Hide Site/Bug out location Part 8

[Flyin6]

Let's begin with reenergizing this old topic.

Many of you have seen a deserted and run-down property in Rural Kentucky come back slowly, bit by bit. It has been a long road but today the place is completely functional and can be turned into a homestead without a major effort.

Th summarize where we left off in Part 7, which should have seen a major change with me actually moving and living there permanently, but the thread ended with my putting the place up for sale. I did that because, in an unexpected turn, Kat told me she did not want to live there, but preferred staying close to the grandkids. I went along with that, but it hurt. I felt like I was walking away from a big piece of my life, and sentencing myself to a life in Suburbia.

I suppose the whole exercise was necessary to show us that the only thing that really makes any sense is to move there and abandon the increasingly expensive life in a bedroom community near a metropolitan area. I want to say the latest tax increase was the final nail in the coffin. We will not make a monthly tax payment equal to a mortgage payment, and that will never go away. Further, there is the HOA thing, and increasing human pressure. With the remoteness of the farm, no one is coming, ever! It is located in the least populated county in Kentucky, and life is just different there. You have neighbors, but they stay away for the most part. There is not any sign of an overbearing government or oppressive anything. We only ever get busy for a few weeks during Deer season with the rest of the year devoid of any drama or outsiders.

From the Hide Site perspective, the place is remote. I do not actually even have a physical address! My annual tax bill is about the same as a single month's where our "big" house is located. There are still not any building regulations inspections, licenses or anything else associated with building. Just build what you want in the manner in which you desire, and no one will ever check.

It is odd how God worked all this out. I sold off a ton of stuff and implements mostly, but the actual things I really need mostly remained behind, and I still have them. Once the light bulb turned on, I pulled all the marketplace ads for the equipment and de-listed the property with my Realtor.

Having done all that we reevaluated our original plan and found it to be viable. We will convert the shed into a usable cabin, and then move into that. That's when we get busy clearing out of the mansion and get that house ready for sale. I will add another small storage building for the things we wish to keep and chuck everything else. The barn will come online as the primary place of work, and I will continue to improve the property.

Speaking of which, I started in hay production this year. The farm yields 100 ish round bales a year at the present time. I will likely continue with that since it is actually two free cuttings of the property. At $33 a bale, there is some income in that as well. I ordered a replacement sawmill today. I went back with the same mill I owned before, the Woodland Mills HM130 max. I will only set it up to cut 16' logs this time, and not the 20-something stuff which I actually never cut before.

https://woodlandmills.com/hm130max-portable-sawmill/

[Flyin6]

We are currently reviewing "tiny homes" on YouTube to get ideas about what we want our cabin to look like.

I will be starting with the same old 16' X 32' story-and-a-half structure I built some years ago. It is due some paint and a roof repair, so it is excellent timing. At a minimum, it will get wrapped on three sides with a porch. I will remove about half of the second floor to get some cool vaulted space. I am thinking of making a space that will work efficiently for 2 years, I will need to add some square footage. I am talking to a builder at the moment about that. Initially, I am thinking of attaching a 20 X 24 pole barn structure with two full floors. That will house a master suite, a big closet, a laundry room, and a vacant second floor for storage/expansion/growth.

I think that is cost-effective and possible to be built with existing savings and no mortgage is necessary. I have never owed a dime on the property having purchased it with money I saved while contracting. Looking down the road, when the big house finally sells, the funds that yield will be used to build a comfortable 3BR on a basement Cape Cod on the top of the hill not far from the cabin. The cabin then becomes a guest house.

[Flyin6]

We are also reacquiring some necessary implements that are needed now to start a general cleanup. We have suffered some wind damage and I have done next to nothing on the farm for about a year. Obviously, we need to baseline the place to get it ready for the coming construction. I purchased a tractor grapple which I will use on the Kubota MX6000 utility tractor. The Kubota SVL-97 will do the heavy lifting.

