An Old Goat Ranch in Texas

[terry.dinerman]

"The Great Container Barn Massacree"

or

"How I Built A Dirt Cheap Barn For Only Twice As Much Time and Money".

Part 4 - "...repeat if necessary...."

A good nights sleep....of course, whatever didn't hurt didn't work...coffee and a bowl of Ibuprofen, Garcon....

Day 2 began with jacking the #1 box down on some 20' long 2x6 treated "sleepers" (THANK YOU Precious Bride!).... then, with the tractor free, a short length of 4x4 was chained to the carry-all and the gravel on the edge of the pad was tapered....the tractor had no trouble with this gentler ramp, and box #2 made the journey without stopping.

Now it was a matter of rigging up, moving and setting the boxes next to each other... I pulled #2 up to the match the front of the previous load, set the front end down with the front corners touching and then used the tractor to stabilize the high end of the box while I jacked it down.

Now it was time to push the first two boxes together.

The sleepers were placed at 6 intervals along the length of the boxes spanning the distance between the foundation beams of adjacent boxes.




This provided:

• A common plane of support for all the boxes
• A smooth surface to slide the boxes on
• A bearing surface for any leveling shims that might be needed

Leveling......Our "Zen Dirt Master" had provided such a fine grade on that gravel pad, that water poured on the floor of the first container pooled where it was poured without running in ANY direction....since the gravel pad was allowed to "weather compact" for several months prior to the work, I doubt even after settlement occurs, will any shimming be needed....
Just another case of a blind squirrel bumping into an acorn...

My initial attempts to pull the boxes into position with a chain were unsuccessful....the rear wheels of the light-weight 870 spun on the compacted gravel like they were on ball bearings floating in french-fry grease....but ample traction was obtained by using the carry-all as a fork lift to hoist the edge of the box just shy of lifting it off of the sleepers...

With the some weight from the box now transferred to the rear tires and using the incredibly low gear ranges available, this turned the previously ineffective 870 into a little powerhouse....and one bump at a time the containers were nudged together, and squared up to the pad.

A come-a-long was used to keep the open end of the boxes tightly together while the 870 was shoving the other end...it took me a few tries to figure that little trick out....I would nudge one end and the box would spin...and I burned up a little diesel going back and forth before the light went on....

But better late than never....No?

Each box presented slightly different challenges....#3 had a wrecked door that I will demo and salvage the hardware from to hold as spares for #1 and #2 (we got a 50% discount on that one!) and the remains of a lift-gate needed to be trimmed off prior to moving it.

But now that the system was proven up...in just a short while, off it went down the road to join the others....Do you love the mud-flaps?

 

[terry.dinerman]

Hey T.,

I too am new to the forum, bought in Grimes county, and have some of the same background as yourself - Diving (oilfield. some salvage, not much), travel for work etc. Heck we may have mutual aquantices. It is a small world.

Sounds like your happy with the fencing contractor and I'm now in the process of getting quotes for my fence to be installed in January. Same sort of soil as yours only on more of a slope - the main reason I want a professional to do it. If you'd want to drop the name of your guy I would not mind giving him the chance to quote job price.

Good luck with your ranching ventures and I'm looking forward to following your progress.

Reily

HEY REILY!

GRIMES COUNTY TEXAS FENCE CONTRACTOR-

Sorry for the delay...the girls had to dig thru a years worth of invoices...

Here is the contact information for my Fence Dude...

___________________________________________

Penaloza Brothers Fencing
P.O. Box 1363 Madisonville, TX 77864

(936) 349-5079 or (936) 394-5198 Ask for"Abel"

____________________________________________

Able and his crew are the best...

Let me know if you want to visit my property and check out his work...

I am right in between Huntsville and College Station....

Be Safe-

Terry

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Howdy and welcome aboard! At first, I too, thought it was a thread about old codgers like myself. Interesting reading. I can't help you much with goats but I do know how to fell a wild hog. Problem is, I don't like handling the big ones after they are shot. Hopefully, your fence will provide a good defense.

