The start of our new home build

Awesome, looking forward to the updates
 
We’ve been dropping trees for the last 3 weekends. Still have about 15 to go but we’re getting there.

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I counted the rings on the biggest pine we dropped Saturday; she was 58 yrs old.
 
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I have a question.

I see that you are cutting the trees way above the ground, why?

Why didn't you just get a excavator and just clear it?

Just wondering what your thinking is behind this.
 
DC Bigdaddy said:
I have a question.

I see that you are cutting the trees way above the ground, why?

Why didn't you just get a excavator and just clear it?

Just wondering what your thinking is behind this.
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I’m dropping all my trees myself and cutting/stacking my trunks for burning down the road. Burning all the limbs and smaller stuff as we go.

My excavator guy will come in once I’m done and pull those stumps out and haul away. I’m leaving them knee to waist high so he has something to grab.

I’m doing as much of this project as I can myself to keep costs as low as possible so that’s why I didn’t rent a unit myself.
 
concepthomes2 said:
I’m dropping all my trees myself and cutting/stacking my trunks for burning down the road.
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Is there any value in stacking the boles above grade to season a year or two, then use them for other structures (pole barns, sheds, livestock pens, fencing, etc.) down the road? Lot space may be an issue, of course, but it might be nice to get some sort of structural use from them before burning.
 
Windini said:
Is there any value in stacking the boles above grade to season a year or two, then use them for other structures (pole barns, sheds, livestock pens, fencing, etc.) down the road? Lot space may be an issue, of course, but it might be nice to get some sort of structural use from them before burning.
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Absolutely.

Some of the smaller trees I've dropped were 20 yrs old or less so those will be prime firewood for me.

The larger pines and oaks, none of them are younger than 45 yrs old. Tight grain, 16-20" diameter trees; these are stacked separately and cut to 12' lengths. Some were almost too heavy for that little S650 Bobcat but she moved them (after I replaced the two hydraulic lines I blew).

The toughest one so far was a red oak; my chain kept biting and binding up but I was probably pushing too hard on the saw instead of letting it eat at its own pace.


I'm also keeping a large section of old, mature pines toward the front of the parcel and thankfully there's a natural break in the trees between them and those coming down. Last thing I want to do is mess with the root systems of those front pines.
 
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concepthomes2 said:
I’m dropping all my trees myself and cutting/stacking my trunks for burning down the road. Burning all the limbs and smaller stuff as we go.

My excavator guy will come in once I’m done and pull those stumps out and haul away. I’m leaving them knee to waist high so he has something to grab.

I’m doing as much of this project as I can myself to keep costs as low as possible so that’s why I didn’t rent a unit myself.
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sounds good. I figured the knee high thing was for him to be able to get hold of them.
 
After 4 weekends of cutting trees, I’ve only got 4 big ones left to drop. There’s 3 oaks just left of center and the large pine on the right.

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Excavator is scheduled to start first of March with pulling stumps and grading the build site.
 
concepthomes2 said:
(after I replaced the two hydraulic lines I blew)
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I’ve got at least one to replace on my 763. Each time hoses are replaced, another old one blows. Where were the two you replaced?
 
Jeppo said:
I’ve got at least one to replace on my 763. Each time hoses are replaced, another old one blows. Where were the two you replaced?
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The two for my combo bucket. The local Napa rebuilds them so I had them put nylon sleeves on them this time to hopefully extend their life.

They just reuse the quick disconnect fittings each time.
 
concepthomes2 said:
The two for my combo bucket. The local Napa rebuilds them so I had them put nylon sleeves on them this time to hopefully extend their life.

They just reuse the quick disconnect fittings each time.
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The one I’ve blown (so far) is to the bucket.
 
Nice!
We're getting ready to start clearing to build... again.
This is the 4th house we knew it'd be our forever home.
 
Jeppo said:
I’ve got at least one to replace on my 763. Each time hoses are replaced, another old one blows. Where were the two you replaced?
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Production Tool
6136 Prospect St
High Point, NC 27263

Hydraulic finds the path of least resistance, so it’ll blow oldest seals and hoses. Go to Production for hoses and fittings. Skip it being done wrong at an auto parts store.
 
DCGallim said:
Production Tool
6136 Prospect St
High Point, NC 27263

Hydraulic finds the path of least resistance, so it’ll blow oldest seals and hoses. Go to Production for hoses and fittings. Skip it being done wrong at an auto parts store.
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With the generous help of @Crankbait (who managed to remove a hose that refused to budge for me), I took the hose to be duplicated at Napa out on 68. In short order, they made one (that turned out to be a bit long in a place where size really matters). Installed it, fired up the machine and oil started pouring out elsewhere. Maybe I need to buy a mile of hose, a ton of fittings, every seal Bobcat ever made and learn to DIY. 😢
 
Jeppo said:
With the generous help of @Crankbait (who managed to remove a hose that refused to budge for me), I took the hose to be duplicated at Napa out on 68. In short order, they made one (that turned out to be a bit long in a place where size really matters). Installed it, fired up the machine and oil started pouring out elsewhere. Maybe I need to buy a mile of hose, a ton of fittings, every seal Bobcat ever made and learn to DIY. 😢
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That would be a good idea if the fittings were much the same but on tractors that’s not the case. A really good fitting crimper is very expensive for one or two tractors. I’m referring to a commercial style crimper.
 
