Hi folks;
I’ve been thinking about the landscape design for the back of the new house. It’s a country victorian farmhouse from about 1880. I was going to put an extension in the back which looks over about 7+ acres, but our well is there and we can’t build closer to it. So, I’ve been considering a patio.
The thought came to mind that a pergola over the top would be nice. I’ve got a couple of the Sunset type books to look through for designs and was wondering if anybody has any other places I could look for plans or designs. Size is maybe 15×15.
Thanks.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations – New Construction – Rentals
Replies
what would the addition cost, $40 - $50k? Spend another 5K and drill a new well
I know, not the question
Putting in a new well is not where I want to spend my money, if there's a choice. I want to have the well checked soon anyway. It's an old one, hand dug, and I understand those are prone to problems, especially when they've sat for a while, as this one did.
Either way, I still want to do some landscaping out there.
Don K.
Shameless bump.
Don, dug wells are guaranteed to harbor coliform at the very least. There is no dug water supply in Va that meets health dept standards. I cleaned up one on a rental house once. The lab was shocked that I got the coliform down to a number they could actually count, not a low number just something they could count. Didn't stay there. That's surface water.
If you want to drink it, plan on treatment. UV would be my choice.
Pergolas are truly eye-of-the-beholder. Just design all joinery to shed water. If it was mine, the choice would be walnut.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Tom,
Thanks (?) for the great news. We've been using bottled water for drinking since we moved in. I had shocked it a while ago and didn't want to take a chance on the chlorine either. I'm going to get it checked then deal with it accordingly.
Don
Sorry about that Don... <G> Been keepin' your mouth closed while you shower? Makes singing difficult.
My approach is to examine all options. So I quizzed the health dept guy. There's a strong spring down the mountain here. Turns out that's only allowed if it's an "existing" water supply, as in, used for residential already. When I told him there used to be a house there, that was good enough for him. Might have been 50 yrs since it was razed, but he was accomodating.
Then he explained the facts of life about treatment and various water supplies. There's also no untreated spring water in Va that passes coliform standards.
The spring option didn't look so great when you have to prove water quality for a new house. (You apparently have no conventional mortgage, or somebody fudged the water test.) I wasn't favorably impressed with what the drillers told me. While looking for a cable well rig to buy, I bumped into a trailer-mounted rotary that drilled my well. Here, you're looking at ~$3k for the hole in the ground.
If you wanna really confuse 'em, take a look at air wells: http://www.rexresearch.com/airwells/airwells.htm My primary interest was the dehumidified air coming out. Byproducts can be very interesting, as is what comes out of my heat pump water heater (in addition to hot water).
You get that shed issue worked out? Bertha's got some nice big teeth now.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Hi Tom,
Talked to a lawyer about the shed today. Been waiting to see him before I did anything. He suggested a letter to take care of the adverse posession possibility, where we both agree that I have given permission to leave the building there temporarily. He said an action could be started in ejectment, but that it gets to be somewhat time consuming (read expensive). He said it was best to try to work it out. That's what I've been doing. I don't like the thought of suing my neighbor. I figure I'll send one more letter to get together then make my mind up what I'm doing.
As far as the well, it did pass when we bought the place 8 or 9 years ago. Don't know how, but it passed. I know all about the 3K for a hole in the ground. I had one done on a rental last year, and I am looking at 2 or 3 others that may need drilling. One's a new house and another is over in Halifax county at a rental that I'm going to redo. Don't know which way to go first.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
"As far as the well, it did pass when we bought the place 8 or 9 years ago. Don't know how, but it passed."
As hard as it may be to believe, people do "fudge" water samples by doing things like shock chlorinating the well just before taking the sample, submitting a sample from the nearest public water supply, etc. In Virginia, water samples for real estate sales are typically taken by either the seller or his real estate agent. There's not much quality control, and I'd be reluctant to trust one that I hadn't taken myself.
Jim, I've learned that lesson about water samples.
The more recent properties that I've looked at are foreclosures or other "as is" sales. Electric is often off, pumps shut down. If possible, I would take the sample myself - learned that lesson. But if the well was shocked, unless the chlorine smell is obvious, doesn't make a difference who takes the sample. It almost pays to figure in a new well and septic right from the start.
BTW, didn't you and I talk once or twice before about septics? Isn't that something you work with?
Don K.
Yep, that's me. I see you're in Buffalo Junction now.
You're right about figuring in the cost of septic and well if you're buying a foreclosure, or other "as is". It's especially difficult to know about the state of the septic system if the place has been vacant for any length of time. IMHO, you're better off expecting the worst and hoping for the best.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=44493&cat=1,46096,46134&ap=1Lots of inspiration and ideas but no dimensions.
http://www.gardenstructure.com/
Try this link for some inspiration, some really cool stuff on there.
I cant think of the BTer that this place belongs to. "Larry" maybe? not really sure.
Doug
Doug -
Thanks. That one is already on my list of favorites.
Don K.
walpolewoodworkers.com
These guys are the best, but expensive! I copied a lot of their gate and fence ideas. If you have a store in you area go in and get the catalog-it's beautiful! I use it all the time for ideas.
I can show you a couple of examples of things I have done. Might give you some ideas.
You do some nice work. The green one works well with the building it's on and the black/tan one is just plain gorgeous. As much as I would love to do something like that, it's too much for the house. Give me ideas? Yup.
On the second one, the tan one, what wood was used for the heavy beams? Are they laminated or solid? What do you use for the screen itself?
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
The 'heavy tan beams" are solid. They are old growth salvaged long leaf pine. There is a vertical joint top center held together with a slip tenon and poly glue. All the paint grade work is Spanish cedar.
Beautiful work, love that nice tight lattice. Did you make that?Great stuff!