Finally Bought Some Land

[j44ke]

Sorry - I didn't read the whole thread, but just curious: how did you handle your drainfield situation?

It is an engineered septic field. I think pretty much everyone gets an engineered septic these days, simply because the towns want the maximum percolation layer for a given volume of production before the stuff reaches the native soil. I looked for the drawings but couldn't find them, so this is all from memory. The site had a shallow natural depression to the north that sloped both north and west. That area was layered with various absorptive and percolating layers plus structures (clay I think) to manage the flow rate. I don't remember the total depth of the fill, but the western end is the deepest to make the overall field level. And I don't remember the pipe structure. I know the pipes are set up for percolation, not evaporation, so the holes in the pipes are on the bottom. And there's a tank between the house and the field.

I think that's a pretty standard arrangement. When I bought cover seed for it, I was told to order 2 acres worth. I think the field is more like 1-1.5 acres though. That's for a 2 bedroom house with two showers, washer and dishwasher. The county doesn't differentiate weekend home versus full-time home. Septic has to be full-time.

[ides1056]

Don't use powdered detergent.

[j44ke]

Don't use powdered detergent.

I’ve heard that. We use liquid anyway, but no one has told me the reason. Is it the phosphates or that it clogs up the works? Most avoidances with septic seem to do with clogging.

[ides1056]

It winds up forming a crust on top of the effluent in the tank.

I think you have to use it for Gore-tex and the like, and done sparingly is not a problem.

[j44ke]

It winds up forming a crust on top of the effluent in the tank.

I think you have to use it for Gore-tex and the like, and done sparingly is not a problem.

I see - thanks.

Two separate systems - sewage and then everything else - seems to make a lot of sense, especially with septic, even if you don't retain the gray water for re-use. Would be much easier to clean the soap gunk out of a collecting box if it wasn't mixed with sewage. Then create a small wetlands with the outflow and let plants clean things up.

[j44ke]

Stucco guys just spent a week working on the house. All overhangs outside are now stucco'd. Lots of grading done also.





And the stone masons finished a patio at the edge of the pines in front of the house and a drainage swale to help move water off the "plateau" north of the house.





Super dry here. Thus all the monochromatic dirt. The drainage swale is to the right of the patio. It will be fully planted with things that like occasional runoff.

BTW all the rocks so far are from the property.

[Mark Kelly]

I see - thanks.

Two separate systems - sewage and then everything else - seems to make a lot of sense, especially with septic, even if you don't retain the gray water for re-use. Would be much easier to clean the soap gunk out of a collecting box if it wasn't mixed with sewage. Then create a small wetlands with the outflow and let plants clean things up.

This is what wineries here do, on a larger scale. On that large scale sodium in the outflow causes creeping salination of wetlands / sodicity in woodlands / amelioration plots. Presumably if your wetland is scaled similarly you will get a similar problem.

This can be reduced by replacing the sodium in cleaning products with potassium. Obviously easier to do on an industrial scale: all the winery suppliers now offer K based cleaners.

Potassium is a plant nutrient, some plants like sorghum have a very high potassium requirement which reduces the area required: when it is cropped and fed to cows it takes the potassium with it.

[MDEnvEngr]

I've been periodically checking in on this thread over the past couple of years - haven't looked in a while. I've got to say the place looks great. The house is super cool and so well thought out, the landscape is spot on. Just fantastic. Looks like a great place to spend some time. Good day - B

[j44ke]

I've been periodically checking in on this thread over the past couple of years - haven't looked in a while. I've got to say the place looks great. The house is super cool and so well thought out, the landscape is spot on. Just fantastic. Looks like a great place to spend some time. Good day - B

Thanks! This week I have been trying to get there by 6AM to get the watering of trees underway before the carpenters arrive around 7. Being there first thing in the morning is encouraging. Very quiet and plenty of animal and bird activity. I am really looking forward to having everything done and no construction! We will have landscapers (gardeners more accurately) for a while, but they are much quieter than carpenters, plasterers and painters.

[j44ke]

Sheetrock, plaster, concrete surfaces done. Next is plumbing, electric, appliances and bath fixtures. And last bit of the finish carpentry.







The sedum in the roof planters enjoyed the baking temps last week. Very fluffy. And some sprouted yellow flowers.



I need a wheelbarrow. Everything done outside involves rocks. I can see that I will be doing what every owner of this property before us has done - collecting rocks and piling them up. Wheelbarrow is going to help that effort.

[ides1056]

You picked the right builder. Very tidy work all around. There is no place to hide in the design.

I look at the photos and swear under my breath.

Well done.

[Mabouya]

I can see that I will be doing what every owner of this property before us has done - collecting rocks and piling them up.

There's this guy you might have heard of who spent his teens in that general area, I think Bob Frost was his name, who wrote a bit of verse about what New England folk commonly do with those rocks...

[j44ke]

You picked the right builder. Very tidy work all around. There is no place to hide in the design.

I look at the photos and swear under my breath.

