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It's not a horse barn but...

Wow Stu you could almost shake hands with the people in the next building.

I tell my wife if I can't pee off my porch any time day or night and not get caught the neighbors are to close. She doesn't find it very funny.:dunno:

Congrats Darren everything looks great.
 
Darren Wright said:
Only 2.5, but that's as much as I'd want to mow anyway.

The shop is 32' X 60' with about 2/3rds of it with concrete, the rest is gravel. Has a 100 amp panel, which should work just fine for now.
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That's about an acre more than mine. Plenty enough for privacy, and more than enough to mow and tend.

My shop is 26 X 32, and if I were you, I'd try to make yours a bit bigger. 30 X 40 - or the 2/3 of yours that's concrete floored - ought to be about right. As for the 100 amp panel - that's what I've got, too - it's planty for a ome person shop. Other than lights, the most you're likely to be running at any one time will probably be two machines, like a saw and DC or a planer and DC, etc., so you'll seldom exceed about 30 amps (running) at any given time. Add 25 more amps if you air condition the shop. :D

Congrats on the aquisition. I'm sure you're gonna enjoy it!:thumb::thumb:
 
Darren,
Good looking place... love the shop. Don't know if possible, but think I would try to pave the gravel portion and get it all on concrete. I like the size of it too..

Don't know if I would want to mow 2.5 acres... I have just over an acre and mow about 3/4 of it... the rest is under woods and has a gully in it and a number of very large rocks, so not possible to mow. The back yard starts 5 feet behind the house and goes up hill to the back side of the lot... by the time you get there, the lot line is about 25 feet higher than the ridgeline on the house.... hopefully yours is flat.. a good riding mower and you're all set.

I don't envy you the pool though.. I've had two and a couple of hot tubs in the various places I've lived.... to and my opinion only, they are a big hole in the ground, full of water that you toss money into every few days.

My last pool was black when we moved in, took 40 pounds of shock to clear, then had to scoop pine needles, trash etc out of the pool, wound up putting a new pump on the line, only to discover it wasn't the pump, the return lines had collapsed... put in new lines, then needed new filter vanes 'cause kept getting DE back in the pool... then just before we moved discoved the wall was beginning to crack in two places - it was fiber glass, so would have been easy fix, but would have always looked patched. Living in Houston area, we had lots of pine trees around... the closest one was about 60 or 70 feet tall, about 30 inches at the base and about 20 or 30 yards from the pool, but every needle that fell off that tree landed in the pool. It was a daily chore - year round - to dip the pool and get the needles out.

If you use them a lot, they're worth the effort... we didn't. Mostly when the grand daughter was over.

Didn't mean to sound so negative.... I do like the place and know you and the missus will enjoy it for years to come... Congratulations.
 
Well, thanks for all the congrats and advice. Plan to get a riding lawn mower after we close to make that go quicker. I'm looking forward to the pool and using it frequently, but since we're not closing until after labor day, it may not get much use this year, just some experience closing it up. :rolleyes:

There's also a Koi pond just off the pool that I'll have to learn about. One of my good friends has one and is part of a pond owners group here, so he'll have some advice. I think his is a bit deeper in the ground and they survive the winters here in KC just fine, don't know how deep this one is, may have to keep a tub inside for them.
 
Darren Wright said:
Well, thanks for all the congrats and advice. Plan to get a riding lawn mower after we close to make that go quicker...
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Get a Kubota if you can afford it - and get a snow blade for it, too. Otherwise, my small John Deere lawn tractor has given me very good service for six summers and seven winters - at less than half the cost of a comparable Kubota.


Darren Wright said:
There's also a Koi pond just off the pool that I'll have to learn about. One of my good friends has one and is part of a pond owners group here, so he'll have some advice. I think his is a bit deeper in the ground and they survive the winters here in KC just fine, don't know how deep this one is, may have to keep a tub inside for them.
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How deep is yours? Mine - about 3,000 gallons - is only 20 inches deep (a local code requirement. Otherwise it'd have to be fully fenced in) an my goldfish and koi survive winter very nicely. I don't think I've ever lost a fish over winter. I'm several hundred miles North of you, and in a colder climate. My pond freezes quite deeply for a couple months every winter. I just keep an aerator going, and a small heater to keep a hole in the ice. Nothing else.
 
Jim DeLaney said:
Get a Kubota if you can afford it - and get a snow blade for it, too. Otherwise, my small John Deere lawn tractor has given me very good service for six summers and seven winters - at less than half the cost of a comparable Kubota.

How deep is yours? Mine - about 3,000 gallons - is only 20 inches deep (a local code requirement. Otherwise it'd have to be fully fenced in) an my goldfish and koi survive winter very nicely. I don't think I've ever lost a fish over winter. I'm several hundred miles North of you, and in a colder climate. My pond freezes quite deeply for a couple months every winter. I just keep an aerator going, and a small heater to keep a hole in the ice. Nothing else.
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A Kubota may be a bit above my budget, but will be looking for one that can do attachments for sure...just have to see what craigs list has to offer. I'd like a blade for clearing the drive and an auger for a future fence install.

