5 Acres in Michigan

[countrytech]

My wife and I are first time home buyers and determined to make this work. I'm borderline crazy, I have a wonderful wife & little girl, and I have condition called cmt.

Background:
It takes a different mind set to tackle projects and solve problems when you lack the strength & balance that most of you guys get to take for granted. People look at me funny when I go about a project sometimes, because I have to take a different steps to achieve my goal. Do not take what I say as a complaint or request for sympathy, I just want to explain how things are from my perspective, and why some accomplishments might be a greater achievement for me than for others.

I was introduced to this place a couple years ago by a friend, and thus was born my notion that I could fix/build/repair stuff myself instead of needing to rely on a tradesman or someone else for everything. You just need to take the time to figure it out and have the right tools for the job. Here is my old shop thread: http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94791

So what happens when me with a slightly crazy streak of determination and pair that with a wonderful supportive wife? DIY homesteaders, of course.
My wife is an angel who is an amazing help, and she supports my hobbies and ideas incredibly. We started gardening, and dreaming, and came to the conclusion that just maybe we can provide for our family in more ways than just a desk job by growing, raising, and fixing things ourselves. Hopefully have a healthier family in the process and can spend more time together too.

In July we packed up everything we owned into a semi trailer and moved 600 miles away from everything I've ever known to a foreclosed property in Michigan with 5 acres, a very old house, 24x30 garage, and 30x50 pole barn.

My wife's younger brother is moving in with us, and so we'll have his help around the property. Also her older brother lives a mile across the field with a few toys we can occasionally use around our property.

I'm posting several posts in a row to timeline my progress so far. Now that I have a thread started, I'll try to post more regular updates. My wife and I are really excited about this chance to have our own property.

Here's the place before we arrived. (someone nicely mowed part of the yard for us)

 

[countrytech]

To start, we had to get everything unloaded. Thankfully we had help! The only way we could figure out how to get the pool table in was through the window. I think it's staying put if we ever have to move again.

Looking at that big ugly house, I'm not sure if we took on too much or not here… we'll see.

 

[countrytech]

Next project was getting the area cleared around the garage & barn. I am pumped about having all this shop/barn space. I still can hardly believe it's ours!

 

[countrytech]

I built a 4x8 workbench in the garage so I can work on projects… lot of good it did :/

The garage & barn are in a state of disarray, but we have to focus on getting a wood burner installed and heat hooked up in the house before I can do much about organization. The tiny organized spot at the end of my workbench is my only solace and place of sanity right now LOL.

 

[countrytech]

I bought a used outdoor wood burner to heat my house. Electric and Heating fuel is way too expensive for us to afford, and firewood is plentiful up here, so we're going to try burning wood. Between gathering a couple dump trailer loads ourselves, and buying another 7 loads, I figure we have roughly 15 cords of firewood here. I also got 2 bundles of cut-off "slab wood" from the local saw mill and want to try burning that too and see how well it burns. It's much easier for us to handle, but the density is obviously lower, so we'll see.

I do need to find a splitter because many of the logs we got are way too heavy to lift by hand. Any suggestions?

We did find a little time to get the backyard cleaned up and relax with a campfire.

 

[countrytech]

On Saturday, me and a buddy rented a mini excavator and got the trench for the insulated Pex to run in to the house. It's getting chilly up here especially at night, and we really want to get heat into our house as soon as we can.

Tomorrow, my brother-in-law is planning to help me get the line installed into the house and we can cover the ditch back up.

I've been incredibly blessed with help from a couple friends I've made up here in Michigan, as well as my wife's 2 brothers to help out on some projects.

 

[bodyguy16]

Congratulations on the new house! Looks like things are under control and you 're doing great.

 

[1/2 Cup]

As above, congratulations on the new home. Looks like you are making great progress.

Regards

 

[sean Buick 76]

Sorry to hear about the CMT, but HUGE pat on the back for taking on this challenge!! We are rooting for you!!!

 

[MadMechMaster]

That house is not ugly. It has a lot of style. I am sure that it will all be worth it int he end.

The wife and I are talking about buying some property in western Michigan to use as a vacation cabin. What you have is about right, but with 2+ hours to drive, that would be crazy to take on a large project.

 

[ADSR]

nice piece of land!

 

[MagnumForce]

What part of Michigan? It's a huge state.

 

[BBQ&Love]

Proud of ya buddy!

 

[theoldwizard1]

Between gathering a couple dump trailer loads ourselves, and buying another 7 loads, I figure we have roughly 15 cords of firewood here. I also got 2 bundles of cut-off "slab wood" from the local saw mill and want to try burning that too and see how well it burns.

