First post, Introduction and Plans for Rural BUILDING

[bdenglund]

Hello,
My name is Brett and my family and I live in west Texas. We live in the city right now but I am from a small town and can稚 wait to get out of the city. I work for the fire department and my wife works at the local hospital.
I bought 10 acres a few years back and have been getting the land ready to build. Initially it was farm land and when I purchased it, the previous owner had planted the land in Rye.

So I killed all the rye and mowed it down.

I am lucky that my family farms not too far away and I could use some of their equipment. Since then I have purchased a used 5045D with shredder, box blade, and a 3 piont sprayer.

I also seeded the land 2 years ago with Buffalo Grass and Bleu Grama.
The grass the first year was pretty disappointing, the weeds easily won.

This year the grass did well. Nothing like good May rains and herbicide.
I am hoping to use this forum for help on the actual laying out and building on the land. Things like septic systems, gravel drives, putting in a culvert, fenceing ect So I値l be bugging yall every once in a while
This is an ariel of the land with the dimensions.

I need to talk to the neighbors to see what they are doing for electricity, gas, ect. The spot where we plan on putting the house is flat and level, but about 50 from the front door the land naturally and gradually loses elevation. The other side of the road is basically a flood plain.

Anyways,, Ive got to get back to the honey-do's

 

[bdenglund]

Sorry, Im not sure how to get the attachments to show up in the thread. Stupid Rookie

 

[bdenglund]

Post#4

 

[bdenglund]

Post #5. Now let me fix my pictures

 

[murphy1244]

This will be a interesting thread. Good luck and post lots of pics.

 

[madpuma13]

I'm getting ready to be doing the same. Are you going traditional sick built?

 

[bdenglund]

Yes it will be traditional stick built. Im contemplating being the general contractor for the build since I know quite a few people who do things like HVAC, concrete, plumbing, frameing, cabinetry, and roofing. Ill have to find an electrician, septic guy, and someone to advise me on getting the pad built up. I haul gravel on the side to fill in old well heads in the area so I have a dump trailer.

 

[Citydude]

Looks like a fun project for us to watch. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!

 

[EddieWalker]

Looking forward to following your build. Are you drawing up your own house plans or buying some that have already been done?

 

[joeyd]

I always enjoy seeing what folks come up with plan/design wise. Looking forward to your project!

 

[bdenglund]

Thanks for the interest everyone.

We found the plans on the internet. My wife and I like them allot but will make a few adjustment. Noting too major.

I'm still waiting to hear from the county on a permit/specifications for installing a culvert, but I did order 30 sticks of 2 7/8 pipe so I can set some post for the fence. I was going to use 2 3/8 but the 2 7/8 was the same price. My cousins are in the know when it comes to anything fencing/barn building, and they let me in on their order.

Also, when it comes time for specific projects like culverts, should I start a new post or tag along with this one??

Thanks everyone

 

[flusher]

Welcome to TBN. Join the fun:thumbsup:

In Jan 2005 I bought 10 acres of flatland in the North Sacramento Valley outside Corning, CA. I planned on being my own general contractor for a 3BR, 2BA single story home (too old to climb long flights of stairs even then when I was only 63 years old).

After finding out how difficult it is for a newby to handle this GC task, I decided to go with a double-wide manufactured home 1800 sq. ft. Back then the housing market was booming and I found out that getting your subcontractors on your site (site prep, concrete, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, etc.) would be a big problem since these guys were so busy that they were turning away business.

Here's what I ended up with. I had the two sections installed on a permanent concrete base with 30" high crawl space. The sections were delivered in Sept 2005 and because of all the on-site custom work that had to be done, it took until Jan 2006 to get an occupancy permit.



While the house was being fabricated at the factory in Portland, OR and later installed on my site, I had the 20 ft wide x 330 ft long driveway installed. Had 220V/200A service installed. Had the well drilled (154 ft deep, better than 100 gpm, 30 gpm with a 1.5 hp pump). And had the septic system installed (1250 gal concrete tank, 100 ft leach line in the gravely loam soil that perked really well). I did all the trenching myself with a Ditch Witch.

Overall it was a satisfying experience. I hate to think of the mess I would have gotten myself in by being my own GC.

Good luck.

 

[bdenglund]

Thank you for your concern flusher. I still haven't made up my mind if I want to be the GC or not yet. While things are always steady in Lubbock I'm not too concerned about there being a shortage of people willing to work on things. Most of the people I know that do different Trades, work with me on the fire department.

Also stopped by and got a few more photos of the land. Like I said the Buffalo grass did really well this year.

And I cant wait to deal with all the spring weeds from my neighbors place. He hasn't touched his

Can you tell a difference?

 

[flusher]

Nice looking property. Flat field. Big sky.
Nothing like a good rainfall year to keep the grass growing.

Good luck

 

[Soldier415]

Subbing to the thread

 

[Redlands Okie]

Well your pictures of that flat terrain sure remind me of visiting relatives in Plainview. Could see a tractor plowing for many miles. We lived down off the cap rock back then near Snyder. I assume the dust still blows around april / march ? Will keep a eye on the thread, sounds interesting. I for one would think keep it all on this one thread.

 

[bdenglund]

. I assume the dust still blows around april / march ? .

Oh yes, the dirt sure can blow. Seems like eastern New Mexico dust turns into west Texas dirt. You get used to it though... My family farms right up against the Caprock and it a sight to see. Standing in a cotton field; 15 feet from the canyon edge, looking out over the rolling hills. You have to be from here to appreciate it I think. Like cold water to a thirsty soul