So instead of getting rid of machinery, it is multiplying like bunnies.
We pulled our zoning and barn permits! Gearing up for some actual work we need direct access to our property that big trucks can drive on. We bit the bullet and rented the modern version of our excavator and are in the process of buying a tracked skid steer. This all happened in a week! Mr. Dometastic has just claimed his "King of the Sandbox" title. He is no longer sad. Now he has new toys to play with. This excavator has a grapple bucket, air conditioning and even a back up camera!
He had it for 4 hours and all the huge stumps were out! It just tore through them! He is giddy with his sandbox experience.
In just a few days we removed all the huge stumps, knocked over a clump of trees that was in the way of the driveway path, finished the driveway entry, dug out lots of annoying rocks we had to dodge when mowing AND roughed in the long driveway. We now have a crazy amount of topsoil stock piled for around the house. Our top soil was between 16 and 18 inches thick where we are running the driveway! Normally topsoil is 6-8 inches.
Here are some photos of the driveway construction. We will need quite a bit of gravel fill because we had to remove so much top soil.
We tried to trade in our excavator but it was too old for the dealers to take. Strike 2 on how to get rid of a 40 yr old excavator. Next, we are going to try to sell it ourselves. We took video and plan to make a sales video to prove that it runs and functions like an excavator. Most machines its age are for parts only.
At first we were going to buy a tractor. We would need one eventually to use on the farm. We thought that maybe we could trade in the excavator and buy a tractor. Then a friend suggested that we buy a skid steer instead because it can do everything a tractor can do AND it can act like a mini bulldozer. I don't know if we will keep it long term but they hold their value just like other construction equipment. This allows us to do all the grading for the build as well as general farm work and plowing. We had a tough time finding a lending company that would give us financing for it. Apparently they don't like to finance to "regular" people. They only deal with businesses since the machines cost (used) the same as our new Prius! Hopefully all goes as planned and Mr. Dometastic will sign the paperwork today.
The other big news is engineering related. We had another chat with Cirrus Structural and we have to change our plans to have the dome over a garage/basement. We are bummed but the engineering/build is very complicated and if we press forward we are going to end up with a basement that costs almost as much as the dome! We have decided that we will just go with a slab and make the garage/shop/storage a separate building. We will just focus on the house and barn first. We can add the garage and solarium as later phases after we have moved in. We are not sure when we will get our engineered plans but hope that it will be soon since the design has been significantly simplified.
He had it for 4 hours and all the huge stumps were out! It just tore through them! He is giddy with his sandbox experience.
These stumps are HUGE. I should have taken the photos with the excavator as size reference in the photos. Watch a little video clip HERE on my Dometastic Facebook page to see Mr. Dometastic pick up the huge stumps. Next to the 30+ ton excavator they still look big!
Here are some photos of the driveway construction. We will need quite a bit of gravel fill because we had to remove so much top soil.
We tried to trade in our excavator but it was too old for the dealers to take. Strike 2 on how to get rid of a 40 yr old excavator. Next, we are going to try to sell it ourselves. We took video and plan to make a sales video to prove that it runs and functions like an excavator. Most machines its age are for parts only.
At first we were going to buy a tractor. We would need one eventually to use on the farm. We thought that maybe we could trade in the excavator and buy a tractor. Then a friend suggested that we buy a skid steer instead because it can do everything a tractor can do AND it can act like a mini bulldozer. I don't know if we will keep it long term but they hold their value just like other construction equipment. This allows us to do all the grading for the build as well as general farm work and plowing. We had a tough time finding a lending company that would give us financing for it. Apparently they don't like to finance to "regular" people. They only deal with businesses since the machines cost (used) the same as our new Prius! Hopefully all goes as planned and Mr. Dometastic will sign the paperwork today.
The other big news is engineering related. We had another chat with Cirrus Structural and we have to change our plans to have the dome over a garage/basement. We are bummed but the engineering/build is very complicated and if we press forward we are going to end up with a basement that costs almost as much as the dome! We have decided that we will just go with a slab and make the garage/shop/storage a separate building. We will just focus on the house and barn first. We can add the garage and solarium as later phases after we have moved in. We are not sure when we will get our engineered plans but hope that it will be soon since the design has been significantly simplified.
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