Slab wood burns quickly (once it lights; it can have a lot of moisture), does not produce a lot of heat and makes a lot of ash.

My extended family has lived in MI all of our lives, but most if us are down in SE MI. "Up North" (including the west side above Grand Rapids) is totally different. My Dad retired Up North and heated his home with a wood burning stove. He realized that hauling wood was not for him. He found a "pulp cutter" (lumber man that cuts and sells wood to the paper manufacturers} and made a deal with him. He would buy a whole trailer load of green wood (8x10x40) for the same price as what the mill was paying. The guy delivered and stack the logs which were left uncovered for 1 year to dry out. The logs were 10-18" diameter. What needed to be split, he did with a maul and a steel wedge. Wood splits easily when it is frozen solid.

Buy an electric chainsaw. Much less vibration and noise. Get 2 or 3 extra chains and swap as soon as they start to get dull. Dad never got the hang up sharpening, but he found another guy who would do it for about $5/chain !

As for "living off the land", good luck. Much of MI has poor soil for farming (too sandy). Around Traverse City the big cash crops are cherries (tart), apples, grapes (wineries) and some peaches. Cherries and apples did well this year.

 

[xtremek]

This looks like my kind of demented fun. I'm subscribing so I can follow your mayhem.

 

[Bruster04]

Yup another MI'er in the house.

Where is the property?

 

[Arps]

looks like a nice place. Congrats!

 

[theoldwizard1]

After you get your heating sorted out, you need to do a close inspection of the roof and gutters. Roof leaks lead to rotted wood.

While you are making certain that the downspouts move water away from your foundation, make certain the foundation is in good condition, both inside and out.

My son bought a foreclosed house back in the recession. It was a good thing he got it cheap, because it needed more work than he thought. All new plumbing, new furnace (he had to use portable electric heaters for a few weeks to keep the pipes from freezing), new roof (after it started leaking above the completely remodeled bathroom), paint and carpeting. Luckily this was done over several years.

He just replaced the driveway and poured a news patio and walkway to the garage.

Hopefully you only have to tackle one "critical" repair/remodel at a time. Long term start thinking about air infiltration/caulking, more insulation and better windows.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I do need to find a splitter because many of the logs we got are way too heavy to lift by hand. Any suggestions?

A couple of steel wedges and a maul. Make sure the wood is well dried before attempting to split. It is has large knots or "Y's", break out the chainsaw.

"Splitting wood in the dead of winter warms you twice !"

 

[countrytech]

Thanks guys.

@oldwizard, I appreciate the advice. I do want to find someone with a log truck and save me some time acquiring firewood. I got a 14" electric chainsaw for $15 that cuts so-so but I need to figure out if it's the blade that needs professionally sharpened or if an electric chainsaw just doesn't have the balls to cut very good. (I did try sharpening it myself) I also have a used Stihl 038 beast of a chainsaw but I can't start it myself. That thing slices some firewood when it's running!

We're south east of Grand Rapids a little bit. The soil right around us is mostly clay and black dirt. I have a 2-3 acre swamp on the back of my property. The only sand on my property was hauled in for around the buildings.

 

[countrytech]

After you get your heating sorted out, you need to do a close inspection of the roof and gutters. Roof leaks lead to rotted wood.

While you are making certain that the downspouts move water away from your foundation, make certain the foundation is in good condition, both inside and out.

My son bought a foreclosed house back in the recession. It was a good thing he got it cheap, because it needed more work than he thought. All new plumbing, new furnace (he had to use portable electric heaters for a few weeks to keep the pipes from freezing), new roof (after it started leaking above the completely remodeled bathroom), paint and carpeting. Luckily this was done over several years.

He just replaced the driveway and poured a news patio and walkway to the garage.

Hopefully you only have to tackle one "critical" repair/remodel at a time. Long term start thinking about air infiltration/caulking, more insulation and better windows.

Your son's house sounds just like mine. I'll admit I had a little buyer's remorse after seeing all the problems.

My dad helped us replace the entire plumbing, including the pressure tank. We sawzalled & scrapped a lot of old copper and ghetto-rigged steel pipes and replaced them with pex.

Electrical was a nightmare. Multiple circuits sharing breakers, including the 220v well pump tied to separate breakers that were shared with the dining room and kitchen Matt (my wife's brother) put a sub panel in the basement by the old breaker panel for additional circuits and to properly clean up the existing ones. Also, the previous idiot..er… owner stole the breaker panel out of the barn when they left, but thankfully I was able to get a free one to replace that so that I have power in the barn.