[Flyin6]

Today I pressure-washed the SVL-97 and got that running well. Yesterday I did all sorts of maintenance on that Altoz RX766 tracked zero-turn which I used extensively today.

[Flyin6]

Then it was nonstop grass cutting with both machines.

[Flyin6]

the entryway deck thing I built for the camper was tossed around by some wind storm and the roof on the shed lost some shingles.

[Flyin6]

The shed will get a couple of dormers and a metal roof and have a wall or two blown out to create more space.

I still have a couple of days of cleaning up. Expect to see a sizeable burn pile building.

The Ram 3500 has taken over hauling duties.

[Flyin6]

Oh, and it seems Jimmy is playing "king of the Hill" with this new pile of dirt. I wonder what he is building there?

[JR]

Sounds like a solid plan for a start. (oh, I linked this to part 7)

I have decided another dump trailer is in the near future. Talking to the nieghbor, hauling costs as much if not more to where we are. We have a quarry just down the road so a load here and there is just the ticket.

Wind never seems to be a friend. I like a little breeze.

[stlaser]

Yup, hauling costs are tough. The thing you need to factor is time. Do you have it because speaking from experience 5 yards at a time takes awhile……

[Flyin6]

I sold my flatbed 17K equipment trailer and am not missing it but kept the dump 17K. I use it like a regular trailer and to haul materials. Even lumber stacks in without needing to be tied down.

The problem is the same as with Shawn. You just can't haul that much and it takes a lot of time on a busy day to haul a load. There is the wear and tear on your truck as well. Finally, around Northern KY, I haven't found many quarries that will sell to the happy homeowner. Some idiot sued one for scratches some time ago and that was that. That forces me to buy from a middleman who adds his surcharge making the stuff more expensive. Nevertheless, at a $150-$200 haul fee per load, it is still economical to use it.

For upcoming projects, I will plan my trips to leave here, enroute to a quarry, then onto the Farm to do tasks involving that load of materials. I will need to pack in gravel around the old/new wood mill site. I need gravel for the entrances to the barn, and I will need material for concrete pads around the cabin for concrete.

I am actually planning a maintenance day on the trailer. Mostly patch up small surface rust spots, but I want to grease everything, give it a good cleaning, and make sure the brakes and wheel bearings are all GTG.

[Flyin6]

Today's project is to source a grapple. In an effort to keep expenses low, I want to find one that will work on both the tractor and the CTL. I know that buying one that will pick up 4-ton boulders will be too heavy for the tractor to even move. On the other side of the coin, if I buy a little root grapple, it will fold like a progressive's political argument in the light of facts.

It should be fun searching out the right one.

Tomorrow, I have Corey, who built my barn, showing up to look over the project to perhaps offer some ideas about what he could build to flesh out the cabin/temp-home construction.

[stlaser]

Too bad you’re not closer I’d sell you my grapple with solid bottom. I’m needing a skeleton style bucket instead.

[Flyin6]

Too bad indeed!

I think I may have found what I need. I spoke with Blue Diamond this morning. I want something that won't kill my tractor, but at the same time won't "be" killed by the track loader.

They have a grapple that weighs in at 777 pounds built for 60 HP tractors and 60-70HP skid steers. So it would work well lifting logs and clearing out debris but could obviously be damaged by the 100HP track loader. Using it will probably result in a shortened lifespan if I get too busy moving boulders around, but on this end of the equation, it will preserve working capital.

I see it as the likely correct compromise for now.

[Flyin6]

With Corey, the original barn builder siting out the new cabin addition.

We are standing on the site of the addition.

The plan is dirt simple. I will excavate a level pad with a retaining wall made from the large boulders I already have on site. He will backfill with gravel and establish a 24X24 concrete pad, then a pole-barn-like structure with 10' wall height to the sill plate, then top it all off with a scissors truss with something like an 8/12 external pitch and 5/12 interior. I will add in beams, a timber frame style I cut from the property, and create a great room with a kitchen/open space and half bath.

