MGH PA
Gold Member
Subjective question, I know.
I will, in the future, have access to a good chunk of land to build on. It's a perfect piece of property in a lot of aspects (abuts my parent's property that I hunt now, great views, even more hunting opportunity, etc). The downfall is that the only way in to the property (where I want to build), is going to require roughly a 1/2 mile driveway. About 80% of the driveway ROW right now is open field (currently farmed), with the last 20% or so heading into timber (mostly Hemlock and some Oak). It doesn't have any switchbacks or serious elevation gain. In fact, the route we would take would involve mostly long straight stretches with a few slight turns.
We haven't surveyed yet, but mapping it in Google Earth shows and elevation profile that has an average slope of 6.5% and 112ft of gain and 82ft of loss through the route.
To be honest, I grew up on property with a 1/4 mile driveway that had steeper elevation and was cut into the side of a ridge. I'm not a stranger to road maintenance, but tacking on another 1/4 mile does give me some pause. I will have maintenance covered as my dad and I have a plow truck, and a tractor for grading and other work, but it may come down to is it worth the work?
You don't hear of many people around here living off of 1/2 mile driveways and I imagine there's a reason for that. Most people don't like maintaining a simple 100ft driveway.
So, if you found a great piece of ground, great building spot, and the price was REALLY right, would a long driveway be a deal breaker for you?
Love to hear your thoughts.
I will, in the future, have access to a good chunk of land to build on. It's a perfect piece of property in a lot of aspects (abuts my parent's property that I hunt now, great views, even more hunting opportunity, etc). The downfall is that the only way in to the property (where I want to build), is going to require roughly a 1/2 mile driveway. About 80% of the driveway ROW right now is open field (currently farmed), with the last 20% or so heading into timber (mostly Hemlock and some Oak). It doesn't have any switchbacks or serious elevation gain. In fact, the route we would take would involve mostly long straight stretches with a few slight turns.
We haven't surveyed yet, but mapping it in Google Earth shows and elevation profile that has an average slope of 6.5% and 112ft of gain and 82ft of loss through the route.
To be honest, I grew up on property with a 1/4 mile driveway that had steeper elevation and was cut into the side of a ridge. I'm not a stranger to road maintenance, but tacking on another 1/4 mile does give me some pause. I will have maintenance covered as my dad and I have a plow truck, and a tractor for grading and other work, but it may come down to is it worth the work?
You don't hear of many people around here living off of 1/2 mile driveways and I imagine there's a reason for that. Most people don't like maintaining a simple 100ft driveway.
So, if you found a great piece of ground, great building spot, and the price was REALLY right, would a long driveway be a deal breaker for you?
Love to hear your thoughts.
