VTweekender
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# Posted: 13 Feb 2012 18:44
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Hi Folks, like many others I have been lurking here for a few months and taking in all the great info and ideas posted. I finally thought of a decent screen name ...LOL...
I live in Massachusetts and bought an acre wooded land in southern VT about a year ago. One and half hour drive from home, up on a mountainside on a private year round access private road, the property owners own and maintain the road in front of their properties. There are full time residents along the dirt road, as well as vacation camps, so it is maintained half way decent, but can get muddy in the rain season, someone does come up there and plow it in the winter, its not the town so I don't know who or what arrangement is in place with the guy with the plow, I am sure I will find out in due time..it is not an association or anything like that.. I am at the top and end of the road where it stops. There is a full time resident just below me about 300 feet, so there is electric and phone on pole to his residence, a converted camp. So I could easily drop a couple more poles in the ground myself to have the electric to my land, but I am leaning to solar instead. At the moment I am planning just a weekend small camp to kick back and get away from it all, hence the screen name.
I have been in contact with the town about what I can and cannot do up the as far as a cabin and soforth...I can do up to 100 sq ft for a shed without a permit...and not more than 10 ft high from ground level..but I could make it a 100 sq ft cabin and nobody up there is going to care. Also in the town codes I could apply for a permit for up to 720 sq ft vacation cabin , but thats out of my reach right now.
So I think I will be building myself a little cabin this summer, like most forum members I am sure, I have about 20 different ways drawn out to build 100 sq ft..I have never built anything, and I mean ANYTHING. But with all the great info posted here I have learned from I am confident I can do the little cabin without a problem.
I have the road/driveway cut in about 100 feet, but need to gravel it and grade it yet..I also have cleared the trees , huge hemlocks, about 50 x 80 ft area at the end of the drive..and left just a few trees up in that area..its a bit of a hill but I am going to rent an excavator this summer to get the huge stumps up and at the same time will level the area as best as possible. The rest of the acre I will leave treed except I may cut a small road to the back line just to have it there for access.
The bottom of the road down the mountain is the main road through town, up the road about a mile is a piped state built natural springwater constant feed coming out of some ledge with a little sign for it to help yourself, people are there constantly filling up jugs, and so will I when the time comes. Most likely I will have a composting toilet, small solar system that will run lights and small TV, will hook up an good antenna outside, the neighbor said he had that when he first was up there and got all network channels clear as a bell. Not sure yet if I am going to put in anything for heat or just go up in the warm months, time will tell.
Well, thats about it for now, I don't have any pics at all yet, I am simply not a pic person and didn't even think of it really, but I guess I will have to pick up a cheap camera soon so I can show you peeps my little project!
I am sure I will have many question for you folks along the way, this place is so valuable for those of us that love this stuff.
Kev
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