Clearing land for my building and yes more math problems

[1930]

Iv started clearing my land for my shop/home. Using the information you guys gave me in this https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/414484-can-one-you-guys-figure.html highlight= thread I've concluded that clearing an entire acre may be overkill.

What I'm after is privacy, I have a neighbor that is building on his 5 acres to the right of the diagram, I have a 5 acres lot to the left of my diagram that is an entrance to 65 acres behind me that is nothing but woods at this point ........

I'm looking for opinions on where to put a 4000 square foot building and what sort of an area that would consume on my drawing.

I will need to clear that area so I need someone to tell me how far down from the back of the property and how far over from the edges of the property I will need to measure so I can set the posts and draw the strings.

I had assumed the building would have been rectangular like the property shape but at this point I'm open to anything.

Thanks for your time.

 

[1930]

I don't know how much of an acre a 4000 square foot building consumes mathematically but I've been in one and the space definitely does not consume 1 acre and at this point I don't want to clear any more than what I need for the building.

After that I will move forward with some additional space

 

[Ford850]

A single story building 50x80 would be 4000sf. That's less than 1/10th of an acre, so you could put it anywhere in that window you have marked and get an even buffer all the way around it. You're the only one who can tell for sure, by walking the property and getting the best feel based on trees, road, land elevations, etc.

 

[1930]

I did not know this.1/10 isn't alot of space at all than

 

[Ford850]

I did not know this.1/10 isn't alot of space at all than

50x80=4000sf
150x289=43350sf (your 1 acre window as marked)

 

[4570Man]

There’s 43,560 square feet in an acre. So a 4,000 building is less than 1/10 of an acre.

 

[1930]

It's easy enough than to figure out what I need to know than at this point. Thanks

 

[Chris616]

Jason,

Considering the lack of computer expertise that you expressed in your other thread, I suggest that you make yourself a paper scale model of what you're trying to do. It will make it a lot easier for you to correctly visualize your planning. For example, a one acre square is about 208 on each side, so it would be a lot larger than what you've shown on your sketch. Once you've got a properly scaled diagram of your property and made little "to scale" paper buildings you can move them around to consider things like how to run a driveway, etc. Here's how to make a scale drawing the "old school" way. Assuming that standard sized paper is all that you've got available and you're most comfortable using fractions of an inch, pull out a ruler and:
- Your scale is 60 feet of actual dimension is equal to one inch on your drawing.
- To convert any actual dimension to the scale dimension, divide it by 60 (so the long dimension of your property would be 623 feet divided by 60 feet per inch equals 10.38 inches). You can use this website (Decimal Inch to Usable Fractions Converter) to convert 10.38 inches to 10 3/8".
- The short dimension would be 330/60 = 5.5".
- Draw a rectangle on your paper representing your property that is 10 3/8 X 5.5 inches.
- If your 4000 sq. ft. building is built 50' X 80' divide each actual dimension by 60 to get the dimensions of a little paper rectangle that can be moved around that is (50/60 = 0.83") X (60/60 = 1"). Ditto for any other buildings, gardens, etc.
You should end up with something that looks like the electronic equivalent attached, where I've put your 4000 sq. ft. shop in the middle of your property.

Chris

 

[Jchonline]

How about some trees and high growing shrubs for privacy?

 

[JPRambo]

I have <7 acres. And during the growing months I can not see the neighbors. But during winter I can. I have planted 6 cedar trees. They are just beginning to do the job after 5 years.

 

[Jstpssng]

Google Earth will let you do all sorts of measurements, drawings and experimenting to see what works best for you before starting any site work.

 

[ovrszd]

Good advice so far.

I'll add. Unless your terrain lays perfectly you will eat up a lot of real estate landscaping for drainage. I'd be very surprised if you get by with half an acre.

I like Chris idea of scaling everything.

I also like Jstpssng's idea of Google Earth. But to get the most benefit from that you need to be computer savvy. It will however with basic skills get you a printable aerial photo of your property.

When setting my house and shop I visited the County Assessor Office. She printed two aerials for me. One was 1" = 100'. The other was 1" = 200'. Worked great for orientation and association with surrounding area. You'll easily see your neighbor's proximity. No computer knowledge required.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Chris616]

I had a bit of time to poke around before dinner...

Jason - your county has an online tool that is easy to use (it's the same one used where I live). There is some information there that might be useful to you in your planning (property boundaries, zoning, etc.) . If you can figure out how to take pictures on your phone/camera and upload them as attachments to a post on TBN you're computer literate enough to use it
Geocortex Viewer for HTML5

Here's the latest aerial/satellite photography of your property from 2017 overlaid with the land contours (labels in feet). So you can see a 16 foot elevation difference between the northwest corner and southeast corners of your property. Not much else to see in the aerial view except trees.