Well done.

Thanks. Good to hear. We’ve had our arguments of course, but the fit tolerances they’ve had to meet border on insane. Especially with that big front window. There will be a punch list but then again there is always a punch list.

[j44ke]

There's this guy you might have heard of who spent his teens in that general area, I think Bob Frost was his name, who wrote a bit of verse about what New England folk commonly do with those rocks...

I had a great English teacher in high school. Sort of a Dead Poets Society kind of teacher. We studied lots of the 20th century American poets, including Frost. The head of English was this grand old man - tall thin tweed sportcoats pressed shirts perfect chinos and loafers with red socks - who was straight out of central casting. The day we studied Frost’s wall poem, the grand old man stopped by the door of the classroom to listen in, as was his habit. At the end of class, he stepped in the door and said, “I met Mr. Frost once. Had him sign my book. Shook hands. His was soft.”

Of course we all knew Frost was a favorite of his. What to do with the last bit? One of those brilliant moments I think about often.

[claritycycler]

....I need a wheelbarrow. Everything done outside involves rocks. I can see that I will be doing what every owner of this property before us has done - collecting rocks and piling them up. Wheelbarrow is going to help that effort.

Don't try to save a few $$ on one, get a high quality commercial grade wheelbarrow. You get a cheap one and use it for rocks.....well you won't be happy. As contractor and building inspector in one of my previous lives I've very much enjoyed following this great project and documentation, looking great!

[j44ke]

Don't try to save a few $$ on one, get a high quality commercial grade wheelbarrow. You get a cheap one and use it for rocks.....well you won't be happy. As contractor and building inspector in one of my previous lives I've very much enjoyed following this great project and documentation, looking great!

Glad to hear it!

I want a Jackson folded seam model, but so far I can't locate one in stock locally. End of June availability due to covid19 backlog evidently. So I bought a lesser model Jackson just for clean up and whatever until better stuff is available. I lost my old wheelbarrow when we moved to Europe. It was a standard metal tub with a steel plate welded to the bottom. I found it at a garage sale. The owner said it came with the house when they bought it. The plate made it super stable. No flex.

[EDS]

Glad to hear it!

I want a Jackson folded seam model, but so far I can't locate one in stock locally. End of June availability due to covid19 backlog evidently. So I bought a lesser model Jackson just for clean up and whatever until better stuff is available. I lost my old wheelbarrow when we moved to Europe. It was a standard metal tub with a steel plate welded to the bottom. I found it at a garage sale. The owner said it came with the house when they bought it. The plate made it super stable. No flex.

Is the single front wheel style wheelbarrow still the way to go (at least for typical suburban dwellers)? Is there value in the stability of the two wheel models? We are in the process of buying our first house (been an apartment dweller my entire adult life) and a wheelbarrow/yard card is on my list (it is a long list since we are moving from a small NYC apartment) of stuff we will likely need to get at some point.

[rwsaunders]

Is the single front wheel style wheelbarrow still the way to go (at least for typical suburban dwellers)? Is there value in the stability of the two wheel models? We are in the process of buying our first house (been an apartment dweller my entire adult life) and a wheelbarrow/yard card is on my list (it is a long list since we are moving from a small NYC apartment) of stuff we will likely need to get at some point.

If you’re moving heavy items and worried about tipping, I’d say yes, the two wheel version is a good choice. I know that tubed tires plane better, are more subtle and generate less rolling resistance, but I eventually fitted ours with pneumatic tires, as a flat on a wheelbarrow throws a damper on the party.

[j44ke]

Is the single front wheel style wheelbarrow still the way to go (at least for typical suburban dwellers)? Is there value in the stability of the two wheel models? We are in the process of buying our first house (been an apartment dweller my entire adult life) and a wheelbarrow/yard card is on my list (it is a long list since we are moving from a small NYC apartment) of stuff we will likely need to get at some point.

Single front wheel is more maneuverable in tight spots, like wheeling through a garden or around trees in a woods, which is why I got a one-wheel version. Two wheels for me just means one wheel will be stuck on a rock or stump or woodchuck.

For suburban areas, you might look at more of a garden cart like the ones made by Gorilla. They make both a nice two-wheeled cart that is shaped well to make dumping easy, and a series of four wheeled carts that have a dump lever on the bin that keeps all four wheels on the ground.

For dirt, gravel, rocks and mixing concrete or mortar, I think the standard wheelbarrow is perfect. Jackson makes really nice ones up to super duty mason's models. Wheelbarrows are strangely one of the places where wood is best. Nice thick hardwood handles.

[72gmc]

If you’re moving heavy items and worried about tipping, I’d say yes, the two wheel version is a good choice. I know that tubed tires plane better, are more subtle and generate less rolling resistance, but I eventually fitted ours with pneumatic tires, as a flat on a wheelbarrow throws a damper on the party.

Are you sure about that? One of my favorite Bugs Bunny puns is, "Pneumatic Tire is flat!"