Finally Bought Some Land

[Matthew J]

Matthew: I am not trying to hijack this thread, but do you know anyone that has worked with Bone Structure, as this might be a good solution for a house that I want to build. Thanks.

Not yet. The architect I've been speaking to will track down existing customers but she understandably would like the retainer first. I have to get my act together.

[guido]

Can you imagine the pile of dead Birds at the base of that house? Must sound awful in spring, with the constant "thud", "thud", "thud"

That was my SOs take on it too. But other than that little detail it is a nice design project. I especially liked how they assembled the typical house components to make the new shape. Nice out of the box thinking...

[Matthew J]

Get someone in to talk to confirm your solar ambitions. We have always wanted to do solar but our site just doesn't have the exposure we would need for PV, let alone passive solar heat. You love the trees and might face a dilemma when you learn how many you'd need to clear...

Depending on road front, one work around is to go old time and put the structure for vehicles (assuming one is in the plan) on the road where presumably there already is an opening. It would mean more of a walk from the garage to the home than many these days prefer. But in addition to open sky it also means less of a drive to clear.

[nahtnoj]

Looks fantastic Jorn. You've clearly been working on this for a long time. Now the devil is in executing the details.

[mzilliox]

Wow, what an enchanting piece of land. It feels so good to walk your own property, drink water form a creek on your land, see animals that nobody can come kill, etc etc. any trout in that creek?

[MisterDangerPants]

Very nice! My wife and I are also looking at land in the Berkshires and recently checked out 10 acres in the shadow of Mount Williams. Looks very much like what you've purchased.

[heybusti]

Congrats. That's a beautiful piece of land.

We've been close to buying land a couple of times, but just can't bring myself to pull the trigger. Please keep us posted on your project - this is really inspirational stuff.

[vertical_doug]

Can you imagine the pile of dead Birds at the base of that house? Must sound awful in spring, with the constant "thud", "thud", "thud"

Just tell your kids it is the Whoomping Willow from Harry Potter. It will be even a more magical place.

[j44ke]

Glass buildings are a thing in the Hudson Valley. Could be the proximity to New Canaan, CT. Toshiko Mori is also a thing. She's designed several houses in Columbia County.

Good to mention the birds. I will put that in our notes.

The whole area is beautiful, and there is quite a range of habitat around. Unfortunately no trout in the stream (except perhaps small fry) - I think the flow is too seasonal - but there are trout streams all around, so I might have to resurrect my backcast.

Alternative energy will be a process - research, evaluation, and listening to what smart people have to say. We have friends who live north of Hillsdale in Vermont, and they've been off-grid for 10 years, so we plan to go see their system. Not that we'd go entirely off grid, but I think having the capability to throw a switch in that direction at some point would be a valuable - both to us and for resale. The property has two house sites (we are actually buying what was two 16 acre parcels) and the second lower site is very sunny so we'll check out the possibility of having any solar panels there. The distance between the two sites may not be optimal, but we'll see. Information before decisions, measure twice, cut once.

First actual planning meeting with the architects is tonight. This will be the meeting where we start setting out goals, making a calendar and dividing up tasks so everyone knows where to go next. No design for a while.

[mnoble485]

John,
That property looks so different from what we see in Florida, really magical looking tomthis flatlander. Your meeting with the architect sounds like what the construction industry calls a "card session". This is a great devise for setting goals, assigning responsibilities and time lines. You are off to a great start. Congratulations.

Mike

[Too Tall]

Dibs on the Airstream. You won't want to keep it.

[bcm119]

Just a side note, if you're a land owner or just interested in land use issues in that corner of the world, the federal Fish & Wildlife service has approved the creation of a new National Wildlife Refuge in the northeast, and one focus area will be along the Housatonic near the NY/CT border.
Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge

[back40]

Awesome looking property and house design concept. Don't underestimate the mosquitoes. A screened in area, while not architecturally pleasing, is a must living in the woods in the NE in May, June and July.

[joosttx]

Awesome looking property and house design concept. Don't underestimate the mosquitoes. A screened in area, while not architecturally pleasing, is a must living in the woods in the NE in May, June and July.

I can help you with this problem.