I live on the other side of College Station (about 60 miles from CS). I travel to work in CS daily.

It is a bunch of work (and $$$) to transform raw land to something you can use. Good luck and keep us updated with your progress.
Kyle

 

[terry.dinerman]

Howdy and welcome aboard! At first, I too, thought it was a thread about old codgers like myself. Interesting reading. I can't help you much with goats but I do know how to fell a wild hog. Problem is, I don't like handling the big ones after they are shot. Hopefully, your fence will provide a good defense.

I live on the other side of College Station (about 60 miles from CS). I travel to work in CS daily.

It is a bunch of work (and $$$) to transform raw land to something you can use. Good luck and keep us updated with your progress.
Kyle

Kyle In Texas -

Thank you Kyle! I know EXACTLY where Giddings is...worked for a barn-builder backintheday and crisscrossed the State...you're talking "Country" with a capital "C" when you talk about Giddings...

Old Codgers -
Well, in fact, this thread IS about Old Codgers...Precious Bride and myself are not exactly spring chickens...

However, I like to think that I am in advanced training to be a Curmudgeon, rather than a Codger...

Goats and Hogs-
After declaring my intent to have a few goats I have had more advice on them than I could possibly digest in three lifetimes...some of it pretty sensible...some HILARIOUS...

I don't have much problem with hogs now that the fence is done...the big ones don't like that tight strand of barbed wire down on the ground and stay out and the few little ones that dig under it don't make to much of a mess...

Ultimately, a well-place 12ga slug will take care of them as well...and between the tractor, a winch and a strong tree...I can still handle dressing the smaller ones...

Work-
YOU AINT KIDDING...this ranching stuff aint nuthin BUT work...but building something like this is, for me, a dream come true...

I will keep on recording our progress and posting here....

Stay sharp...that commuting is dangerous stuff....Be Safe!

Terry

 

[RTII]

HEY REILY!

GRIMES COUNTY TEXAS FENCE CONTRACTOR-

Sorry for the delay...the girls had to dig thru a years worth of invoices...

Here is the contact information for my Fence Dude...

___________________________________________

Penaloza Brothers Fencing
P.O. Box 1363 Madisonville, TX 77864

(936) 349-5079 or (936) 394-5198 Ask for"Abel"

____________________________________________

Able and his crew are the best...

Let me know if you want to visit my property and check out his work...

I am right in between Huntsville and College Station....

Be Safe-

Terry

Thanks Terry,

I'll give 'em a call after the new year and see if they'd like to quote. Sorry for the trouble but thanks for the help. Having a look at thier work would be great. Let me know........................

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

When I started out on our place, I didn't know snake meat from apple butter. Now, I know that okra is the only thing that can survive drought in heavy clay soil...
But alas, there is a wealth of info to be gleaned from this site. Not to mention all the nice folks chipping in their two cents.

We started from scratch on our place. Luckily, my contractor installed the type of water line PVC pipe Eddie is recommending. 2" with an "upset" end as we call it in oil country.
Some things to make sure of when installing:
1)Make sure all the joints go into the next joint all the way. Mark them if you have to ensure complete depth. It would be a night mare if one wasn't installed deep enough and it slipped off.
2)Come off of the 3/4 meter with a 3/4" brass valve per Eddie's note. Keep this in a protective covered access hatch. There will be mean critters such as scorpions and black widows that love it in there so put your glove on to turn off the water.
3) Run a piece of 3/4" diam pipe (after the valve) for about 6' feet or more. The reason being, you need room to shore up/brace the 2" with cinder blocks to keep it from moving back and forth in the trench from the force of the water. You can place the blocks against the 3/4 to 2" coupling. You can transition to your final depth in this area too. You really only need about 18-24" in our area. Mainly so you can come back and plow/till/cultivate your place (not for freezing).
4) I know its not advisable or code in many places, but I ran a piece of buriable romex in my trench to get power to my gate. My power comes from the back of my place and the water is in the front.
5)If you want a valve anywhere along the way, design it so that if you snap it off, it won't break off flush at your "T" coupling (18" down). Don't ask me how I know this.
6) NEVER, EVER, NEVER TRY TO FIX A LEAK WITH A DOUBLE ENDED RUBBER GASKETED COUPLING. USE ONLY FOR A SHORT TEMPORARY FIX TO GET WATER RE-INSTATED FOR EMERGENCY PROVISIONS WHILE GOING TO GET THE REAL REPAIR PARTS. Don't ask me how I know this either.
7)Be nice to your wifey and she might bring you umbrella drinks while you work on the broken waterline or type to your online buds about your waterline war stories.

