Big Multi Year Project About to Begin...help!

[DAY]

Talk to some timber framers- and you're in luck- New England has several nationally known ones. Check Fine Homebuilding magazine for source info.
Down here in PA Dutch Country the Amish community still takes down and moves these old structures.

I live in a 1781 House Mill, one of the best preserved in the state, and it is a joy to lie in bed, looking up at the hand hewn chestnut beams and the 20" walnut floorboards of the attic.

Given your date, it is probably is held together with wooden trunnels ("tree nails") and taking the structure apart is like building a kit house- in reverse! All you really need is a few hand tools, ropes and pulleys,- and time:thumbsup: Start at the top, and work your way down. And leave the chain saw at home!

If the underside of the roof panels don't show rust then they are probably good for another 100 years. The nails are probably rusted out, so after you prime and paint the roof use stainless steel screws to re-install.

Again, talk to modern timber framers (they build the bents in their shop, mark the parts, then truck it to the site, and put it back together).

And take LOTS of pictures- not so much for our entertainment, as for when you wonder "Where the heck does THIS go?:laughing:

 

[dave1949]

You are a glutton for punishment

Have plan for how to label and identify the location of all parts. Maybe an indelible-type marker to label the parts? Something that won't blow off or be washed away by rain. Have cataloging method to record all that info. Take a bazillion photos.

I assume the best way to reassemble is exactly as it was.
Dave.

 

[Village Idiot]

I like your project! I've been working on a 1/2 - 3/4 mile access myself. I had to cut a hole through the woods, cross a small stream by building a bridge, put in 5-6 culverts and haul some rock. When I say some rock I mean I'm closing in on 2 million pounds. I consider myself lucky in that I got the local dirt guy to fetch me 20 ton triaxle loads of 3" roadbase (blasted ledge rock that contains everything from 3" down to fines) to his pit that is about 2 miles from my lot. I started trucking with a 1 ton dump (huge mistake) and have now moved to a C7500 which when loaded (18 tons gross, 10 tons rock) is about as much as I want to put over the hemlock bridge I built. I roll out fabric, dump some rock, spread smooth with FEL (I shoot for 4-6") and repeat. The wheel tracks will get mashed down in the spring time, but after that I fill in with 3/4" minus (Shooting for about 2") and do a final smooth with a boxblade. The second spring mash down was barely noticible.

I also live in Mid-NH but over near the CT river. If you were to ask me (which I realize you haven't) I would work on getting heavy duty, year round access to your site completed while you figure out your next move. Take your time on this, and have fun building a road. If you try to rush or cut corners it will be a big sloppy mess (I've left out some parts) and you'll just have to fix it later. I wouldn't get a motor grader or a bulldozer. I'm sure there are great reasons to have ones, and great operators to run them, but I can't figure them out.

3 years is a pretty aggressive timeframe. I have a day job, 2 kids, and a wife who doesn't even know how to turn the tractor on so maybe you can spend more time on your project than I can. Most of our "discussions" in the last 2 years have involved some form of "blah blah blah you spend too much time/money/effort/thought on The Land..." YMMV

I love cutting down trees, but if you also want the stumps out it is WAY easier to push them over with the tractor, then cut the root ball off. This method is frowned upon here, and it's not as fun as cutting them, but it is a lot faster. I would also encourage you to get into maple sugaring. It's a nice way to spend the crappy end of winter/ early spring time.

Did I share too much there?

 

[dodge man]

Wow, I just read this thread, quite a project. First off, unless you have time to burn, pass on the old barn. Focus on your road first.

One thing that jumped out at me, is you need some kind of construction grade equimpment. That might be a TLB, and larger excavator, a bull dozer etc. I see you are looking at that stuff, and I think you need it.

We have a part time worker that has quite a bit of land and he maintains his roads from gravel he digs out of a creek bed. It just comes back after a few months after he digs it out. He uses an old grain truck to haul it with. The rock isn't that great, but its free. I'm guessing he maintains as much or more road than you are talking about with a 45 hp John Deere tractor. Its a lot of work and he has owned the ground for 20 years. I'm a land surveyor and I've helped him survey it all, and I love going there and working and driving around.

I'd say you are biting off a big chunk of change with this project, but if you make it fly, it will be rewarding. Someone on this board had a real long thread on how the built a house in northern California. They also had quite a bit of road to maintain, and they live off the grid. Here is a link http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/104037-3r-home-barn-project.html

 

[forgeblast]

I was going to second the camera, and different color paint markers, so you can label where everything goes. You may want to see if there is a timberframing school nearby they may have a class in session that can help you take things apart, or make things that are rotted.
Also watch how you store it, you dont want it rotting out, I would almost have the pad/place for it ready so you can take it apart and put it right back up.

 

[Sulla]

Decided to pass on the old barn. I ordered up a Pole Barn instead. The materials start arriving in four weeks. We start on the road next week. Hope to have lots of pictures. Right now I'm trying to nail down a good excavator for a good price. I'm looking for a full machine like a Cat 312 or equivalent. So far the best deal I've found is a 95 with 4000 hours for $35k. The machine is pretty clean and the engine sounds great.

