Making the leap to the country

btjim · Jun 8, 2012

Here we go. Wife and I have agreed to sell the house and build on some land that we purchased almost two years ago. First on the list, is to get a barn built in order to store a few tools and give us a base of operations. Hoping for a metal building with a concrete floor. We are looking around now for what we can afford. I really like the idea of 30x40 or 30x50. We shall see where some of the bids come in.

I am self employed and am in my busy time of year, so be patient with me folks. I will try and keep it all updated, and post a few pics in the process.

I rented a bobcat for the weekend with a grubbing attachment and an auger. I took the afternoon off to learn how to use this beast of a machine. It is very cool. I wish I could justify owning one! I was most impressed with how difficult it was to pull on this west Texas mesquite that I am clearing out. Even small trees hang on for dear life and need quite a bit of pulling to get them to release their hold on mother earth.
This weekends project is to clear a space for the barn and to get a few holes dug to fix a section of fence.

RxRatedZ71 · Jun 9, 2012

Enjoy the seat time and get all your accidents out on someone else dime and machinery before you buy your own equipment. Thank god for the insurance option on rentals!

I've heard alot about those darn mesquite trees. I'm glad we dont have them in central Oklahoma, but I imagine they are comparable to the invasive Eastern Red Cedars that we constantly battle.

Western · Jun 9, 2012

Let the fun begin!! and Welcome to the forums!!! I've "pushed allot of cedar and mesquites and I'd take cedars any day. I've used anywhere from a 14ohp tractor with FEL (devastating on cedar and mesquites) to a 25+ hp John Deere (bit tougher)

On the shop, great idea, I would consider "security" and the ability to "add" on to it later if you want. You may be able to go 30x40 then lengthen later, or have the option to build another

Redneck in training · Jun 9, 2012

btjim said:
Here we go. Wife and I have agreed to sell the house and build on some land that we purchased almost two years ago. First on the list, is to get a barn built in order to store a few tools and give us a base of operations. Hoping for a metal building with a concrete floor. We are looking around now for what we can afford. I really like the idea of 30x40 or 30x50. We shall see where some of the bids come in.

I am self employed and am in my busy time of year, so be patient with me folks. I will try and keep it all updated, and post a few pics in the process.

I rented a bobcat for the weekend with a grubbing attachment and an auger. I took the afternoon off to learn how to use this beast of a machine. It is very cool. I wish I could justify owning one! I was most impressed with how difficult it was to pull on this west Texas mesquite that I am clearing out. Even small trees hang on for dear life and need quite a bit of pulling to get them to release their hold on mother earth.
This weekends project is to clear a space for the barn and to get a few holes dug to fix a section of fence.

Double the size of the barn. Our house has 29 x 48 garage and it was hopelesly crowded. Had to built another barn few years later.

TripleR · Jun 9, 2012

Those machines really are handy, we used one for a couple of months and will probably rent one this summer.

About anyone who has done this will tell you, figure out how big of shed you need then go bigger.

igpoobah · Jun 9, 2012

Yup, I've got a 42x42 and it didn't even take 2 to years to fill it up.

EddieWalker · Jun 9, 2012

The secret with equipment is the bigger you get, the faster you get it done. Insteadof spending ten minutes on one small tree, a bigger machine would do it in less then half the time, and not cost twice as much.

I don't care for skid steers, but use them when they are the right machine for the job. For land clearning, it's really not very effective. A full sized loader backhoe with a 4 in 1 bucket would have been faster at getting everything out of the ground and carrying it to your burn pile. It would move more dirt and just as good at spreading it.

For just land cleaning, a ful sized excavator is best, but they are terrible at getting around. For a small area, that would have been the best choice, especially if it has a blade on the front of it.

Dozers will get it done too, but they are more destructive and can cause more work for you very quickly. I love mine, but rarely use it because my backhoe does a better, cleaner job at clearning land.

More importantly then the size of your shop is where you will locate it. Have a master plan that includes the house location, the ability to get utilities to it, where you will park everything and if you can add on to the building. If it means more time, then take the time. Once it's built, you can't move it!!!!

Good luck,
Eddie

tony Cecil · Jun 10, 2012

As it appears you are just starting, the learning experience is frustrating, and also gratifying.....You might rent a tractor, and a small excavator , before you settle on any one implement...and it would be a real step in the right direction to have a thorough plan on where your house and barn would be located, as Eddie suggested....

Of course I didn`t and therefore the barn is a mile or so away from the house, but I have adapted

You might want to widen the barn if you can, as there can be a lot of maneuvering around with long and bulky things.

You are in for a wonderful new phase of your life, and I wish you` good luck` Tony

btjim · Jun 17, 2012

Spent the day cleaning up from last weekend. I had managed to grub quite a few mesquite trees last weekend and left them all laying on the ground all week. I dragged the downed trees into a pile so that I can cut them up at a later time. I may wait for a cooler time of year on that. I included some pics of my ghetto/redneck style logging operations. I used my ATV and chain to drag the trees off. It worked well and I got a bunch of it done. Hope to finish the cleanup next weekend.

I also managed to widen my path to the future barn site as well. I now have it wide enough to drive to the site. I can now see where the barn is going to sit as well.