I had been sick for a couple of weeks around Thanksgiving and have made a few major changes to my plan, so that's my poor excuse for not keeping up on here. Plus, a new dating relationship and church activities have kept me distracted.
The tree guy finally finished cutting most of the excessively tall/large trees from the wooded area and hauled them off. That procedure left a lot of mangled fences and piles of branches. So two weeks ago my dad and I cleared things out again and got started putting in some metal fence posts and stringing up the barbed wire. We're on the last leg of the fencing, which will total around 750-800 feet in length (we have about 150 ft left to do).
On bad weather days and evenings, I've been redesigning my house to accommodate a family of four, just in case my family size changes in the future. Instead of being around 300 square feet, we're looking at around 700 sq ft. The newest plan is two full stories, with two upstairs bedrooms and a full bath downstairs. There is a spiral staircase connecting the floors. The exterior would have more of a traditional farmhouse look with a wrap around porch on all sides except the north. I'll try and post some updated plans and some pictures of the fencing in the next few days.
A couple of other house decisions that I've made recently are to abandon the idea of using a wood cookstove as a water heater and to hold off putting in a solar water heater. I'll just use a 28 gallon electric water heater. The reason for not using the stove for hot water came after much (much!) research and realizing that it was going to have a lot of maintenance and safety issues, not to mention being complicated to design and install (I still plan to use that wood cookstove for cooking and heating though!). I may put in a solar water heater eventually, but I'm leaving it out now to save on initial cost.
Well that's about all the news for now. Pictures to come soon!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tree Cutting and Code Compliance
Once again I'm behind on reporting the local news. On October 21st, the Cookeville City Council gave us final approval for the rezoning of the land, but then it took two weeks to take effect. So by November 5th I was allowed to apply for a building permit. Unfortunately there have been some hang-ups.
First, we decided to have a bunch of top heavy, towering pines cut down because they tend to get blown over onto the fences, and I figured it would be a good idea to get them down before I put up any new fencing. Well, the guy we hired only works on the weekends and he's still working out there. Plus, we've had a lot of rain lately, which has slowed him down.
The second hang-up is with the design process and making sure everything I'm doing is up to code. You may remember that I mentioned the code book, which happens to be 1 1/2" thick and those 674 pages don't exactly read like a novel. My dad and I read one paragraph about six times, trying to decipher its meaning. Then there are the drawings. I am one of those types of people that probably came up with the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared." The code enforcement office doesn't need everything that I'm putting into these 'blueprints,' but I want them to be thorough so that I know what I'm doing and so that I can pass the 9 inspections that are coming down the pike. I also realized that even though my house is only 339 square feet, it has almost all the same components of a 3390 square foot house.
So, basically I'm trudging away with these drawings, and as soon as I can get them to a comfortable completion, I'll apply for a building permit and get back out on the site work. It'll get there eventually!
Oh - we did manage to get a culvert put into the ditch along the road, so now I have driveway access, which the logging trucks have been using extensively. By the way, the whole logging operation is so destructive to the woods -- it looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings where Saruman slashes and burns a big chunk of Fangorn Forest (and the Ents, outraged, retaliate and drown Saruman's estate). But I'm sure by next summer it will all be grown up again. I'm planning to plant some new trees wherever there are big gaps.
Till next time!
Barry
First, we decided to have a bunch of top heavy, towering pines cut down because they tend to get blown over onto the fences, and I figured it would be a good idea to get them down before I put up any new fencing. Well, the guy we hired only works on the weekends and he's still working out there. Plus, we've had a lot of rain lately, which has slowed him down.
The second hang-up is with the design process and making sure everything I'm doing is up to code. You may remember that I mentioned the code book, which happens to be 1 1/2" thick and those 674 pages don't exactly read like a novel. My dad and I read one paragraph about six times, trying to decipher its meaning. Then there are the drawings. I am one of those types of people that probably came up with the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared." The code enforcement office doesn't need everything that I'm putting into these 'blueprints,' but I want them to be thorough so that I know what I'm doing and so that I can pass the 9 inspections that are coming down the pike. I also realized that even though my house is only 339 square feet, it has almost all the same components of a 3390 square foot house.
