Blogs

Site Preparation

I finally got around to having the fence posts removed along the blue lines.  It took both my wife and I to remove the bloody posts.  These "fence" posts, aren't really fence posts as one would normally expect to see.  They were in fact up-ended railroad ties.  I guess the guy who originally built the house, thought it would be a great idea...and for the most part I think it is.  Like most railroad ties, their very large, measuring roughly 6 inches by 8 inches by 8 feet.  2 feet were planted firmly in below grade, with 6 feet above grade.  Combine that with the fact that they are literally soaked in oil/creosote, they're pretty much guaranteed never to rot. 

Good idea?  Likely.  At least until you try to remove them.  In any case, the rail ties are removed, and now I've got a large open area to work with!!!

Initially I though this area was 48ft x 56ft, but that was based upon using Google maps to do the measuring.  As it turns out, it was wrong.  My 5 year old daughter and I actually measured it today and confirmed that the actual measurement are 75ft x36ft.

So now, I get the fun job of going back to the drawing board and redoing the initial plan/ideas that I was working with.  Once I'm done, I'll post a couple of snapshots of the plans/blueprints.  I'm really hoping that during this project that I can do everything without needing any building permits, though given that I'll be including electrical, I'll most likely need an electrical permit.