DieselBound
Elite Member
With new ground/property it's best to live on it through at least one full round of seasons to understand how it all reacts to weather.
I had "plans," and then reality "helped" alter those plans. Accept that there WILL BE fudging. Think in terms of flexibility in all things.
Did someone mention drainage? I knew it rained a fair bit where we're at, but that didn't register until living here: it's pretty much boots year-round. Yearly rainfall averages around 70". Last year we recorded (have our own weather station) 100" of rain. Ditches require maintenance; they also impede travel. Ducks really DO like water! :
(I fully understand where the phrase "sitting duck" came from, after picking up MANY dead duck carcasses, what was left of them.)
Fencing requires a lot more work, installation as well as maintenance, than one might think! Spend LOTS of time planning!
If one heats using firewood it's a good idea to look to reduce the amount of time one shuffles around wood- reduce handlings. I use palletized metal crates which are loaded up in the field (cut, split and toss into). Tractor moves the crates (pallet forks as well as a small trailer). I don't touch the wood again until I pull it out of crates (as they get placed on my deck; one lasts me about 10 days). Our solution works for us (took many years to develop); for others it's likely going to be a lot different.
It took us several years before having electrical back up power. I have no worries about losing power now. No automatic switching and such; simple and dead reliable system (Kubota diesel). My wife is trained in how to operate. Small electrical load means one can get by with a smaller generator. Our 7.5kW generator manages just fine. Small means low fuel consumption. Diesel storage tank is topped off going into the winter season; with a fuel sipping generator we can run a LONG time on that fuel.
Storage is always going to be a problem. The more stuff you have the more you trip over it (can't find stuff when you need it!). STUFF OWNS YOU (not the other way around)! Minimize as much as possible. Store ALL loose stuff in tight containers in order to keep rodents from destroying or messing things up: rodent management is likely going to factor into one's life- it's a pain to deal/keep up with.
Gardens and food plots are war zones. Wild, as well as one's own, animals will test your patience. Also, if you raise smaller animals it's a battle to keep them from being harvested by wild life: we free-range out fowl. NOTE: we run a hot wire above our woven wire fencing to keep crawling wild life from coming over the fence and lunching on our fowl (our attacks from raccoons were completely stopped when we first lit up the hot wire); having back up power is essential.
Think long and hard about having animals and how you're going to manage them throughout the year (if they're other than seasonal occupants). Make sure food and water is available and that that is doable in the worst of [normal] times. Make sure you can move feed and water in the most extreme weather conditions.
Security. Dogs. Dogs. Dogs! Dogs were domesticated for a reason: they are co-workers; train them well and life is so much better. We also have Guinea fowl and geese. Access to our property is really only through one front gate (BIG ditches - moats!). Nothing comes on the property that we aren't notified of! These are our "front line" security measures: there are more- security in layers [I've been meaning to post at the front gate: "Security provided by all sorts of stuff!"]).
Plan based on being realistic. No way to accommodate infinity. When I was spec'ing out our garage+shop I figured my work bay sizing based on the largest excavator that I'd likely ever/realistically be able to afford (and be usable on the property). I didn't build "in case" I got a motorhome or such: a recent reality check forced me to admit that I have no desire to travel, to be out on the roads with all the insanity out there (yeah, sure, I would like to "travel the open roads," but that's just not reality- travel is going to become harder). Room to accommodate larger things means you end up with more floor space that has to be open/free: I have a LOT of stuff on wheels such that I can shift things around for space- my work bay is open to my "shop" area (both small, but together they allow for project space). Bigger buildings mean more costs for maintenance; and, if you're heating/cooling that means more energy (refer to firewood and generators...). Our garage+ shop is only 24'x48' (we have other outbuildings for other stuff, so this one building doesn't have to do "all").
KNOW YOUR WATER SOURCE. Have spare parts, maintenance items and such and ensure that this is always a top priority.
Single story and reasonable sloped roof is easier for maintenance. Decks are headaches, and in most cases they're not used enough to warrant the expenditure on construction and maintenance: up until now we just don't have the time to sit back in a rocker on the porch (can dream, but the reality for now is just that- a dream). That said, I am still planning on having a deck (because we want/need a covered porch); it'll be simple and at ground level. Plan on accommodating for reduced mobility. This last point is more than just for "when in old age." After going through major rotator cuff surgery (is there any minor such?) I realized how much a bidet would have been welcomed! Things that we take for granted, when everything is working as "expected" one hardly gives a second thought to, but with the slightest disruption...
Make your place a place where you're OK with being all the time. Might be a day in which you're not going to be going anywhere: COVID-days provided a taste of this for many. We get a lot of people telling us how idyllic our place is (when the sun is shining I'd put it up against just about anywhere else); it's not self-maintaining, and when it's raining and when animals STILL have to be attended to, it's not all so idyllic. It's an accepted way of life. Having some natural variations in landscape really helps inspire one through the less-than-ideal times.
Be on the same page as your spouse. Be on the same page as your spouse. Be on the same page as your spouse. I cannot repeat/stress this enough. Being "out" means a heavy reliance on each other: my wife and I are an unstoppable team. Talk through everything; plan together. Make sure that each understands how to deal with key systems and tasks.
Recent supply chain disruptions ought to inform one (if one wasn't already aware of such) that complex systems can be problematic. Key systems need to be as robust as possible and have backups.
Things can take a LOT longer than you think. The number of foot steps required to get something done is far more than one thinks. Seems half my time is spent looking for things and coming and going in order to accomplish a given task. Our UTV, which I at first thought was an extravagance, has turned out to be a very worthwhile expenditure.
No matter how big of a machine you have you will find a task in which it's not big enough! Don't try to buy for infinity. Look to rent bigger power for one-time projects. Large equipment means larger maintenance, repair and operational costs.
