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**farmertim** · 05-15-2011, 09:32 PM

well, they finally finished the barn, I have owned this 7.5 acres for 29 years and finally got to put a barn up, we are looking to build a house but not this year.

Just need to get a couple of 10000 Gal watertanks now. that will be next weekends task (after welding the lugs on the tractor to attach the 3PH)

**tractor beam** · 05-15-2011, 09:49 PM

Nice job Tim! I'm friggin Jealous! The Chamberlain looks like a street rod in there!

Thomas · 05-16-2011, 04:45 AM

Very nice Tim..your home away from home hang out.

**farmertim** · 05-16-2011, 06:51 AM

Yes mate, but I would move there now if I could, but my wife likes her comfort a bit more than I need!
Cheers

**wjjones** · 05-16-2011, 09:32 AM

Great looking barn, how far out is your farm from town?

**tractor beam** · 05-16-2011, 09:35 AM

I love those trees and the lack of brush. How far down is your water table Tim?

**farmertim** · 05-16-2011, 01:56 PM

The farm is 10 miles from a bread and milk type store (and country pub) and is 25 miles from a small city with supermarkets and farm supplies stores.
As far as the water table goes, I am not too sure but I do know it is not very deep because the last gold mine in the area had to quit because they couldn't cope with the shallow water table, having said that, the water table had suffered due to the 12 year drought we have just come through. We do not have power lines very close and it will be less cost to have solar and wind generation we actually have wind farms down the road from us, at night you can only just make out the warning light blinking on the nearest one in the distance through the trees.

**tractor beam** · 05-16-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmertim

The farm is 10 miles from a bread and milk type store (and country pub) and is 25 miles from a small city with supermarkets and farm supplies stores.
As far as the water table goes, I am not too sure but I do know it is not very deep because the last gold mine in the area had to quit because they couldn't cope with the shallow water table, having said that, the water table had suffered due to the 12 year drought we have just come through. We do not have power lines very close and it will be less cost to have solar and wind generation we actually have wind farms down the road from us, at night you can only just make out the warning light blinking on the nearest one in the distance through the trees.

That's too cool! Our water is very close to the surface too, and our well, which is 55 feet deep, has over 100 gallon a minute recovery. Solar has come quite a way since the nearly 30 years that it's been since we finally got power here. Do they hit you with property taxes over there and if so, are they expensive?

BelarusBulldog · 05-16-2011, 06:38 PM

That is a great looking shed there Tim. What are the dimensions of the building and of the two doors?

**wjjones** · 05-16-2011, 06:44 PM

The last well we had dug ran down to 120' before hitting black sulphur...and thats all it has been since. I think the stand alone power generation will get alot more affordable in the near future. I believe its great but not really practical on the cost v/s return, unless you have no other power source close..

**farmertim** · 05-16-2011, 07:55 PM

Thanks BelarusBulldog! Shed is 40' X 25" and the doors are 9'X7'3" and 10'6"X 10'
As far as ground water goes I will be collecting rainwater for most of my uses, There is a wet weather creek that runs through my land and I am going to be digging a stilling pond to reduce the ground erosion, this will also provide me with about 250000 Gals of irrigation water when its full.

as far as the power is concerned I will be starting off with an expandable solar system, and a small wind generator, I have a small 5.5 KVA Generator for back up as well. As I am a Plumber by trade, I will be arranging all of the heating (via small bore or hydronic) from wood burning and solar. Cheers

**farmertim** · 05-16-2011, 07:56 PM

As far as property taxes go, no we have council rates which are a reasonable fee for service such as rubbish collections and local road and asset maintenance I will only be paying about $500.00 a year thankfully!

MillNeckFarm · 05-17-2011, 09:13 AM

Nice Tim! I'll be moving forward with building on our farm soon. Budget is an issue so I'm looking into various forms of sustainable building to keep both my building costs & ongoing expenses manageable. Biggest issue right now is local building codes.

Cob is a method that I'm extremely interested in. You may want to check that or some other (rammed earth, straw bale, etc.) methods out.

Keep up the good work, mate!

**tractor beam** · 05-17-2011, 09:23 AM

Come to Bonner county / Boundry county. No building code enforcement here. Build the way YOU like to!

MillNeckFarm · 05-17-2011, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tractor beam

Come to Bonner county / Boundry county. No building code enforcement here. Build the way YOU like to!

I'd have to do a land swap.

It would put us much closer to my SIL in WA state ....

**farmertim** · 05-17-2011, 05:41 PM

Thanks MillNeck Farm

Over here we have very strict Building codes, especially in the bush since our "Black Saturday" bushfires with a death toll of 173!

Added to the fact that my land is in a declared Wildfire Management Overlay.

Here is a couple of pictures of examples of what I want to build.

Cheers

Thomas · 05-17-2011, 05:48 PM

Would there be full foundation or slab under the house Tim.

**farmertim** · 05-17-2011, 07:10 PM

Thomas, I'm not too sure what you mean by full foundation; in my Aussie vernacular, I will be having 4x4 stumps and the floor level will be about 4'6" above the soil surface.

Here we would say "on slab or on stumps"

there are a few reasons why I would elevate the floor level.
1. ventilation,
2. termites
3. Composting Toilet
4. maintenance
5. storage
6. the view

Cheers

**farmertim** · 05-17-2011, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MillNeckFarm

I'd have to do a land swap.

It would put us much closer to my SIL in WA state ....

Terry,
can you give me more information on COB?

I think my neighbor wanted to build straw bale, but was put off by the cost of the rendering (he wouldnt do it himself which can be half the fun)

I was going to build log cabin but it might be just a bit too much labour.
Cheers

**tractor beam** · 05-17-2011, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmertim

Thomas, I'm not too sure what you mean by full foundation; in my Aussie vernacular, I will be having 4x4 stumps and the floor level will be about 4'6" above the soil surface.

Here we would say "on slab or on stumps"

there are a few reasons why I would elevate the floor level.
1. ventilation,
2. termites
3. Composting Toilet
4. maintenance
5. storage
6. the view

Cheers

Not too often will you see that type of building except on a hillside view lot! Here in the states, we mostly use full foundations or slab on grade for the budget foundation. Building on piers is certainly very cost effective and sounds super cool. Do you skirt it afterwards with like lattice or some material that breathes? In terms of fire protection, I would recommend "Hardie" brand style concrete siding and metal roof! It's expensive but with no snow load to account for there, you might consider steel studs too! Less to burn!

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