The downhill slope will also get a retaining wall extending 10-20 feet made from the same huge limestone slabs, which will get backfilled and topped by even more of the stones so I will have one super solid porch area. I am thinking of extending the vaulted roof to cover a portion of that area and slipping an exterior fire pit or fireplace in there.

Living down at the farm will focus much more on being in the outdoors, whereas life in suburbia is mostly indoors.

Corey is now creating a plan which we will work over and finalize. When I like it, I'll stroke a check to begin. He will create the walls and roof and tie it all together. He may also create two shed dormers in the existing shed, and I will assist as necessary to get it all dried in. Following that, i will commence turning the empty shells into a new home. I hope to do it piece by piece without incurring any debt if possible.

As I have mentioned all along, once we reach the point where the cabin is habitable, we will physically move and vacate the mansion. She will likely quit her job and become my full-time help building the rest. Once we move, Corey suggested he first build the garage of the new home which we can use as a storage shed until we sell the mansion. Then he can take off creating the rest of a new 3BR retirement home. Once he is finished with that, we will move into it and use the cabin for family and friends.

I plan to maintain a high degree of flexibility through all this but I do feel we have finally set things in motion.

[Flyin6]

Oh, and I pulled the trigger on purchasing that super-strong Jenkins Iron and steel grapple.

The blue Diamond stuff has become too expensive. The BD 66" Graple was $4,600. The Jenkins unit is $3,200 and appears to be just as good or even better.

Along with that, we looked at replacing the Kubota MX6000 with something that has a cab but decided to hold fast where we are.

You know, it feels good to revisit old decisions and reevaluate. I feel more and more like we are developing a solid plan.

[JR]

I like the flat bottom grapple. Really works well for dragging roads and leveling.

[Flyin6]

I like the flat bottom grapple. Really works well for dragging roads and leveling.

I like them too.

At the moment, however, I need to move a bunch of downed trees, and trash for a general cleanup, then move a bunch of logs, and finally stack a bunch more rocks up.

I'll pick up equipment as jobs demand and money allows...

[Bob Smith]

A good box scraper works really good for gravel road maintenance, and general leveling projects.
I really think you are making a good move Don. Once your wife gets used to being in the country it would be hard to move back to the hustle of more populated life. As for medical, leave a an area large enough for the life flight team to land.

[JR]

Funny, I sold my box blade, just didn't work well (maybe it was me)

Looking a dozer blade for the skid, just needs a mount.

[Flyin6]

Funny, I sold my box blade, just didn't work well (maybe it was me)

Looking a dozer blade for the skid, just needs a mount.

Check out this one:

https://jenkinsironandsteel.com/products/Dozer-Blade/27/

It is the one I am currently considering

[JR]

Found one on FB for 750, just need to weld a mount on it, 100 bucks.

[Flyin6]

Found one on FB for 750, just need to weld a mount on it, 100 bucks.

No Way!

That's crazy cheap!

Worked the farm today. bent a mower blade after hitting some big stone...GRRRRRRRR.....

Concept of the operation: Temps are dropping and grass is not growing as fast. I mowed the fields and left a circle of tall stuff around all the "Holes." When I excavate the pad for the new addition, I plan to go all over and fill in those holes and seed. Goal is to make it mucho easier to mow and care for the grounds in the future. The area within a couple hundred feet of the shed/cabin will be maintained like a lawn. As you get further away, I will allow those expanses to grow naturally and cut them for hay 2x yearly, or so the plan is.

[JR]

Looks like it might be a home made unit, but solid.

Was the stone orange?

Did you figure out water? I know there was a well, is it viable? Drop a couple pipes to the bottom, fill with rocks.

[stlaser]

A good box scraper works really good for gravel road maintenance, and general leveling projects.
I really think you are making a good move Don. Once your wife gets used to being in the country it would be hard to move back to the hustle of more populated life. As for medical, leave a an area large enough for the life flight team to land.

