So a couple of friends of Ashlea and Tyler’s (Sam and his wife) were visiting for the baby shower. He happened to bring a drone. He got a couple pics but not anymore due to wind gusting pretty bad when we were on the property. So now we need to get a drone.
One sad thing about building our home in the Mountains is that we have to cut quite a few trees down. They have to be cut for the house site, utilities to the house (Power 15’ swath from the road behind up about half way on the property, we have to do 2 72’ trenches for the septic system and the driveway). Dad is especially sentimental about the trees. No worries dad we will only take what we have to. But there is something about us guys and cutting down a big ol tree. Its just fun!!!
So one week ago we got a 6” – 8” of snow. (The beginning of October) Rick and Tyler went up to the property to meet the excavator to show him where to dig the test holes for our Septic Design. With this bit of Snow it made the top a bit slick. But this is because the organic material makes a slippery layer that is hard to get traction. Upon a little reading, this is why when doing the road you scrap this layer of organic so that it wont allow anything put on it to move and cause problems later.
Below are two pictures of the test holes that were dug for us.
So here is the next hurdle. Driveway. Today we got our permit approved ($150) and have permission to get access to our future home in place. This will consist of leveling road, cutting portions, bringing in aggregate for a road base. We have been a little anxious about this as the road is a bit steep (5-13% incline) but we should be able to get the entire thing under 12% by the time we are done, at least that is our goal.
The existing road we believe was there when we bought the property. We believe it was installed in the 70s when they drilled the unfinished well. More on that later. We hope to get the road in before the winter fully kicks in.
Ok, so I had a little flash back to those electric slide days at weddings and suddenly started doing the chicken dance.
Now back on topic. Power!! I am planning to lean on my brother (Matthew) a whole bunch on this since (and already have some, thanks bro) he has been an electrician and doing low voltage for many, many years. Oh and he is good at it, he is wired for it (ok corny I know, but dont care because it is my blog). Anyway, that is another thing I am learning from this process. Lean on others to provide the knowledge you dont have. I will say this I dont want to be a leach on others, but it is certainly in our nature to help others and we know we are happier when we give. So I hope that as I lean on others they will lean on me as well and I will give to them.
Right now like many other things we are in the design stage. We met with the Power company to give them a general idea of what our needs will be. Since we are in the mountains we will need to bring power to our lot. This requires the power company (IREA) to design and install the proper poles and line. We will have to cut out trees to make way and this will help us save money on them not needing to clear.
Design has a minimal cost and poles are little expensive. But we have to have power other wise we end up with this… and I already checked with Karyn, she said “No Way!!!”
As we gain more insight on the power supply side of things I will let you know.
So what can I say? This is a subject no one wants to talk about, but something everyone needs. (What was the name of that book? – “Everyone Poops!“?) Anyway! Everyone needs some way to handle waste. The Israelites did it before they even knew the benefits health wise and that was just because they were being obedient. Today when you are in a rural or mountain setting this calls for a septic system.
If you are like me you thought, “ok we need septic, where can I buy the septic system or who can we get to install one?” Well there is a bit more to it than that. If you are on a smaller lot you will need a specially designed septic system, if the slope is over a certain level you will need a special septic system. Fortunately there is someone you can hire to tell you what is required for your property. We were fortunate and need just a basic system. We are having test holes dug soon (8′ deep and sloped up to the surface). These will allow the designer to check soil conditions, water levels, etc. Our designer came out and staked off the desired area so we knew where to do the test holes. Those are being scheduled.
Once these are done the designer will inspect and put together a design for us. We will have about $1,700 in design costs (This includes the initial consultation, soil inspection, design, permit submittal and final inspection once installed) plus around $400-500 for test holes and $550 for the state permit.
More on this later once things start happening. One final word though, lets call this tip number one for plumbing, “Never lick your fingers”!