We're hoping that covering the windows with plastic will help for a couple winters. They are old and leaky. The previous owner must have gone bankrupt trying to heat this place with oil...

The house has zero gutters, and the roof is rough. I think next spring I'm going to see if I can get the money together to have a new roof put on and maybe look at some gutters.

 

[kkcshipp]

That place looks crazy cool! Wish I had one here in Kentucky like that when we moved back here 4 years ago - I'd have jumped all over it. Keep up the fight and we'll keep watching.

 

[SALIV8]

cool thread. love me some michigan

 

[captain14]

Good luck with the new homestead and all the projects involved. Keep us posted on what you are up to.

Pictures are always welcome here.

 

[autolex]

I'm both terrified for you and excited for you. (and a lot jealous!)

 

[MagnumForce]

Thanks guys.

@oldwizard, I appreciate the advice. I do want to find someone with a log truck and save me some time acquiring firewood. I got a 14" electric chainsaw for $15 that cuts so-so but I need to figure out if it's the blade that needs professionally sharpened or if an electric chainsaw just doesn't have the balls to cut very good. (I did try sharpening it myself) I also have a used Stihl 038 beast of a chainsaw but I can't start it myself. That thing slices some firewood when it's running!

We're south east of Grand Rapids a little bit. The soil right around us is mostly clay and black dirt. I have a 2-3 acre swamp on the back of my property. The only sand on my property was hauled in for around the buildings.

Around Lake Odessa is good dirt

 

[shawnspeed]

"Between gathering a couple dump trailer loads ourselves, and buying another 7 loads, I figure we have roughly 15 cords of firewood here. I also got 2 bundles of cut-off "slab wood" from the local saw mill"

Well my house is smaller( 2000sq') & probably better insulated than that old farm house, and I heat with an outdoor boiler and ran thru about 9 FULL Cords, or 25-30 Face cords...keep stock piling....happiness is a big pile as the wife & I say...stoves vary on how much they burn, but more on the ground is better than not enough.Also the pulp wood haulers on the east side of the state are out of wood...no one is hauling right now...my usual source of wood is dwindling as the pallet factory is grinding all their scrap for animal bedding for the large dutch dairy farms in the thumb...I normally have no problem getting 6 loads of blockwood from them (about 5 face cord a load) but have only managed one so far , and am not sure if I will get another load...so I started looking for the pulp cord stuff...no luck, everyone is sold out...scared of a repeat of last year...Welcome to MI ...you are on the edge of the snow belt...be prepared...Shawn

 

[theoldwizard1]

Thanks guys.

@oldwizard, I appreciate the advice. I do want to find someone with a log truck and save me some time acquiring firewood.

Hang out around the mill and see if you can pick up some names and phone numbers off of the trucks.

I got a 14" electric chainsaw for $15 that cuts so-so but I need to figure out if it's the blade that needs professionally sharpened or if an electric chainsaw just doesn't have the balls to cut very good. (I did try sharpening it myself).

Don't condemn it yet ! Go to CL (Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing) and in the "Services" area look up "Sharpening". Take the whole saw in and have them look over the bar as well as sharpen the chain. I found one that was asking $5/chain !

Most electric saws do NOT have automatic oilers. Make sure your manual oilers is working and use it frequently while cutting.

CL "Services" is also a good place to look to timber/firewood. Buy full legth, green, mixed hardwood (best fuel !), let dry, cut it yourself.

 

[madoc1]

wow! that is a beautiful house. add in the shops/ garage and you have winner. good luck on the heating. it hopefully will be better than last winter. I believe in global warming!

jim

 

[countrytech]

What do you guys think of burning red pine in a wood boiler? I have a source that would get me 20 cord at ~$100/cord if I want it.

I really need to find a wood splitter soon because 40-50% of the wood I have is too heavy for me to carry. Splitting by hand for me is just not possible either. (yes I tried )

 

[240sxguy]

That house is beautiful, I love it! Good luck with the project.

 

[theoldwizard1]

What do you guys think of burning red pine in a wood boiler? I have a source that would get me 20 cord at ~$100/cord if I want it.

Any kind of pine will burn fast and generate more creosote and ash than hardwood.