Always have a Plan B!
I had "plans," and then reality "helped" alter those plans. Accept that there WILL BE fudging. Think in terms of flexibility in all things.
Did someone mention drainage? I knew it rained a fair bit where we're at, but that didn't register until living here: it's pretty much boots year-round. Yearly rainfall averages around 70". Last year we recorded (have our own weather station) 100" of rain. Ditches require maintenance; they also impede travel. Ducks really DO like water! :
(I fully understand where the phrase "sitting duck" came from, after picking up MANY dead duck carcasses, what was left of them.)Fencing requires a lot more work, installation as well as maintenance, than one might think! Spend LOTS of time planning!
If one heats using firewood it's a good idea to look to reduce the amount of time one shuffles around wood- reduce handlings. I use palletized metal crates which are loaded up in the field (cut, split and toss into). Tractor moves the crates (pallet forks as well as a small trailer). I don't touch the wood again until I pull it out of crates (as they get placed on my deck; one lasts me about 10 days). Our solution works for us (took many years to develop); for others it's likely going to be a lot different.
It took us several years before having electrical back up power. I have no worries about losing power now. No automatic switching and such; simple and dead reliable system (Kubota diesel). My wife is trained in how to operate. Small electrical load means one can get by with a smaller generator. Our 7.5kW generator manages just fine. Small means low fuel consumption. Diesel storage tank is topped off going into the winter season; with a fuel sipping generator we can run a LONG time on that fuel.
Storage is always going to be a problem. The more stuff you have the more you trip over it (can't find stuff when you need it!). STUFF OWNS YOU (not the other way around)! Minimize as much as possible. Store ALL loose stuff in tight containers in order to keep rodents from destroying or messing things up: rodent management is likely going to factor into one's life- it's a pain to deal/keep up with.
Gardens and food plots are war zones. Wild, as well as one's own, animals will test your patience. Also, if you raise smaller animals it's a battle to keep them from being harvested by wild life: we free-range out fowl. NOTE: we run a hot wire above our woven wire fencing to keep crawling wild life from coming over the fence and lunching on our fowl (our attacks from raccoons were completely stopped when we first lit up the hot wire); having back up power is essential.
Think long and hard about having animals and how you're going to manage them throughout the year (if they're other than seasonal occupants). Make sure food and water is available and that that is doable in the worst of [normal] times. Make sure you can move feed and water in the most extreme weather conditions.
Security. Dogs. Dogs. Dogs! Dogs were domesticated for a reason: they are co-workers; train them well and life is so much better. We also have Guinea fowl and geese. Access to our property is really only through one front gate (BIG ditches - moats!). Nothing comes on the property that we aren't notified of! These are our "front line" security measures: there are more- security in layers [I've been meaning to post at the front gate: "Security provided by all sorts of stuff!"]).
Plan based on being realistic. No way to accommodate infinity. When I was spec'ing out our garage+shop I figured my work bay sizing based on the largest excavator that I'd likely ever/realistically be able to afford (and be usable on the property). I didn't build "in case" I got a motorhome or such: a recent reality check forced me to admit that I have no desire to travel, to be out on the roads with all the insanity out there (yeah, sure, I would like to "travel the open roads," but that's just not reality- travel is going to become harder). Room to accommodate larger things means you end up with more floor space that has to be open/free: I have a LOT of stuff on wheels such that I can shift things around for space- my work bay is open to my "shop" area (both small, but together they allow for project space). Bigger buildings mean more costs for maintenance; and, if you're heating/cooling that means more energy (refer to firewood and generators...). Our garage+ shop is only 24'x48' (we have other outbuildings for other stuff, so this one building doesn't have to do "all").
KNOW YOUR WATER SOURCE. Have spare parts, maintenance items and such and ensure that this is always a top priority.
Single story and reasonable sloped roof is easier for maintenance. Decks are headaches, and in most cases they're not used enough to warrant the expenditure on construction and maintenance: up until now we just don't have the time to sit back in a rocker on the porch (can dream, but the reality for now is just that- a dream). That said, I am still planning on having a deck (because we want/need a covered porch); it'll be simple and at ground level. Plan on accommodating for reduced mobility. This last point is more than just for "when in old age." After going through major rotator cuff surgery (is there any minor such?) I realized how much a bidet would have been welcomed! Things that we take for granted, when everything is working as "expected" one hardly gives a second thought to, but with the slightest disruption...
Make your place a place where you're OK with being all the time. Might be a day in which you're not going to be going anywhere: COVID-days provided a taste of this for many. We get a lot of people telling us how idyllic our place is (when the sun is shining I'd put it up against just about anywhere else); it's not self-maintaining, and when it's raining and when animals STILL have to be attended to, it's not all so idyllic. It's an accepted way of life. Having some natural variations in landscape really helps inspire one through the less-than-ideal times.
Be on the same page as your spouse. Be on the same page as your spouse. Be on the same page as your spouse. I cannot repeat/stress this enough. Being "out" means a heavy reliance on each other: my wife and I are an unstoppable team. Talk through everything; plan together. Make sure that each understands how to deal with key systems and tasks.
Recent supply chain disruptions ought to inform one (if one wasn't already aware of such) that complex systems can be problematic. Key systems need to be as robust as possible and have backups.
Things can take a LOT longer than you think. The number of foot steps required to get something done is far more than one thinks. Seems half my time is spent looking for things and coming and going in order to accomplish a given task. Our UTV, which I at first thought was an extravagance, has turned out to be a very worthwhile expenditure.
No matter how big of a machine you have you will find a task in which it's not big enough! Don't try to buy for infinity. Look to rent bigger power for one-time projects. Large equipment means larger maintenance, repair and operational costs.
Always have a Plan B!