[ides1056]

Jorn, congratulations.
Building a house will put your marriage to the test.
Whatever you build, it should be low to no maintenance. You'll hate puttying windows. Trust me on this.
1400 square feet should be adequate for two people who like each other.
One story, more or less ADA compliant.
My two cents.

[tedbarbeau]

Congrats! Although my wife and I have relocated to the Bay Area, there is still a piece of my heart on the east coast (I grew up in Western Mass., my wife Litchfield County) and secretly hope life takes us back there at some point. I have dreams of being nestled amongst the trees along the Hudson. Or maybe Vermont. Or maybe Maine.

I'm by no means an expert but I did go through the laborious process of buying a vintage Airstream a couple years ago. It was a partially restored, 1956 25' Safari that we, after much consternation, decided to sell before finishing the project. There are copious resources online but happy to offer any thoughts or ideas should you get serious about setting one up on the land.

My current fascination is the humble yurt. Airstreams sure are sexy, but a yurt is the definition of practical.

[j44ke]

Congrats! Although my wife and I have relocated to the Bay Area, there is still a piece of my heart on the east coast (I grew up in Western Mass., my wife Litchfield County) and secretly hope life takes us back there at some point. I have dreams of being nestled amongst the trees along the Hudson. Or maybe Vermont. Or maybe Maine.

I'm by no means an expert but I did go through the laborious process of buying a vintage Airstream a couple years ago. It was a partially restored, 1956 25' Safari that we, after much consternation, decided to sell before finishing the project. There are copious resources online but happy to offer any thoughts or ideas should you get serious about setting one up on the land.

My current fascination is the humble yurt. Airstreams sure are sexy, but a yurt is the definition of practical.

An Airstream appeals from a nostalgic perspective, but a good one in good condition is a bit more than we'd like to spend I think. And parked in the yard, they seem prone to decay. As some droogs said, theirs finally stopped leaking water when they had a company come out and build a metal roof over it.

We are also considering some sort of small yurt or safari tent that would allow for a semi-permanent/permanent installation and could function as a guest room or even a writer's office at some point. These Canvas Cottages from Rainier Yurts caught my eye.

Not that a tent is particularly leak proof either, but a reasonably sized model might work out okay if put up and taken down seasonally.

We had our initial meeting with the architects. This year will be metes and bounds survey with topographic detail around the house site, connection of the property to the grid and connection of building site to the utility box, driveway construction (but not final finish), house design and septic design (but not septic build,) permits, approvals, and bribes. Everything so we can start building in spring of 2018. Projected completion assuming seasonal, meteorological, and bureaucratic delays is early 2019.

[xjoex]

Just an option, at my place the original owner built a guest house and garage which they planned on living in when they built the dream house. Never built the dream house, which worked out for us. Bonus since it is small everything was done to the nines(I still don't know the origin of that saying).

Maybe build a small permanent structure for use while you figure out the future?

Also then you have a place for guests who will have their own space. We have a guest house at our main home and it has come in handy so many times.

Cheers,
-Joe

[dogrange]

That property looks idyllic like in a dream! Congrats!

[j44ke]

Just an option, at my place the original owner built a guest house and garage which they planned on living in when they built the dream house. Never built the dream house, which worked out for us. Bonus since it is small everything was done to the nines(I still don't know the origin of that saying).

Maybe build a small permanent structure for use while you figure out the future?

Also then you have a place for guests who will have their own space. We have a guest house at our main home and it has come in handy so many times.

Cheers,
-Joe

That was sort of the way our thinking was going. It is not that hard to build a 3-season 12x14 (for example) shed with windows and doors and a tin roof. I was thinking the safari tent just because it might be possible to pull it down, though built correctly, a 12x14 shed might be put on wheels and moved at some point I suppose. Or disassembled and re-assembled. The goal is to be able to stay on the land and figure out some things that just visiting wouldn't allow. Road noise at night, possible neighbor noise, insects, etc.

We know some carpenters in the area who are really good at problem solving. They modified this barn for Kinderhook Farmstay. Maybe the task of building a chicken coop for humans would just shrink what they've done here.





Might switch the decor a bit though. Not so much for the gingham and brass.