Excavator, welder/ generator and my tractor repaired and I am good to go.

Soil samples and farm plan shortly there after.

Hope to have more soon.

 

[Obed]

Decided to pass on the old barn. I ordered up a Pole Barn instead. The materials start arriving in four weeks. We start on the road next week. Hope to have lots of pictures. Right now I'm trying to nail down a good excavator for a good price. I'm looking for a full machine like a Cat 312 or equivalent. So far the best deal I've found is a 95 with 4000 hours for $35k. The machine is pretty clean and the engine sounds great.

Excavator, welder/ generator and my tractor repaired and I am good to go.

Soil samples and farm plan shortly there after.

Hope to have more soon.

I think you made the right choice in passing up the old barn. It sounds like you have plenty just on the essentials (road, place to live, etc.). The old barn project didn't sound like a necessity.

Are you planning to buy an escavator?

Obed

 

[scoutcub]

Decided to pass on the old barn. I ordered up a Pole Barn instead. The materials start arriving in four weeks. We start on the road next week. Hope to have lots of pictures. Right now I'm trying to nail down a good excavator for a good price. I'm looking for a full machine like a Cat 312 or equivalent. So far the best deal I've found is a 95 with 4000 hours for $35k. The machine is pretty clean and the engine sounds great.

Excavator, welder/ generator and my tractor repaired and I am good to go.

Soil samples and farm plan shortly there after.

Hope to have more soon.

Sulla -

just read thru your thread, great project! Sounds like you have you're work cut out for you.....I look forward to following your progress.
Couple of observations/comments -
if you start cutting trees for firewood, that will definitely get you in shape

And onto the equipment.....man I love equipment....:licking: I have a 62 acre parcel in Ohio that I plan on building our retirement home in 4-5 years.....but in the meantime I'm working on clearing the homesite, building the road in (maybe 1/4 mile) and clearing the land/trails. (sound familiar?) I started off with a dozer, but kept running into stumps....they seller had just logged the property off, so I have a nice stump farm, and all the tops are tossed all over the place. I have a chipper, chain saws, equipment and a plan, just need the time....
Anyways I would also recommend pushing the trees over with the equipment, much easier/faster to get the stumps out of the way.
I have a CAT 312, love it. Great sized machine. For your application, I would look for a 312 with a dozer blade and a hydraulic thumb. This will up the cost, but you can do so much more with that combo. Keep shopping, I got great deals on both of my machines....my 312 is a 2001 with 2 buckets, manual thumb, quick coupler, and I spent a bit less than the one you found. I should be able to use them for a few years and sell them for close to what I bought them for.

have fun shopping!

Frank

 

[Sulla]

I am planning on buying an excavator, next week if I am to stay on schedule. Fortunately we won't be living there for three to four years so the house can wait for a bit. My goal for this year is the road, the barn and clear and prep as many acres as I can for planting next year.

The man who is working as my foreman on the farm used to own a tree clearing business so he is pretty handy around heavy equipment. The plan after we attend to the road is to brush hog what I can. Cut the rest with chainsaws and haul them to the side for latter cutting. I'm going to chip and burn the tops in a gasification boiler along with the wood, next year.

As the saying goes man plans God laughs. We'll see. Anyone selling a good sized excavator in New England let me know. I'm buying soon.

 

[Obed]

The plan after we attend to the road is to brush hog what I can. Cut the rest with chainsaws and haul them to the side for latter cutting. I'm going to chip and burn the tops in a gasification boiler along with the wood, next year.

What are you going to cut with chainsaws? Standing trees or trees you've pushed over with the excavator?

Obed

 

[groundcover]

Big construction auction the 10th, you never know, might a deal !
Heavy Equipment Manufacturer Search - Locate New & Used Construction Equipment for Sale by Manufacturer

 

[Sulla]

What are you going to cut with chainsaws? Standing trees or trees you've pushed over with the excavator?

Obed

The good ones we'll take with chain saws to preserve their value as board or firewood. I want to cut as much lumber as I can for later use building the house. The property was harvest 20 or 30 years ago so I'm lucky if I have enough good straight stuff for one building.

 

[Sulla]

Big construction auction the 10th, you never know, might a deal !
Heavy Equipment Manufacturer Search - Locate New & Used Construction Equipment for Sale by Manufacturer

Great site, I'm on it all the time. May even have found something through them. We'll see.

 

[scoutcub]

Another very good auction company is ritchie bros....all around the country/world, ALL kinds of equipment, and you can bid on-line. They have auctions in June in Columbus, OH, Pittsburg, and Detroit. Seems like they carry some pretty nice equipment.

You can check it out @ rbauction.com.
I haven't bought anything from them.......yet.

good luck!

 

[Obed]

The good ones we'll take with chain saws to preserve their value as board or firewood. I want to cut as much lumber as I can for later use building the house. The property was harvest 20 or 30 years ago so I'm lucky if I have enough good straight stuff for one building.

