Clearing 2 acres for house and a 800' driveway through the woods (pics)

[dave1949]

Dave,
That's great advice. Today, I just received the go ahead from the highway dept to put in the culvert. They recommended 12" x 20', but I was going to go at least 30'. They seem like very nice folks there but the permit came today stating that it is good from 8/26/2014 till 8/26/2014. Obviously a typo but nonetheless, has to be corrected. Also, when I called they informed me that they would install and maintain the culvert. The permit grants me permission to install it and gives rules and regs for the install. So, I will have to call them on Tuesday to correct the typo and ask about who installs the culvert and can I increase the width to at least 30'.

The road won't be used until early next spring when I start the pole barn. My plan is to drive on the road as is. Tune it up when necessary. The home building isn't planned for another 3-5yrs. Till then just a camper and occasional car traffic on weekends. While the home is being built, I will let the concrete, lumber and delivery trucks trash it and pack it down. Then when the home is finished grade it again and put the top coat on. I will keep in mind your recommendation about the fines and sand. I can see the road getting hairy in winter.

Confusion reigns! I guess I would go with what they tell you verbally. You wouldn't want to insult them by taking a piece of paper over their word.

Last winter I used quite a bit of sand. I ran up and down the drive just letting the tire chains chew up the surface of the ice a couple of times. I have fairly aggressive chains with studs welded on each link. The two years before that, hardly any icing. You never know what to expect.

 

[Woody65]

Well, got the seed in a few weeks ago and it is coming in nicely. The clearing in the end was 3.7 acres. Nothing else planned this fall except hunting and some brush hogging in the lower fields. Here are the pics.

 

[Woody65]

In regards to the culvert situation with the county, the install crew arrived and informed me that the survey crew was obviously in the wrong location when they did the field visit. I do not need a culvert according to them. Just cut back the brush to improve the line of sight. So, the culvert I special ordered at their direction for $389.00 has to be returned. What a waste of time. I can now continue the driveway the last 300' to reach the road.

 

[dave1949]

Waste, yes but no culvert to maintain is good news.

The clearing looks very nice.

 

[Woody65]

Waste, yes but no culvert to maintain is good news. The clearing looks very nice.

Thanks Dave,

To think that 6 weeks ago that entire area was a forest and to see it now cleared and grass growing is a relief. A few minor things to tweak but nothing else major planned until next spring. Time to enjoy the fall and sit awhile in a hunting stand.

 

[Woody65]

I wasn't able to get much done this spring but have been plodding along this summer. I got tired of renting an ex to do stuff so I bought a Bobcat 331 excavator. What a benefit it is to have that on hand 24/7. I can now do what I want when I want and not have to worry about the weather and wasted rental days. I had a spring constantly keeping the west end of the field wet. This was going to cause a problem because I want to build the pole barn in that section along with the driveway passing through that area. I dug a 400' long trench along the back and west and put a culvert under the existing driveway. The driveway stops at the clearing for now but will extend past the barn to the house. The culvert pipe is 40' long 8" diameter. And by God it works! The area that was wet is now dry! I drew these pole barn plans for the building dept. They were extremely nice to work with and had the building permit back to me in 8 days. I planned on getting some of my old construction crew together for a long weekend and slapping it up. The logistics of getting everyone on board were causing delays. So, I looked into hiring a local crew to put up the frame and I would finish the rest. Not happening. The contractors I spoke to sounded incompetent and the one I trusted to give me an estimate said $6500 to just put in the poles, purlins and tin roof. Just labor. I am providing the materials. No girts, siding, trim doors etc. so, back to getting my old crew together. I am 250 miles from the site so it can be problematic to get everyone on board the same weekend. It looks like it will have to wait until the spring. This was the materials estimate for the supplies for the barn. I am going with board and batten siding and a black tin roof. I will make custom barn doors. I had 13 loads of bank gravel delivered and leveled out the pad. I had a pile of topsoil that I used to feather down the edges. Down the road I plan on putting 2 8' wide lean to's on both sides of the barn. Before After I also had some fun with the new bobcat and cleared a bunch of brush from the clearing to the creek. I got a brush pile 30'x60' 10' high. Gonna be some fire! Before After Well, I figured you guys would enjoy the pics. I always enjoy seeing your projects and pics.

 

[hcallaway]

Glad to see it back on track. That looks like a beautiful area.

 

[Woody65]

Glad to see it back on track. That looks like a beautiful area.

Thanks. It is beautiful. I am just trying to be a good steward and leave it better or the same as I found it.

 

[rjwassink67]

Looking great!!! I have to live through all of these posts until I can settle down in one location and start my dream property. Thanks for all of the photos and progress reports.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Morning Woody,
Nice job on your driveway ! The crown and swales look about right, which as you know are pretty important when those heavy rains come through !

Speaking of LI, we have some friends of ours that invited us to their place in Sound Beach for a long weekend. The weather was great, not too far from Northport !

Keep up the great work on your property !