Moving to the Farm

[Tororider]

Today is firearm opener for deer in Michigan. While taking a break from the tree stand (I don't have a stand like Eddie's yet) my dad and I work on the dirt around the newly poured cement.

We also rolled up the fence and posts that had enclosed out garden. We now need to cut down the garden so the delivery trucks can deliver the house.

 

[Larro Darro]

Good luck with the deer. Our gun season starts on Thanksgiving morning. I bought a bow stamp and have been sitting in my shooting house a little. But I haven't seen anything since opening day.

After you mow your weeds, you should rake them up and burn what you can. You are going to have a heck of a time with weeds next year if you just till them in in the spring. Looking forward to seeing your house in place. How soon are you guys moving in after it is set up?

Larro

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm in the city limits and there is too much game... lots of deer, turkeys... etc.

Guess the word must be out that no fireman discharge within city limits.

 

[Tororider]

Good luck with the deer. Our gun season starts on Thanksgiving morning. I bought a bow stamp and have been sitting in my shooting house a little. But I haven't seen anything since opening day. After you mow your weeds, you should rake them up and burn what you can. You are going to have a heck of a time with weeds next year if you just till them in in the spring. Looking forward to seeing your house in place. How soon are you guys moving in after it is set up? Larro

We will try and get final grade done this year, and then put some seed down first thing in the spring.

We will try to move in as soon as possible depending on c of o.

 

[ASV HD 4500]

Well I have convinced the wife and we are leaving our nice house in a subdivision in the suburbs for a piece of property in the country. We will be land contracting 18.6 acres from my parents and living in a mobile home for a few years while we save some money to build. We are in the process of getting the cement pad for the mobile home and the septic field put in. Natural gas, water, and electric is already at the barn so will just need to be connected to the house. I will post some pictures as we move forward, but I am excited that we are able to move towards my dream. As Obed and others have done on here I hope to share an learn through this experience.

First question: should we need to drill holes for piers to set the mobile home on if we are planning on putting in a full cement slab? I plan to call the building department for the county tomorrow, but was wondering what thoughts were on it.

Thanks

I lived in Wisconsin in a Mobile home for years. You probably already know this, but 1st if you live in Winter like Michigan then you should really have either a cement slab 4-6 inches deep with anchors or a trench (2' wide all the way around under the I beams). If your planning on putting in a full cement slab I would use concrete patio blocks, level it and anchor it. Your local building codes can tell you what kind of anchors to use. I found mine at an auction. No matter what you do before you put the mobile home in place use a good plastic vapor barrier and cut out around cement blocks and plumbing. Put gravel around that and outer edge. Using blocks is ok also. A slab is best, then a trench, then piers and last favored is blocks, but if your going to do a full cement slab anyway go with the blocks for now. You may have to re-level more often, but it's better than spending a bundle you could use for the slab. Good luck! I live here near San Antonio Tx. now with 100% sand. I build a barn, a 70' x 17' storage building, an 18 x 24 carport and just finishing a 3 story custom 8' x 12' Deer blind and put up miles of fencing not using a lick of cement. Just water and sand. On bigger metal poles for my entry I will mix sand with gravel and water. Sand packs as good as any cement. I've lived in Alaska, graduated from Montana, had a tobacco farm in Wisconsin, drove Greyhound Bus out of Chicago for 17 years so yes I am familiar with cold grounds.

 

[Tororider]

I lived in Wisconsin in a Mobile home for years. You probably already know this, but 1st if you live in Winter like Michigan then you should really have either a cement slab 4-6 inches deep with anchors or a trench (2' wide all the way around under the I beams). If your planning on putting in a full cement slab I would use concrete patio blocks, level it and anchor it. Your local building codes can tell you what kind of anchors to use. I found mine at an auction. No matter what you do before you put the mobile home in place use a good plastic vapor barrier and cut out around cement blocks and plumbing. Put gravel around that and outer edge. Using blocks is ok also. A slab is best, then a trench, then piers and last favored is blocks, but if your going to do a full cement slab anyway go with the blocks for now. You may have to re-level more often, but it's better than spending a bundle you could use for the slab. Good luck! I live here near San Antonio Tx. now with 100% sand. I build a barn, a 70' x 17' storage building, an 18 x 24 carport and just finishing a 3 story custom 8' x 12' Deer blind and put up miles of fencing not using a lick of cement. Just water and sand. On bigger metal poles for my entry I will mix sand with gravel and water. Sand packs as good as any cement. I've lived in Alaska, graduated from Montana, had a tobacco farm in Wisconsin, drove Greyhound Bus out of Chicago for 17 years so yes I am familiar with cold grounds.

We have poured our slab already, it is 4+" thick. We dug a 12" ratwall around the whole perimeter. In conjunction with that we drilled forty eight 18" diameter piers that are all 42+" deep. All of the cement was poured at one time, monolithically. I don't think we should have any trouble with the slab.