Concerning the electricity, I'd really be tempted to have buried lines if they bury them really deep. The pricing looked like it wasn't rediculously higher.

More later, I'm enjoying my Pina Colada.

 

[terry.dinerman]

"The Great Container Barn Massacree"

or

"How I Built A Dirt Cheap Barn For Only Twice As Much Time and Money".

Part 5 - "Wrapping it all up"


Box #3 was moved and set in a little under 3 hours...

Box #4 (The "FREE" box!) was a fooler...tho 4 feet shorter than the rest of the boxes and made predominantly out of aluminum, it proved to be the heaviest of all....apparently there is a lot of steel hidden under the aluminum...

As you can see in the photo, the extra weight put a bit of a permanent bow in the mobile home axle but otherwise caused no significant problems.

The torn metal sticking out from the damaged side needed a bit of trimming to get the boxes to snug up tightly, but the soft aluminum was no problem. Inside, the plan is to line the wrecked wall with plywood panels screwed to the remaining metalwork, thus providing bearing surfaces for cabinets and covering the damage.

The cutout in front that formerly housed a chiller with now hold a small AC unit, and salvaged tin and spray foam will fix that wrecked corner....got "POP" rivets?

Site-built doors will close in #3 and #4.....the roll-ups are still in fine shape on #1 and #2....

#4 was moved and set in two hours....and the free ends of the sleepers where then trimmed off....

SO - with the approval of the "Engineering Advisory" and "Safety, Health and Environmental Department" the first phase of the project was wrapped up, and the "Commissary Department "served a picnic lunch by the pond....

It was was perfect way to end a perfect day...hard work, no injuries and a good time had by all...

I would trade a ham sandwich by a farm-pond in Texas with family, for every snail in Paris.

With all that work done, and 9 weeks downstream, we are only now back at the point we SHOULD have reached, had the rain held off for a few days allowing that truckie to make it down our dirt road....BUT - such are the ways of construction...

I now have time to plan how to tie the boxes together, anchor them to the ground and make up a framing plan for the contianer doors and front porch...till the next installment; I bid you "Grazi Mille"....

And BE SAFE...

Terry

 

[dcyrilc]

It looks like that Deere's earning it's keep from the start. Nice job getting the containers moved.

 

[terry.dinerman]

It looks like that Deere's earning it's keep from the start. Nice job getting the containers moved.

dcyrilc-

Thanks for the kind words!

Yes indeed...the 870 has really helped...I had to pay a bit more for the green paint...but the smaller tractor was a great investment...I was lucky and found one that had had an easy life and an attentive owner before I got to it...

Be Safe!

T

 

[EddieWalker]

I like the idea of a sandwich by the pond. It sounds like a nice way enjoy a meal.

Now that your containers are in place and you're planning the next phase, let me suggest a concrete skirt around the base of the containers to keep critters out. In my container barn, I had a skunk under one of them and snakes under the other. I started with gravel, but that didn't stop anything. I dug a sort of footing with a shovel and poured concrete along the exterior walls. I didn't use any forms, but just poured it real dry and worked it in with a trowel so it would have a slop to shed water, but also fill any voids that critters might want to use to get under there again.

I have another 40 foot container and will do the same when I get around to building onto it for my storage area. It also has a skunk living under it. I've seen it twice, but haven't done anything about it yet since I'm still planning on moving the container around and building up a small pad for it to sit on in it's final position. Something I can't do until things dry out here a bit.

Eddie