DCGallim said:
Production Tool
6136 Prospect St
High Point, NC 27263

Hydraulic finds the path of least resistance, so it’ll blow oldest seals and hoses. Go to Production for hoses and fittings. Skip it being done wrong at an auto parts store.
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Thanks Daniel. Just got my first hose from them. Took the guy longer to enter the transaction into his computer than to make the new hose. 😂
 
Jeppo said:
Thanks Daniel. Just got my first hose from them. Took the guy longer to enter the transaction into his computer than to make the new hose. 😂
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Shawn is a great guy and can throw a hose together in a heartbeat. The owner Bob knows everything about PTOs imaginable. They can rebuild cylinders, fix or make new hard lines and more fittings than you can imagine. I’m probably in there once a week for something.
 
DCGallim said:
Shawn is a great guy and can throw a hose together in a heartbeat. The owner Bob knows everything about PTOs imaginable. They can rebuild cylinders, fix or make new hard lines and more fittings than you can imagine. I’m probably in there once a week for something.
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DC Bigdaddy said:
you putting vents in the crawl space? What's your thoughts on Crawl space ventilation or encapsulation?
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I personally prefer venting. If I were to fully encapsulate the crawl and insulate the walls then without a dehumidifier, the only place that moisture will go is up into the floor system, subfloor, and finished wood floor.

**IF** a moisture problem does arise with ground moisture or stagnant air, I can simply put in a couple of those thermostatically controlled crawlspace vent fans and let them run.

The continuous exchange of air below a house is key to preventing mold. Heck, look at the old farmhouses built on stone piers; they're open on the bottom as well.


For this specific house plan, the encapsulation and dehumidifier quote was right at $9k. I'll save at least $5k just by going the traditional route you see.
 
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I admire people who have the skills to do this.

My wife has a friend, her husband built their house entirely: framing, masonry, electrical, plumbing. Truly an extraordinary skill set.
 
concepthomes2 said:
I personally prefer venting. If I were to fully encapsulate the crawl and insulate the walls then without a dehumidifier, the only place that moisture will go is up into the floor system, subfloor, and finished wood floor.

**IF** a moisture problem does arise with ground moisture or stagnant air, I can simply put in a couple of those thermostatically controlled crawlspace vent fans and let them run.

The continuous exchange of air below a house is key to preventing mold. Heck, look at the old farmhouses built on stone piers; they're open on the bottom as well.


For this specific house plan, the encapsulation and dehumidifier quote was right at $9k. I'll save at least $5k just by going the traditional route you see.
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I've fought it for 20 years. It finally won. The moisture climbed the short section of duct to my walk in closet. The only thing that kept me from going through the floor was the hardwood floors. Had to redo the sub floor in that closet. I had tried everything but nothing worked. So we'll see if what the boy done this winter works. He completely sealed the vents and any additional holes, cleaned up the vapor barrier and installed 2 vents in the trunk line to feed conditioned air into the crawl space.

The old farm houses didn't have duct work under them and probably didn't have any insulation in them either. Building technics have changed over the years, but yet, some of the old thinking and codes have not.

I'm ready to build another, but my wife isn't. I'll follow along here and keep the ideas in my head until I'm too old to remember them.
 
I have an extended family member who does encapsulations and crawl space work. It's worth a try with the vents, we have them near the coast and we stay really dry. We're also all sugar sand here, so moisture just disappears. If you retain water etc and hold too much moisture you're going to have trouble. That said, it's something you can add if necessary down the road, and $9k will be cheap compared to floor replacement etc. (DC, you probably know this now!)

Actually in conversation they're liking raised slabs now days, but I have trouble getting behind that. If you ever need to replace a pipe etc... I think I'd rather have encapsulated with a dehu.
 
Mathieu18 said:
I have an extended family member who does encapsulations and crawl space work. It's worth a try with the vents, we have them near the coast and we stay really dry. We're also all sugar sand here, so moisture just disappears. If you retain water etc and hold too much moisture you're going to have trouble. That said, it's something you can add if necessary down the road, and $9k will be cheap compared to floor replacement etc. (DC, you probably know this now!)

Actually in conversation they're liking raised slabs now days, but I have trouble getting behind that. If you ever need to replace a pipe etc... I think I'd rather have encapsulated with a dehu.
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I have a friend who will not build on a crawl space. All they do is raised slabs. 95% of what my father framed when I was in Grade school was raised slabs. Engineers would crap now days with the system that builder used. But, I haven't seen one fall down yet.

The hardwood floor man hurt my feelings.
 
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DC Bigdaddy said:
I've fought it for 20 years. It finally won. The moisture climbed the short section of duct to my walk in closet. The only thing that kept me from going through the floor was the hardwood floors. Had to redo the sub floor in that closet. I had tried everything but nothing worked. So we'll see if what the boy done this winter works. He completely sealed the vents and any additional holes, cleaned up the vapor barrier and installed 2 vents in the trunk line to feed conditioned air into the crawl space.

The old farm houses didn't have duct work under them and probably didn't have any insulation in them either. Building technics have changed over the years, but yet, some of the old thinking and codes have not.

I'm ready to build another, but my wife isn't. I'll follow along here and keep the ideas in my head until I'm too old to remember them.
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I should clarify that yes, no ducting or furnace in the crawl is also key. All my mechanical units and ductingwill be in the attic of the home.
 
Mathieu18 said:
I have an extended family member who does encapsulations and crawl space work. It's worth a try with the vents, we have them near the coast and we stay really dry. We're also all sugar sand here, so moisture just disappears. If you retain water etc and hold too much moisture you're going to have trouble. That said, it's something you can add if necessary down the road, and $9k will be cheap compared to floor replacement etc. (DC, you probably know this now!)

Actually in conversation they're liking raised slabs now days, but I have trouble getting behind that. If you ever need to replace a pipe etc... I think I'd rather have encapsulated with a dehu.
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We've done a few of those stem wall foundations (raised slabs) and my last house was a raised slab. I never warmed to that exact thought of: what if a pipe busts down inside the slab....that would be a heck of a process to get to it and repair/replace it.
 
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