The koi pond is inside the pool area that is fenced, so shouldn't be a problem for local code. Good to know that they can survive in such shallow water, but that is quite a bit more gallons than this one. Would love to see some pics of yours if you have any to show.
 
Darren Wright said:
The koi pond is inside the pool area that is fenced, so shouldn't be a problem for local code. Good to know that they can survive in such shallow water, but that is quite a bit more gallons than this one. Would love to see some pics of yours if you have any to show.
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Darren,

We need pics of that pond, durn it! ;)

How long, how wide, and how deep at the deepest spot? Spring and summer are harder on koi than winter, as long as there's always a hole in the ice...

Thanks,

Bill
 
Darren Wright said:
A Kubota may be a bit above my budget, but will be looking for one that can do attachments for sure...just have to see what craigs list has to offer. I'd like a blade for clearing the drive and an auger for a future fence install.

The koi pond is inside the pool area that is fenced, so shouldn't be a problem for local code. Good to know that they can survive in such shallow water, but that is quite a bit more gallons than this one. Would love to see some pics of yours if you have any to show.
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A Kubota is a good tractor and worth the money if you can swing it... I use a Troy-bilt to do my yard.... like I said, part of my yard is up hill at about 20 or 25% and the Troy-bilt climbs the hills quite nicely. It doesn't take blades or attachements and that would be nice for a couple of applications. I have a gravel driveway that has a good slope to it and the UPS and USPS people always seem to spin their tires backing up the driveway... my gravel is migrating to the foot of the drive and I'm going to have to shovel it back up the hill.... a blade on a tractor sure would save my back.

You might also look at the new zero turn mowers.... my neighbor has one and it does a quick job of his yard... his driveway runs the entire length of my lot since his house sits on the hill above me. I don't think he mows as much yard as me, but it does a quick job of it. And the other neighbor across the road when he was alive mowed about 4 or 5 acres with one... usually took him about 2 or 3 hours.... now that he's gone and I think his widow is in jail, wish some one would mow the place... it's nearly waist high now.
 
MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!

Yes...we closed today! :D

Don't get possession until Sunday afternoon. :rolleyes:

Loading tools on the trailer on Saturday to take with us to start the "goodbye 1985" process. Not too much to do, replacing lock sets, removing most of the carpet, installing hardwoods, removing wallpaper, painting, some cabinet re-configuration in the kitchen, and replacing appliances (not necessarily in this order). May have a master bath remodel as well at some point.

Some extra pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/libertystainedglass/NewHouse#
 
Darren Wright said:
Not too much to do, replacing lock sets, removing most of the carpet, installing hardwoods, removing wallpaper, painting, some cabinet re-configuration in the kitchen, and replacing appliances (not necessarily in this order). May have a master bath remodel as well at some point.

Some extra pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/libertystainedglass/NewHouse#
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I like your definition of "not too much to do"... :rofl::rofl:

And I looked at the photos. I actually like the Kitchen. Cabinets seem nice in the photo. The corner to the left of the fridge is kind of hidden, though. Any chance of pushing the fridge back?

Glad you mentioned wallpaper, Darren, because I think I'd gouge out my eyes if I had to look at that MBR wallpaper border for more than a few days. :eek: The MBR Ensuite wallpaper is also (ahem) not my style.

Looks like a nice pool, and I see you've got the same swingset that I do.
 
Thanks guys!

Art, we are actually going to plug the doorway into the kitchen that next to the fridge and move the fridge to that space. The opening is also is by the front door, the wall past that is about 4' long and you turn the corner to the open kitchen so didn't feel the opening is needed. We are thinking about keeping the existing counters if we don't see any major issues with it for now and will work in a pantry in the space that the Fridge is now. The microwave alcove will be cut back some and we're planning to turn it into a plate rack area. The cabinets above the stove will be shortened for a microwave/vent hood combo. My wife is wanting to soak the existing hardware in acetone to strip the varnish and then we'll patina it black, but have budgeted for new hardware if it doesn't work out.

Personally I'd like to take out the soffits above the cabinets, but we've opted to keep them and cover with some bead board and moulding for now. My wife has a good eye for decorating, so going with her vision. ;)
 
DUDE! All those pictures of the inside of the house, and none inside the shop????? Where are your priorities!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl: Actually, I didn't pull up all the pictures, so may have missed the inside of the shop.
Congrats! Looks like a very comfortable place to live. :thumb::thumb: Jim.
 
Jim, you needed to go farther into the stack of photos. The shop interior shots are there. I've seen them, and now I might just have to hate Darren. :D

Congrats, Darren! That looks like a great place to sink some roots. :thumb: You should try to save that wallpaper as you strip it off, so you can send it to Art. Sounds like he really wants some. :rofl:

Darren, what's on the other side of the railing in the sitting room (picture 6)? Is it a loft, and beyond the railing the lower level? The brickwork behind the mirror is throwing me off.
 
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