Thanks again Eddie. I'm soakin' it in.
This is going to be a weekend place. Maybe a couple of one-weekers during the spring/summer/autumn. Visits in the winter will be less frequent. I know all this because we have already owned a place like this.
All the toys for maintenance will come over time. Right now, after 4 years of arse-busting work to get to this point and NEVER staying overnight, we are ready for a nice little affordable crib that I can build myself. Local ordinance requires 1000 sq ft min living space. That's where I started. No, I'm not married to the design. That's why I'm lettin' you guys look over my shoulder. I'm having some fun and picking up other points of view. In the end, we are going to keep it relatively simple in design. I'm 50 years old. This intial package is meant to be simple, affordable, comfortable for living, and my only digs for the next 10 or 15 years.
There has been alot of focus on "the shop" for Bski. Funny thing, when I built the crib we are living in right now, I said that I was going to build a nice shop in the 1500 sq feet of 9' deep basement below me. I moved in my woodworking basics, ran a few outlets, and started using the tools to build a bunch of other projects. The shop never really came together and I am using about 300 sq ft of the basement. Am I disapointed? Nah. My A.D.D. keeps me movin' along at a pretty good pace. Knowing all this, maintaining 44 ac of unmanaged timber (and the possibility of more ponds therein) will likely facilitate about the same amount of shop completion at LNP also.
Dski and I built a 24 x 36' stick-built 2 story gambrel garage about 10 years ago. It has provided a very similar feel to what we are looking at right now; this one is a little bigger. That's why I have selected the distribution of the living space and garage space. Since I am not looking for the deluxe shop as much as the nice, comfortable living space, my experience with this type of package (along with a similar one in our previous summer home) assures me of what we want. I will admit that there is little likelihood that ag equipment is going to fit into this type of a package due to the height. I am right now tussling with the costs and looks of the same product with 10 ft walls....all as a result of you guys pointing that out to me. Then, another part of me reminds me that we have plenty of room to slap up a pole frame for ag equipment type stuff (flies in the face of my reasoning to not have a pole frame due to resale value, but it's not the principal garage structure). All that doesn't matter right now, though, cuz I don't have the $ to put to that future need. I have a neighbor with all the equipment, and he is reliable and reasonably priced. Besides, 90% of my property is timber anyway; low maint.