 

[shawnspeed]

I personnaly burn any wood with no predujice...I generally start with soft woods early in the season & late in the season, when the temps are warmer , and then break into the hardwoods when the temp is steadily below 30degrees...creosote is not a major concern with the out door boiler...it usually burns out when you feed the fire , and the extra air will get it burning like a rocket out the flue for 3-5 minutes and then it is all good...great light show at nite..Just plan on tending the stove at least twice a day..3 times when the temps drop...I don't care who made the stove or what there sales pitch is...there are 4-5 of us here at work that have these ,all by different manufacturers, and all our experiences are similar....warm weather,( 30-50 degrees) once a day is possible , once you get below 30 , and wind , 2 times a day minimum...when we had the cold snap last winter after december, I would fill the stove before bed..9:30 ish , and it would have a bed o coals to start the next days fire at 5:30-6ish the next morning...so 8-9 hrs....also the door gasket needs to be in good shape...I like to replace mine yearly...didn't one year and went thru a lot more wood...Shawn

 

[theoldwizard1]

..also the door gasket needs to be in good shape...I like to replace mine yearly...didn't one year and went thru a lot more wood...Shawn

Great tip for someone new to the game !

 

[Goosman]

Im in Grand Rapids I could come split a bunch of wood for ya with my splitter in the next couple of weeks. Always up to help some buddy out until u can buy a splitter. How far east are you Ive lived in the area all my life and familiar with all surround areas I am a very avid waterfowl hunter so I get around. Maybe if that swamp holds water and ducks and or geese we could trade hunting for some split fire wood. Let me know Pm me if ya want. Thanks
Brian

 

[moron88]

always nice to see another south-western mitten dweller here. i'm from northern Oshtemo, just west of Kalamazoo. i mostly skimmed over this tread so i could have missed it but what do you plan to do for snow? no one likes talking about it, especially with the temps the passed few days, but snow is coming and west Michigan gets the super fun lake effect snow. seriously, expect upwards of a foot to accumulate over night. that way when it turns out to be "only" 8" of hard pack you wont be screwed. best bet is either a truck with a plow, some form of heavy machinery (skid steer, small utility tractor) or at least a 2 stage snow blower.

 

[theoldwizard1]

... west Michigan gets the super fun lake effect snow. seriously, expect upwards of a foot to accumulate over night.

My daughter went to GVSU, just west of Grand Rapids. The first big "lake effect" snow she called to say that it looked like they would be canceling classes the next day. She was shocked when all of the campus streets and sidewalks were cleared by 8 AM !

You have to be prepared !

 

[xtremek]

.......... best bet is either a truck with a plow, some form of heavy machinery (skid steer, small utility tractor) or at least a 2 stage snow blower.

I live just outside of Lansing and we get the very tail end of the lake effect (usually 2/3 of what GR gets, but about 2x what the Big D gets) and if your driveway is any longer than 30' you definitely don't want to be shovelling it. If you're more than 80'-100', it's definitely time to get a truck or tractor. Good heads up, Moron88.

 

[moron88]

My daughter went to GVSU, just west of Grand Rapids. The first big "lake effect" snow she called to say that it looked like they be canceling classes. She was shocked when all of the campus streets and sidewalks were cleared by 8 AM !

You have to be prepared !

around here seeing 3 large plow trucks going down the road in a staggered formation is a common winter sight (i can see m43 from my living room window). they get the snow moved pretty quick but if you dont have one of those 7+ ton trucks with a plow it'll take you a few minutes.

our driveway is about 120 feet from the road to the end of the garage (2 car detached which is perpendicular to the road) with a fork around a tree (go left for easy entrance into the garage, go right to come to the back patio).

for a while we paid someone to plow the driveway but last year we forgot to renew the contract so we ended up using my brother-in-law's single stage blower. took an hour and a half plus a heap of shoveling every time. we're getting a 2 stage self propelled this year. $600-800 up front plus $100 for gas beats $2000+ to pay someone to plow.

 

[countrytech]

always nice to see another south-western mitten dweller here. i'm from northern Oshtemo, just west of Kalamazoo. i mostly skimmed over this tread so i could have missed it but what do you plan to do for snow? no one likes talking about it, especially with the temps the passed few days, but snow is coming and west Michigan gets the super fun lake effect snow. seriously, expect upwards of a foot to accumulate over night. that way when it turns out to be "only" 8" of hard pack you wont be screwed. best bet is either a truck with a plow, some form of heavy machinery (skid steer, small utility tractor) or at least a 2 stage snow blower.

We're hoping to make do with the Ford 2N, and we have an older craftsman lawn tractor with a 3ft blade and wheel weights & chains as well. Maybe next year when things settle down, I'll look for a snowblower for the front.