On parts of the land you want to clear for farm land, make sure you don't cut down trees and leave stumps because the stumps will then be difficult to remove. The easiest way to get a stump out of the ground is to never make a stump. Just push the tree over with your excavator and the weight of the tree will pull the stump out of the ground when the tree falls over.

Obed

 

[Sulla]

Tomorrow it begins.

We ( I hired a guy to be foreman on the farm) start on the road tomorrow. I have a Pole Barn materials kit coming the week of July 15th and the road has to accommodate a semi by then. The weight of this and other delivery trucks ruled out the Forest service road. There are two bridges that shake when my one ton goes over them. Though the USFS was nice enough to open the gate so we can get back and forth while under construction. Thanks Folks!

Our equipment for this job will be a 40,000 pound 1994 Hitachi Excavator (pics to come) with hydraulic thumb and only 4000 hrs on it. A DK45 with loader, Woods 6' HD Brush Hog, Land Pride 8' hydraulic HD Blade and a post hole digger. In addition we have a one ton diesel dually pick up truck, three chain saws and two strong backs. I hope that's enough cause I'm running out of money.

Step one cut back some trees that are hanging over the road.
Step two clean up trenches and water breaks.
Step three install culverts.
Step four grade existing road.
Step five place road fabric where needed.
Step six place, grade and roll gravel.

What do you think a couple days should be enough?

Right! I figure about a week and a half.

That leaves two and half weeks to clear and level the land for the barn.

Now if I can just get my tractor back from the dealer,

Pics to come.

Thanks for reading.

 

[DAY]

Don't forget the stepchild of "Murphy's Law"- the "Farmer's Time Frame": Double the estimate and move to the next level. One hour= two days, two days = four weeks.
Also, the more vital the part, the more likely it will be "temporarily out of stock."

Hey, where's them pitchurs at?

 

[dave1949]

Sounds like you are getting serious about this project :laughing: Don't it hurt to write those checks. Oh well, no luggage racks on a hearse, as they say.

I think your excavator decision is a good one. The hyd. thumb will be worth it.

Good luck on the road building.
Dave.

 

[scoutcub]

Congrats on the excavator purchase! You didn't screw around, a 20 ton machine is a serious unit!

Will you be operating it or the foreman? Either experienced? A couple of things I found out QUICK......if you've got a heavy load (like a log/stump) in the bucket, don't reach all the way out with it.......the tipping moment comes up verryyy quick on you. Don't ask me how I know.
The other thing.....your machine is a beast. If you get down the road and trees are all around, beware. Anywhere you move you'll bump into something. The boom sets so high it will be knocking branches down, don't want one coming to join you in the cab. Just have to work slow and increase your situational awareness.
Got an off-road diesel tank/stand yet? Think about fueling that beast up.....jerry cans will get old quick.
And yes.....double your estimate for the job!
Good luck, have fun, and post some pics!

Frank

 

[Sulla]

I have been remiss in updating this thread, forgive me. I haven't been loafing however.

We began working on the road about a week ago and found that we needed to clear trees along both sides, pushing back about two feet along the entire distance (1 mile) of the road.

I did not anticipate this extra week or so in my schedule. The materials for the poll barn will begin arriving the week of July 15th and there is no way a semi can get up the road as is. The result is a modification to the plan.

Instead of cutting the wood and saving it for firewood as we move along we are chipping the large majority of everything we cut. Straight, high quality hard wood is being cut into 8' lengths and set to the side for latter skidding out.

I have included some pictures below (finally) to illustrate the job. The open area in the pictures we cleared as base camp. It is the highest point on the land and thanks to the Forest Service we've been able to bring all of equipment, except the excavator, up a fire road that they maintain in the summer.

We are currently using a cargo trailer as a shed, though we just got a shed at an auction that will take its place.

Looking down the road you can see the equipment we are using. I bought a Hitachi (John Deere) 20 ton excavator with low hours (4000) and a thumb. So far so good. My Kioti DK45 is getting one **** of a work out. I've just added a heavy duty Land Pride Brush Hog and a Wallenstein 9000lb skidding winch.

Add in two Husky chainsaws, my Dodge 1 ton and a flat bed trailer and that's my stuff.

The chipper is a 12 inch hydraulic feed that I've rented. We really need an 18 inch but I couldn't find one. I rather buy it if anyone has one they want to sell.

I couldn't resist putting in a picture of myself in my logging safety helmet.

If you look at the Kioti tractor you can see where a tree caught me as she was dropping of a path I had cut in a hill. But for that tree, I'd have rolled down the hill. As it was, seat belt and a little luck saved me a trip to the hospital. Now I need to fix the tractor.

I am also looking for a bigger tractor, 75 hp plus. This time I'm going to get a tractor with less goodies, more engine and gears. The downside of hydro-static is that if you blow a line and lose all of your hydraulic fluid the tractor won't move. At least a geared tractor could limp home. How do I know? See damage.

This is without question the hardest work I have ever done. I love it!