willing to sacrifice. We used surveyor ribbon to mark trees we felt would need to be removed from the building site should we choose this as the final definate location.

By chance while I was walking through Menards over my lunch break today I ran into my cousin Jim who is an electrician extraordinaire. I explained what I was doing and he came up with an ingenious and fairly efficient means of getting electricity out to the house on the back forty if we do end up building there. His methods calls for me getting a pedestal service and placing it along the road as far as the power company will bring in a line ont their coin and then us digging in our own line from that point. He is figuring that there will still be more than ample amps available for the end user (me) even with any drop that may occur over that distance. I am inclined to believe him when he says this is more than adequate, for like I said, the man is an electronic genius and rarely knows wrong with electricity. On the flip side though, is that I highly doubt the power company would appreciate such a move from us rather than paying their sixteen thousand they want to put power back to that point. I say to bad for them, I need to live and at this time that price is beyond my means. Perhaps in the future we will do it properly by the book, though the aforementioned way is just as correct and safe.

As for the trip to Menards, I have still been pricing out materials. Today I priced the PEX hose for the in-floor heating and am surprised at how relatively cheap it is. After much research on how to use the stuff, in floor heat is the way I am going to go. I also priced out some other various construction materials. So far the pricing of items looks like we will still be able to bring this project in under budget.

The building is planned to be 28x32 in size. It will be a 1 1/2 story in height with a loft bedroom over half of the floor dimension overlooking a great room. There will be a spiral staircase giving access to the master bedroom. The bathroom will also contain the utilities along a closet like wall and there will also be a large bedroom downstairs for the girls and a smaller bedroom for the lone boy.