So, basically I'm trudging away with these drawings, and as soon as I can get them to a comfortable completion, I'll apply for a building permit and get back out on the site work. It'll get there eventually!
Oh - we did manage to get a culvert put into the ditch along the road, so now I have driveway access, which the logging trucks have been using extensively. By the way, the whole logging operation is so destructive to the woods -- it looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings where Saruman slashes and burns a big chunk of Fangorn Forest (and the Ents, outraged, retaliate and drown Saruman's estate). But I'm sure by next summer it will all be grown up again. I'm planning to plant some new trees wherever there are big gaps.
Till next time!
Barry
Sunday, October 17, 2010
House Drawings, Cookstove, and Sorghum
Here are a few updated drawings of my house. Hopefully they're self explanatory, but feel free to ask questions.
Floor Plan
West Elevation
South Elevation
East Elevation
North Elevation
Section - North Wall
This is the stove that I picked out at the Lehman's store in Ohio. It's a Heartland Sweetheart model.
Here are a few pictures of the sorghum operation in Muddy Pond, TN.
Back in the Saddle (so to speak)
Well, it's been a while, obviously, since I've written anything, mainly because there wasn't much to report for a long time. My dad and I cleared out the last few logs along the driveway path back in September, a day or so after my last entry. Then I spent a couple weeks recuperating from the poison ivy and the mosquitoes. I also started back with my handyman gig, doing some work at our pastor's home (bathroom renovation, mainly).
Last Tuesday my parents and I drove up to Kidron, Ohio to check out the wood cookstoves and countless other wonderful things at the Lehman's store (lehmans.com). I've pretty much decided on getting the Heartland Sweetheart stove, which is UL listed and can be fitted with all the bells and whistles (e.g., a "water jacket" that allows me to use my stove as a water heater).
Upon our return to Cookeville on Thursday (Oct. 7), we had our second of three zoning meetings, this time with the City Council. Our zoning request was unanimously approved by the council, but we still have one more meeting in November for final approval.
This past Tuesday my parents and I drove up to Muddy Pond, a Mennonite community where several families raise and process sorghum cane into syrup. One place demonstrates the old-fashioned way of using a horse powered mill to squeeze the juice from the cane and cooking the juice over a wood fire. So we watched the operation and came away with a couple of cookbooks, a couple loaves of sorghum-sweetened bread, and lots of pictures.
This past Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I staked off the corners of my roof and the corners of the yard, and then cleared out a path through the woods for a new barbed wire fence to keep my neighbor's cows out (he rents the land from my parents).
Next week I hope to get someone in to cut down some of the tall trees (mainly pines), instead of waiting for the next big storm to blow them down onto my new fence. Once that's done I'll commence with the fence. I noticed that along the new fence row are several dogwood trees, so I'm looking forward to seeing them in the spring.
I've also done some updates to my house drawings, so I'll post those next time, along with some other interesting pictures.
Goodnight!
Last Tuesday my parents and I drove up to Kidron, Ohio to check out the wood cookstoves and countless other wonderful things at the Lehman's store (lehmans.com). I've pretty much decided on getting the Heartland Sweetheart stove, which is UL listed and can be fitted with all the bells and whistles (e.g., a "water jacket" that allows me to use my stove as a water heater).
Upon our return to Cookeville on Thursday (Oct. 7), we had our second of three zoning meetings, this time with the City Council. Our zoning request was unanimously approved by the council, but we still have one more meeting in November for final approval.
This past Tuesday my parents and I drove up to Muddy Pond, a Mennonite community where several families raise and process sorghum cane into syrup. One place demonstrates the old-fashioned way of using a horse powered mill to squeeze the juice from the cane and cooking the juice over a wood fire. So we watched the operation and came away with a couple of cookbooks, a couple loaves of sorghum-sweetened bread, and lots of pictures.
This past Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, I staked off the corners of my roof and the corners of the yard, and then cleared out a path through the woods for a new barbed wire fence to keep my neighbor's cows out (he rents the land from my parents).
Next week I hope to get someone in to cut down some of the tall trees (mainly pines), instead of waiting for the next big storm to blow them down onto my new fence. Once that's done I'll commence with the fence. I noticed that along the new fence row are several dogwood trees, so I'm looking forward to seeing them in the spring.
I've also done some updates to my house drawings, so I'll post those next time, along with some other interesting pictures.
