Finally Bought Some Land

[j44ke]

I imagine pachinko parties on the porch, tipsy guests bouncing from pole to pole.

Your house is spectacular.

I'd make sure that the pines are not within falling distance. We had entire trees 120' tall come down in the ice storm, just tipped over at the roots- this isn't something I have seen here before, at 1700' in the Berkshires.

Thanks!

I think we’ve finally taken out enough. But famous last words and all that. There’s a cherry tree I worry about. Might take that down next week.

[j44ke]

Our neighbor sold all his old growth white and red oak to a timber company. I don't begrudge him the right to use the resources on his land for income. But the timber company was a typical timber company. Go in, bulldoze the less valuable wood, drive their log slider vehicle everywhere, destroy the dirt roads, no replanting, leave the landscape looking devastated. Now the increased sunlight will be a boon to invasives like asian bittersweet vine and other such.

Just re-affirms the advice I was given and will reiterate here - if you buy property and are presented with the opportunity to buy neighboring parcels to create some buffer between you and whatever is going to happen in the future, do it. This property shares a boundary but most of it is too the north and east of our property with lots of woods in-between the boundary and our house because we bought some "extra" land when it came on the market.

BTW, that oak stump is about 44" at its widest.

[vertical_doug]

Our neighbor sold all his old growth white and red oak to a timber company. I don't begrudge him the right to use the resources on his land for income. But the timber company was a typical timber company. Go in, bulldoze the less valuable wood, drive their log slider vehicle everywhere, destroy the dirt roads, no replanting, leave the landscape looking devastated. Now the increased sunlight will be a boon to invasives like asian bittersweet vine and other such.

Just re-affirms the advice I was given and will reiterate here - if you buy property and are presented with the opportunity to buy neighboring parcels to create some buffer between you and whatever is going to happen in the future, do it. This property shares a boundary but most of it is too the north and east of our property with lots of woods in-between the boundary and our house because we bought some "extra" land when it came on the market.

BTW, that oak stump is about 44" at its widest.

I see you using your new tools for some DIY modifications for the new reality.





You should stock up on toilet paper. My wife's friends in Japan have said no toilet in the stores, and a gov minister urged people not to hoard.

[j44ke]

...You should stock up on toilet paper. My wife's friends in Japan have said no toilet in the stores, and a gov minister urged people not to hoard.

When I was in elementary school, I had a friend who was a Japanese girl (her parents were visiting researchers at the university where my father worked) and her grandma who met her after school always carried a roll of toilet paper in her purse. I had completely forgotten about that until your post. Not sure why I noticed something like that as a kid.

[bironi]

Jorn,
I need a pic fix.
Please?
Thanks!

[j44ke]

Okay - things aren't changing dramatically. Just filling in the blanks. Lots of little things get done and then another piece of the concrete board paneling goes up. Recently they've been working on hanging interior doors. What a nightmare doors are. Lots of drama there I'd rather not repeat. Onward and upward as they say.

New metal exterior doors for utility room arrived and were installed. Don't want anyone walking off with our boiler.





The living room cabinetry is coming along. There are tall narrow doors on either side. All the doors into the cabinetry disappear into the walls. This will be easier to see (or not see) when they finish the hallway and bedrooms. I post photos when that's done.





Assorted outdoor photos, rotisserie-style.









No photos of the front as it hasn't actually changed that much. Plus no stack of palettes out front to stand on and get a proper angle.

I must say that having 81 acres "out back" is a great comfort during a zombie apocalypse. The bobcat and coyotes appear to be working the deer population over as we keep finding bits and pieces and great piles of deer hair, so we'll see if that allows the ankle-high seedlings in our forest to progress to knee high this summer.

[bironi]

Thanks Jorn.
Looking good.

[72gmc]

Even more thanks, Jorn. Wishing good health to you and your wife, the crew building your house and landscape ... pretty much all creatures except the ticks.

[funcrusher]

Sorry if I missed earlier in the thread but what is source of fuel for the house?

[htwoopup]

Jorn-Love how this house looks. Just wondering if you could humor me/us with some photos from inside the house looking out. This is how it looks out of the living room window in the winter. Etc. Since we are living vicariously through this thread and many are jonesing for an invite for the first annual Jorn ride when the house is done it would be great to see what it will look like in the morning waking up or the evening after a long day in the saddle.

[j44ke]

Sorry if I missed earlier in the thread but what is source of fuel for the house?

Propane.

[funcrusher]

Propane.

Oh...so no good option for a generator

Nice place to wait out the zombie apocalypse if you had constant source of power

[j44ke]

Jorn-Love how this house looks. Just wondering if you could humor me/us with some photos from inside the house looking out. This is how it looks out of the living room window in the winter. Etc. Since we are living vicariously through this thread and many are jonesing for an invite for the first annual Jorn ride when the house is done it would be great to see what it will look like in the morning waking up or the evening after a long day in the saddle.

I’ll go dig through my photos. I think I already have some. If not, I’ll be there during the week so I’ll get some snaps.

Right now, because all the work is on interior walls there are stacks of lumber and such in front of the windows. And there is usually a dumpster or forklift parked in view.

[j44ke]

Oh...so no good option for a generator

Nice place to wait out the zombie apocalypse if you had constant source of power

No, we have good sized generator. It runs off the propane. Big tank underground.

But if the zombies take over the propane delivery I guess we’ll be screwed.

[funcrusher]

No, we have good sized generator. It runs off the propane. Big tank underground.

But if the zombies take over the propane delivery I guess we’ll be screwed.

That's what I meant...we have gas piped directly in to the genny

[j44ke]

Here is the view from the master bedroom. There will be grading done to reshape the terrain and planting. Mud is not our favorite color.



View out the front windows, complete with roll-off dumpster.



From the other end of the room.



View in front from the edge of the porch.



View from behind through the upper room.

[bironi]

I may come out of retirement to become a window cleaner in your hood.

[htwoopup]

Lovely light and views make a house. This is spectacularly lovely.

[j44ke]

That's what I meant...we have gas piped directly in to the genny

Unfortunately that’s not an option here. No line-based utility for gas. Just tanks and delivery.

Future plan is to start adding some off grid features, once we recover from building the house. High efficiency windmill with a battery shed. We’ve checked the wind on-site, and because we are atop a hill (though covered by trees) we have a breeze very frequently, if only due to temp differential between us and the valley or us and the mountain behind us. So I think that’s a strong plan.

Friends have a 3 part system - windmill, photovoltaics, and propane - hooked to a battery array (very large repurposed forklift batteries) that can drive their whole house 24/7/365. And he’s assured me a wind turbine could definitely be made to work as part of a backup power source.

[j44ke]

I may come out of retirement to become a window cleaner in your hood.

Lovely light and views make a house. This is spectacularly lovely.

Thanks guys. Bironi you are hired.