Couldn’t agree more, so glad we’re out of the Colorado bustle. Being that we’re remote up here, we pay for life flight insurance and it’s an inexpensive annual cost.

Congrats on the wise decision!

Interesting read on where we may be headed.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/2-billion-could-die-current-war-cycle-charles-nenner-says-buy-gold-two-year-treasury

[Flyin6]

Looks like it might be a home made unit, but solid.

Was the stone orange?

Did you figure out water? I know there was a well, is it viable? Drop a couple of pipes to the bottom and fill with rocks.

So water is not a problem. If I want I can source city water about a mile away. Means a lot of trenching but it's there. I already collect rainwater. I washed everything with a pressure washer, and we must have had a shower or something because the tanks were full with 6,000 gallons. I collected rain off the barn roof, and it filled two 3,000-gal tanks in a couple of weeks. I will add a catch tank for the cabin. I also have the well which has about 20 feet of water in it presently. I could also pump from my pond if necessary. I have a lot of water...

[Flyin6]

A good box scraper works really good for gravel road maintenance, and general leveling projects.
I really think you are making a good move Don. Once your wife gets used to being in the country it would be hard to move back to the hustle of more populated life. As for medical, leave a an area large enough for the life flight team to land.

Couldn’t agree more, so glad we’re out of the Colorado bustle. Being that we’re remote up here, we pay for life flight insurance and it’s an inexpensive annual cost.

Congrats on the wise decision!

Interesting read on where we may be headed.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/2-billion-could-die-current-war-cycle-charles-nenner-says-buy-gold-two-year-treasury

She is unsettled by all this, but oddly she first wanted to live on a farm, so I bought one. Later she stated she wanted to build a house there. Next, she decided it was too remote and we needed to sell everything and start all over on 20 acres near the grandkids. Those 20 acres would cost more than the 91 I already own!
She has been watching her country-boy husband try and fit into her social/suburban lifestyle and he hasn't been happy. Finally, she admits living on the farm would be easier and more affordable. We already raise or buy cows. We already use eggs from our daughter's chicken so there's that. Then we got hit with a huge tax increase. I told her she can have an apartment here, but I am selling the mansion, especially since we DO NOT NEED 7500 SQ FT!!!!!!
She tossed in the towel, and it wasn't even a fight. She went down there a couple of months ago and told me how much she loved the place and how peaceful it was down there.
It is so remote and devoid of government oversight that we do not need a building permit to build and move into the cabin or new house. That's right, no zoning people, no building inspectors, no pesky anybody. I call that real freedom and I plan to wallow in it. I can say, I feel good every time I go down there and put in a day's work. Everywhere I look now is something I did. Cleared fields, ponds built, trees taken down, roads put in, the barn and buildings erected, electricity and water now available. It is the complete package and I will get this addition rolling as fast as I can.

[Flyin6]

Update:

Still awaiting a shipping date/number for the sawmill

Spoke with Kurt Jenkins of Jenkins Iron and Steel. Great guy! He said they will be shipping the grapple on the first of next week. BTW, the price they quote includes shipping to your door!!!!!!

$3,200 + Tax

Concerning tax: During those months I had the farm up for sale, Kentucky changed its farm exemption rules. Before, I just supplied a simple form with my SSN, and the tax is waived. Now we have to apply for a farm tax-exempt certificate from the goofyment. So, just how free are we, anyway? Now I need to ask permission from the government to get an exemption. No longer up to me to make that call, now I need to go and ask...

[JR]

Heck, my lot is 9500sf. Yes gov wants to be into everything and know all about you/me.

Good luck on the tax issue, sure it will be fine. You already do hay and want to add a few cattle right?

[Atkinsmatt]

That's what we have here in GA. Cost something like20 bucks a year. We have to renew every 3 years. Sure helps.

[Flyin6]

Heck, my lot is 9500sf. Yes gov wants to be into everything and know all about you/me.

Good luck on the tax issue, sure it will be fine. You already do hay and want to add a few cattle right?