Goodnight!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Driveway Clearing: Part 2
We are just about finished clearing out a route for the driveway through the woods. Hopefully it will only take one or two more days to finish cutting up and clearing out the last few logs that are still blocking the way. Once we finish that, I'll need to clear another small path for a new barbed wire fence, because we'll be cutting through the current fence. I also need to get a drain pipe put in the ditch along the road so that vehicles can cross over onto the property. Then I'll hire someone to bulldoze the driveway, to make it level and smooth. After that will come the gravel.
We also measured the distance through the woods and it came to about 440 feet.
More wildlife observed: lizards, lots of song birds, and a flock of wild turkeys. Oh, and a bunch of cows, but they're domesticated, of course.
Rezoning from light manufacturing to residential.
We also measured the distance through the woods and it came to about 440 feet.
More wildlife observed: lizards, lots of song birds, and a flock of wild turkeys. Oh, and a bunch of cows, but they're domesticated, of course.
View of the end of the driveway at the road. Across the street are my closest neighbors. The house was originally my grandparent's house, where my mom grew up. The house isn't visible here, but you can see the log cabin behind their house, and the old barn beyond it.
This is the opposite end of the drive near where my house will be. There's my dad with his truck. He's been indispensable with his power tools, elbow grease, and wisdom.
This is a view looking the opposite direction into the woods. I took some pictures of the path we cleared, but it just looks like a jumble of green right now. Once we get a bulldozer in there, the road will be more obvious.
Till next time!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Driveway Clearing: Part 1
My dad and I have spent three days (Saturday, yesterday, and today) clearing a driveway path through the woods between the road and the field where my house will be. It's been difficult work, but we've made good progress. I think the woods are about 600 feet deep, and we've probably gone about 400 feet, with the help of a sickle bar mower, a chain saw, a scythe, and a couple of hand saws. The two power tools had some issues, so the hand tools came in handy at times.
It's been interesting to me to see all of the animal life that these woods and fields support. There are hawks, frogs, beetles, spiders, ants, bees, yellowjackets, butterflies, dragonflies, caterpillars, mosquitoes, and probably hundreds of other insects. We even saw a deer out there today. The plant life is also very diverse. I want to preserve as much of that life and diversity as I can during this project. We are cutting only small or dead trees when necessary. Although we are tearing out some of the plants, we are leaving them along the sides of the path to serve as food and shelter for the life that is there. We also feed the mosquitoes well every time we're there.
I've acquired a collection of yellowjacket stings, mosquito bites, and poison ivy rashes, so it'll be good to finish this phase of the project. Hopefully the hard part will be done by the end of the week. I'll try and post some pictures soon!
It's been interesting to me to see all of the animal life that these woods and fields support. There are hawks, frogs, beetles, spiders, ants, bees, yellowjackets, butterflies, dragonflies, caterpillars, mosquitoes, and probably hundreds of other insects. We even saw a deer out there today. The plant life is also very diverse. I want to preserve as much of that life and diversity as I can during this project. We are cutting only small or dead trees when necessary. Although we are tearing out some of the plants, we are leaving them along the sides of the path to serve as food and shelter for the life that is there. We also feed the mosquitoes well every time we're there.
I've acquired a collection of yellowjacket stings, mosquito bites, and poison ivy rashes, so it'll be good to finish this phase of the project. Hopefully the hard part will be done by the end of the week. I'll try and post some pictures soon!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tennessee Resident
I'm officially a Tennessee resident as of last Thursday. It feels great to be back among family, rolling hills, clean air, and wide open spaces. I've spent the past few days settling in, but plan to get started marking out a driveway route through a patch of woods along the road later this week.
This afternoon was the initial hearing before the city planning committee to rezone the property to residential status. Next it will be submitted to the city council with two more public hearings in late September and late October.
I still have plenty of work to do to make the house drawings worthy of submittal to the code department. I will, of course, post the updated drawings as I get to them. Till then!
This afternoon was the initial hearing before the city planning committee to rezone the property to residential status. Next it will be submitted to the city council with two more public hearings in late September and late October.
I still have plenty of work to do to make the house drawings worthy of submittal to the code department. I will, of course, post the updated drawings as I get to them. Till then!
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