I wish we could build like you can down there.

 

[ASV HD 4500]

We have poured our slab already, it is 4+" thick. We dug a 12" ratwall around the whole perimeter. In conjunction with that we drilled forty eight 18" diameter piers that are all 42+" deep. All of the cement was poured at one time, monolithically. I don't think we should have any trouble with the slab.

I wish we could build like you can down there.

Haven't been to the sight here in awhile. You surely do have it fortified. Never hurts to go that extra mile, lol. I did the same when I built my Personal Training Studio. The Inspector told me the foundation would hold a dump truck, but having 22 Cybex, Nautilus and other machines, not to mention a full set of dumbbells and cardio I wanted to walk that extra mile. I loved the North when I could play in the cold. I took many ski charters up to the Porcupines and Indianhead Mts. in upper Michigan. You probably have heard of those, but now my bones like the warmth and here we have the best average temp. of anywhere in the USA so they say. A little hot in the summer, but I can take anything up to 100. On your slab, if your not going 6"s you made a good choice for piers also. Down here they put these floating slabs in the resident homes. Not thick enough and never let them cure like they should before putting weight on them and right over all the plumbing and with no piers (at least not in mine). I had to hire a foundation co. to level my floors before I could sell it. When you do that then you have doors and windows, plumbing, electrical that need repair and even cracked walls and ceilings. I had minimum as they could have gone 100% level, but beings they did not it saved a lot of extra work and the buyers approved and so did the inspector and only cost me $6500. Yes, still a lot, but that with other repairs and Realtor Fee's it cost me $20000 to sell my house. Good thing it was paid for as I sold my Fitness Studio, House and custom show bike and bought this ranch. This is where I want to be till my time is up. Good luck in your quests. You can live anywhere, in anything if you have to. When the time is right, you change that. A piece of land with a barn like yours and a mobile home is a blessing believe me.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I poured a full slab for my 30x72. I did this after living in a subdivision for 10 years. luckily I had good neighbors for the most part in town. Got tired of sky high property taxes living near Austin, so I went mobile home on property. Built a 30 x 40 insulated barn and now very happy. Low taxes. Only time I regret it is when really bad tornadic weather comes around. I need a shelter for my family, but want to build it cheap if possible.

I had to spend much of my equity on homesite improvements. Water, electric, septic, full slab. I used FHA guidelines when I poured and used the poly fill concrete for additional strength with rebar too. I remember the guidelines stating for perimeter frame to go below freeze line up north.

Best of luck with yours.

 

[Tororider]

Haven't been to the sight here in awhile. You surely do have it fortified. Never hurts to go that extra mile, lol. I did the same when I built my Personal Training Studio. The Inspector told me the foundation would hold a dump truck, but having 22 Cybex, Nautilus and other machines, not to mention a full set of dumbbells and cardio I wanted to walk that extra mile. I loved the North when I could play in the cold. I took many ski charters up to the Porcupines and Indianhead Mts. in upper Michigan. You probably have heard of those, but now my bones like the warmth and here we have the best average temp. of anywhere in the USA so they say. A little hot in the summer, but I can take anything up to 100. On your slab, if your not going 6"s you made a good choice for piers also. Down here they put these floating slabs in the resident homes. Not thick enough and never let them cure like they should before putting weight on them and right over all the plumbing and with no piers (at least not in mine). I had to hire a foundation co. to level my floors before I could sell it. When you do that then you have doors and windows, plumbing, electrical that need repair and even cracked walls and ceilings. I had minimum as they could have gone 100% level, but beings they did not it saved a lot of extra work and the buyers approved and so did the inspector and only cost me $6500. Yes, still a lot, but that with other repairs and Realtor Fee's it cost me $20000 to sell my house. Good thing it was paid for as I sold my Fitness Studio, House and custom show bike and bought this ranch. This is where I want to be till my time is up. Good luck in your quests. You can live anywhere, in anything if you have to. When the time is right, you change that. A piece of land with a barn like yours and a mobile home is a blessing believe me.

Thanks. We definitely feel blessed to be in the situation we are in.

 

[Tororider]

I poured a full slab for my 30x72. I did this after living in a subdivision for 10 years. luckily I had good neighbors for the most part in town. Got tired of sky high property taxes living near Austin, so I went mobile home on property. Built a 30 x 40 insulated barn and now very happy. Low taxes. Only time I regret it is when really bad tornadic weather comes around. I need a shelter for my family, but want to build it cheap if possible. I had to spend much of my equity on homesite improvements. Water, electric, septic, full slab. I used FHA guidelines when I poured and used the poly fill concrete for additional strength with rebar too. I remember the guidelines stating for perimeter frame to go below freeze line up north. Best of luck with yours.

Ours is about the same size, 30x76. I worry about shelter as well. But am not sure I will do anything as the long term plan is to build. We will see.

Thanks for the best wishes.