Land Clearing to House Building...

[hunterridgefarm]

I also agree with Rob that if it starts to rain those roads are going to suffer real bad. Even that loose stuff around the house site. A good quick rain and it'll all run down the hill (DAMHIKT!!). Lay down some small stripped tree trunks or something to slow things down. You have a lot nice soil there!

Keep the pics comming.

Rob

RobJ

Thanks for the reply. I have done some of what you suggested with the tree trunks. And I have used rock to slow the water down when it rains hard.

I have had a little wash down beside the drivway but I had anticipated that. I had an area at the bottom of the driveway pushed out for a future Greenhouse and in the process created a barrier to catch any top soil the ran off the ridge. It has worked great.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Heck no! Those are great pictures. That track loader made short work of that area. How did you have him out there?
what are you going to do with the logs and shrub...burn pile or firewood? You'll have enough for a couple years looks like.
The location on top of that ridge is great too. With all those pines around, will you have somewhat of a view or will you be secluded?

Rob,

The track loader was there for about a week. He could only work 2-4 hours a day due to other jobs. But I think I received a total of 16 hours worth of work. He cleared undergrowth on about 2 ac and put 2 tandem loads of gravel on the part of the drivway going up the ridge. It cost me $1750.00 which I thought was a good deal.

Most of the logs will be used for fire wood, I plan to have a wood stove or wood furnace in the basement. May have some of the logs milled into boards or beams. I have twice that much wood from the tops of the trees. I pulled those to a different place to cut up later.

I pushed the brush into a hole on one side and covered with dirt. It is out of sight and really worked out as the best way to get rid of the brush. We could not burn due to the dry conditions and thickness of surrounding trees. Even digging a pit to burn was not allowed.

I will post some pics of my view.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

With all those pines around, will you have somewhat of a view or will you be secluded?

Rob,

Secluded but with a "ok" view.

This is a view from my front porch (when I get one).


The second picture is not a view form my front porch, attached the wrong pic

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Here is another view from the front porch.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

This is a view from the back side of the house looking off the ridge to the river and the river bottom.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

These are picture of the river that borders 1/3 to 1/2 of my property. The picture that shows the rock face and turn in the river is where my property line is, it goes straight up the middle of the rock face.

Property line runs the middle of the river, so half that water is mine .

 

[BigFatJoby]

hunterridgefarm, I love the pictures. What part of NC are you located (if you don't mind my asking). Beautiful views and I love the river.

 

[RobJ]

People might say I'm crazy but I'd take down a few more trees in the front to get more of a view. Beats looking at trees. Being on top of a ridge I bet the trees don't offer a lot of protection from wind, rain, etc. Unless you are on the back side of the worse weather.

I didn't have much choice with my view but I'd keep it just the same.

Here is my web page of the weekend place I build back in 2001-2002.

Elkhart House Project

Rob

 

[hunterridgefarm]

Lookin' Good! Just curious on how you decided on where your road should go. I have found out that there is an art to road building and was curious what resources you may have used in your process.

Also, what elevation is your home site at? Several people around me have had some problems finding enough water when drilling their wells. Have you drilled yours yet?

Keep those pics coming - really enjoy seeing the progress you are making, especially since I am considering similar project in near future.

Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina...

1b2h,

According to Google the river is at 1199ft and the top of the ridge where the house is at 1325ft with everything in between on my property. At one place on the backside it is a sheer drop to the river and it looks more than 126' . I located the house a few hundred feet from that point, did'nt want to risk sleep walking .

If I'm not mistaken your property was up around Hendersonville, NC, little higher elevation!


How I decided where the road should go was very scientific, I chose the path of least resistance .

Actually I knew several different paths I could take. I walked the bottom of the ridge and tied orange tape at several points where the road could come. I then went to the top of the ridge and tied orange tape at several places I would like the road to be. Since I could not see because of the thickness of trees I would walk different trails marking as I went and when I reached the bottom I would see how close I was to the tape markings I left at the bottom of the ridge. I also used an aerial view of the property to help.

The old road bed in the first photo of this thread was the way I intended to make the road. However if I had used that road I would have had to make a near 90 degree turn to start up the ridge. And this would have been several thousand feet of driveway.

I narrowed it down to two ways in but had to take into account how I wanted to position the house. One way would have been 1500-2000' drive but I would of had to put the garage on the other side of the house than what I wanted. And also change the location of the workshop and equipment shed. The other way was come off the highway with a straight shot up the ridge (couple of small turns near the top). So I chose the straight shot, 100'flat then 400' up the ridge...this way I can get a run-n-go .

This did take me several trips to make sure this was the route I wanted and I did bring a couple of excavators that I was going to use to build the road out and get their opinions.

 

[3RRL]

Looks to me you have the best of both worlds with the great views AND the seclusion of the forest. The forest and river are peaceful. I didn't know you had riverfront property. That is a plus. I wish I had that, but the riverfront out where my spread is was outrageous...about 4 times the price of my lot lot. I envy you and your place. It is super nice. Love them pics too.

So what's next on the agenda? Do you have building plans already and a contractor picked out?