Best machine for barn/house building?

[lostcause]

if you're going to be doing any sort of agricultural / farming after the construction, then a tractor is probably the way to go if you are going to buy just one piece of equipment. if you are thinking earthwork / construction only, then i would go with a skid steer. both offer a wide variety of attachments, but the tractor can do farming chores, where a skid steer can't. at the same time, while a tractor can dig and load, a skid steer can do it better and faster. both are great tools, but each has its place.

if you go with a tractor, i would recommend getting one that has a skid steer quick attach setup on the bucket. it will allow you that extra flexibility in buying / borrowing / renting attachments.

 

[mikefromnh]

I'd say for the actual building (not the earthwork) it would be hard to beat an all terrain fork lift with a man basket. It allows you to raise wall, lift plywood/lumber, fly rafters, do roofing, siding etc. safely.

 

[scgargoyle]

I don't plan to do any serious earthwork with it, although I could certainly do my final grading. The house will be on a walk-out basement, so I need a big hole in the ground. I'll let the experts do that.

My barn will be a bigger job (literally) than the house. The plans I'm using call for building the trusses up on the loft floor, although I could get a price on having them pre-made. Access will be good for a truck crane, so maybe I'll see what they charge to set them.

If I could find a serviceable loader/backhoe, I'd try to keep it. I have numerous plans down the road, so having a machine like that around would be handy. For example, I'm probably going to be milling some of my trees with a portable sawmill. Sure would be nice to have something to load the logs on the mill with. I'd also like to dig a small pond to store irrigation water.
I'll have a good sized garden, but a sub-CUT would probably be better for that.

I have no problem having more than one machine eventually. I like old tractors, and will probably have several, but I think a modern 4WD will work better in the clay soil. As in all marriages, possession is 9/10ths of the law, so once a machine comes home,it will probably remain on as a family member.

 

[flusher]

I'm slowly warming up to the idea of developing our little homestead in SC, and need some equipment. Since I'll be working alone a lot, I figure I'll need a piece of machinery to stand walls up, hoist trusses, and otherwise help out with the project. What would be the best thing to get, if I could only buy one machine? I was looking at some big Lull off-road forklifts at an auction the other day. One of those certainly would help. Or should a just stick with an all-around tractor with a front loader, and add a gin pole to it for a sky hook? Or maybe a truck crane? I'd like to buy something used, get the heavy lifting done, and then hopefully sell it for what I have in it, or close to it. Something like a tractor I'd keep for farm chores. Construction is officially dead and buried here in FL, so there are some great bargains to be had. I can fix nearly anything, so as long as there isn't a busted rod or blown tranny, I can fix any other stuff.

Get a 40-50 hp tractor with an FEL that has 6-ft wide bucket, skid steer quick attach and a 10-ft high reach. That should handle most of your lifting chores.