It used to be that if a property was shielded from the road by trees or something else that people couldn't really know what you were up to. That has all changed with detailed aerial/satellite photography available to everyone, including the folks setting our property taxes. Forget putting up a building without a permit - the view of our property is so detailed I can see the BBQ on the back deck of our house.

Chris

 

[Eagleview]

There are other important factors in deciding where to put it .

Is this the main house or is that coming later ?
Is there a view or a breeze you would like to capture ?
Is there a wet spot or a rocky spot you would be better to avoid ?
Is there a sunny spot where solar panels will work better ?
How far do you need to bring power in ? Extra poles are expensive .
Is a long driveway going to be expensive ?
Do the neighbors kids have dirt bikes and barking dogs etc etc .

 

[1930]

Tough to reply on my phone on McDonald's internet, I'm going back home tomm. Thanks for the replies and I'll have better response tomm

 

[ovrszd]

I had a bit of time to poke around before dinner...

Jason - your county has an online tool that is easy to use (it's the same one used where I live). There is some information there that might be useful to you in your planning (property boundaries, zoning, etc.) . If you can figure out how to take pictures on your phone/camera and upload them as attachments to a post on TBN you're computer literate enough to use it
Geocortex Viewer for HTML5

Here's the latest aerial/satellite photography of your property from 2017 overlaid with the land contours (labels in feet). So you can see a 16 foot elevation difference between the northwest corner and southeast corners of your property. Not much else to see in the aerial view except trees.
View attachment 613710

It used to be that if a property was shielded from the road by trees or something else that people couldn't really know what you were up to. That has all changed with detailed aerial/satellite photography available to everyone, including the folks setting our property taxes. Forget putting up a building without a permit - the view of our property is so detailed I can see the BBQ on the back deck of our house.

Chris

Good stuff Chris!!!

I have heard several times that Google, and others I'm sure, are applying for governmental approval of "real time" photos. Real te based on the last pass of the satellite. Very contriversial subject.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think you are going about this all wrong. You need to put feet on the ground and start looking around for the ideal spot for your buildings based on access, utilities and view. I've taken out tens of thousands of trees and I don't miss or even remember a single one. When I'm in my planning mode, I carry a measuring wheel with me to figure out how much area that I need to open up, and a roll of orange marking tape to tie to branches so I can see what I'm doing.

You said 4,000 square feet, but didn't give dimensions. If it's 50x80, I would take out at least everything around that area so that no trees hang over the building, and even better if you can take out everything that might fall onto the building if it falls over during a storm, or if it just gets mad at you. Trees can be vicious!!! For me, that's 30 to 50 feet of open area around the building, or 110x140 as a minimum starting point. Remember that when you are clearing the area, to not get sentimental and try to leave or save a tree that you all of a sudden "must have." It's a tree that will attack your building sooner or later, or even worse, die on you two years after you start construction and then cost you big money to have it removed by a pro so it doesn't damage your building.

 

[edgarrian]

as the above poster stated you need boots on the ground. You need to find the high areas of ur property and start with building there so water can drain away. That is the most important part. Don't make this super complicated. I think you are over thinking this. The only area you will want to over think is the size of ur pole barn. I wish mine was bigger is a general consensus here.

 

[fried1765]

I think you are going about this all wrong. You need to put feet on the ground and start looking around for the ideal spot for your buildings based on access, utilities and view. I've taken out tens of thousands of trees and I don't miss or even remember a single one. When I'm in my planning mode, I carry a measuring wheel with me to figure out how much area that I need to open up, and a roll of orange marking tape to tie to branches so I can see what I'm doing.

You said 4,000 square feet, but didn't give dimensions. If it's 50x80, I would take out at least everything around that area so that no trees hang over the building, and even better if you can take out everything that might fall onto the building if it falls over during a storm, or if it just gets mad at you. Trees can be vicious!!! For me, that's 30 to 50 feet of open area around the building, or 110x140 as a minimum starting point. Remember that when you are clearing the area, to not get sentimental and try to leave or save a tree that you all of a sudden "must have." It's a tree that will attack your building sooner or later, or even worse, die on you two years after you start construction and then cost you big money to have it removed by a pro so it doesn't damage your building.

ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT advice!

 

[ovrszd]

Yep. Approaching that half acre mentioned earlier.

The topo map offered earlier will quickly tell you the high/low areas.