I am planning a visit to the local farm bureau. They have grant money for everything. I want a grant for fencing and a grant for a hay barn. Once I get the grant for the fencing, I'll fence off around 15-20 acres for my first field. I think I could comfortably handle 6-10 cows in there since they are largely self-sufficient.

[Flyin6]

That's what we have here in GA. Cost something like20 bucks a year. We have to renew every 3 years. Sure helps.

It's free here, I think

[Flyin6]

What I have going on presently with the hide:

Cleaned and waxed up the Kubota MX6000 today. More of just routine maintenance with an eye toward longevity.

Have an inbound on the Woodland Mills HM-130max. It will be delivered this Friday. I will configure the tractor with pallet forks to make unloading the saw easier.

I have a shipping number on the grapple. Coming from Minnesota, I am expecting it to show up early next week.

The builder is now putting together a proposal to start a small house on the farm. We are all over the board on this. One day we want to just improve the shed to a minimalist thing, the next we want to add on to it significantly. Then we want to begin construction of the new 3br barndo. For now, we are gathering numbers.

Whatever we do, we will soon have the sawmill mounted again and start to saw up timber to stack and await future decks, floors, whatever.

[JR]

 

[Atkinsmatt]

Want to check out our drawings?

[Flyin6]

Want to check out our drawings?

Let me mention that to Kat

[Flyin6]

The pond is looking pretty healthy (I think)

Water seems relatively clear and the level stays near full most of the time.

I am letting those willows grow to net me a shady spot in the future

Not sure what is going on with this algae-encrusted pond-bottom floating around. I do know it is signs of a pond turning over, but the fish seem pretty happy.

[Flyin6]

I reconfigured the tractor with forks and began moving things about.

No longer liking the JD-green paint.

[Flyin6]

I set up this area and that 330-gallon tank for waste oil, although I believe I just might build a waste oil furnace and move that tank up and beside the barn.

[Flyin6]

Things may look disorganized, but I am beginning to reconfig everything to make one expansive work area and machine storage/parking area.

[JR]

You need to de-organize to organize.

Good fix for the green is a can of orange.

Thought about aerating the pond?

[stlaser]

They don’t put doors on barns in the tuck?

[Flyin6]

They don’t put doors on barns in the tuck?

Well, ya know, we don't wear shoes, so...

[Flyin6]

You need to de-organize to organize.

Good fix for the green is a can of orange.

Thought about aerating the pond?

Was thinking black...

Funny you mentioned aerating the pond. Remember when I was building that aeration system? Well, I actually moved it down to the farm yesterday. I will likely be getting on that in the near future.

[JR]

I thought you had built one, just watch to many vids to nail down!

[Flyin6]

This showed up today, and along with that, the Jenkins Iron and Steel grapple did too!

[Flyin6]

I finally moved the camper I built down to the farm as well. It towed very well behind the Suburban. I'll be doing overnights in it to maximize workdays until I get something a bit roomier up and running.

[stlaser]

Yes, shoes are optional

I didn’t realize the size of that camper until you put it behind the burb. Much larger than I thought.

[Flyin6]

Yes, shoes are optional

I didn’t realize the size of that camper until you put it behind the burb. Much larger than I thought.

It is a pretty good sized thing

[Flyin6]

Started assembling the Woodland Mills sawmill today.

This is the second saw I have owned of theirs. My first, an HM130 was designed to take 30" logs although due to some fuzzy math, the actual throat size was down around 26" or something like that. I found that to be an excellent saw and did a great job for me over the years. Now that I am looking at sawing up a passel and a half of timber for the cabin construction when I needed a new saw, I just went back with the same unit/same company.

Woodland Mills is a Canadian company that delivers a good product and even better customer service.

The new and improved HM-130 max is a saw designed to take a 30" log that can actually take a 30" log at the blade. That allows for those who want to saw a big slab with two live edges for that cool tabletop. I will likely never use a throat that large, but then again, I just may.