On our way from Crossville to the Atlanta area for Thanksgiving, we took time to stop off and visit another log home builder....Tennessee Log Homes in Athens, TN. We loved their model and were impressed with their quality. Heck, if I had the money I'd move the model to our land right now...LOL!
The previous companies we visited were Honest Abe Log Homes and Barna Log Homes. We would like to use a TN based company if possible.
Won't be much more on this blog for a bit...we head out on our cruise Monday and won't be back for 10 days. Then we visit family & friends in various parts of Florida before heading to the southwest for the winter.
Have a wonderful holiday season!
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
It's final and posted!
We got the final signed copy of the closing today as well as our recorded deed. We immediately headed out and posted NO TRESSPASSING signs on the property. It needs more, but at least the road frontage side is done.
We also stopped in at the company that did the original survey back in 1988 and got a full size copy of the plat map for the sub-division. We can actually read this one...LOL! We anticipate getting an updated survey done next fall so we can have new corner markers posted.
Stu has been busy with some inexpensive shareware, working on designs for the pole barn and the cabin. At some point he will get in here and post about it. The software is Ez-Architect (for Windows 7, XP & Vista). It's got a free trial and only $19.99 to buy it (which we have done).
We leave the area tomorrow morning and have a busy schedule through the end of the year so don't be surprised if we don't post here for a bit.
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
We also stopped in at the company that did the original survey back in 1988 and got a full size copy of the plat map for the sub-division. We can actually read this one...LOL! We anticipate getting an updated survey done next fall so we can have new corner markers posted.
Stu has been busy with some inexpensive shareware, working on designs for the pole barn and the cabin. At some point he will get in here and post about it. The software is Ez-Architect (for Windows 7, XP & Vista). It's got a free trial and only $19.99 to buy it (which we have done).
We leave the area tomorrow morning and have a busy schedule through the end of the year so don't be surprised if we don't post here for a bit.
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
Saturday, November 21, 2009
We've got a waterfall!
Today we headed back to the property to once again walk it but this time we wanted to follow the creek. It's close to one side of the property, swerves a little closer and then meanders back towards the middle.
It's easy to know you are approaching it because the shrubs change...the rhododendrons here are huge and obviously have been around for a while. They are hard to navigate since they spread out low to the ground.
Stu got to play "Romancing the Stone" though. We stopped at the local Tractor Supply and picked up a machete, well...half a machete, the other side is a saw. He slashed us a trail through the underbrush, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Our shock for the day was finding that once the creek gets away from the road, it follows some gorgeous rock bluffs!! We took several shots, more are in our album at SmugMug.There are even a couple of very small waterfalls...yes, VERY small but you can hear the water more clearly here.
We will definitely be adding some paths down to the creek and hope to find more waterfalls deeper into the property...we ran out of time today.
Lots more planning to do but today was a great day!
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
It's easy to know you are approaching it because the shrubs change...the rhododendrons here are huge and obviously have been around for a while. They are hard to navigate since they spread out low to the ground.
Stu got to play "Romancing the Stone" though. We stopped at the local Tractor Supply and picked up a machete, well...half a machete, the other side is a saw. He slashed us a trail through the underbrush, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Our shock for the day was finding that once the creek gets away from the road, it follows some gorgeous rock bluffs!! We took several shots, more are in our album at SmugMug.There are even a couple of very small waterfalls...yes, VERY small but you can hear the water more clearly here.
We will definitely be adding some paths down to the creek and hope to find more waterfalls deeper into the property...we ran out of time today.
Lots more planning to do but today was a great day!
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
How to track your plans
Stu has downloaded a free Gantt chart created in Excel that will allow us to fairly easily enter and track the various steps we need to take as we move through our current evaluation phase and then on into the actual construction phases. He then started entering some steps based upon articles in the log home magazines.
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
Friday, November 20, 2009
The deed is done...well, almost!
On Thursday we closed on our new property (the owners don't sign until Monday, thus the "well almost"). So now everyone is asking if we plan to get off the road. The short answer is NO, the long answer is SOMEDAY. Tentative plans are to build an RV pad next fall...the septic is in and water/power are at the front (county road frontage). A rough driveway exists, we need to make it wider and level it along with some type of paving.
Then in 2-5 years we will build a pole barn...Stu's future "Man Cave". That will have 3-5 RV spots as well...gotta have room for visitors! In 5-10 years we hope to build a log cabin for when we aren't traveling all the time. We anticipate summers in TN and winters in FL...someday...LOL!
We have named the property....it is Fire Lily Base Camp. The fire base camp is in honor of Stu and his firefighting career. The lily comes from my Froggi nickname and LilyPad, which was my rolling home. We then discovered there are several lilies designated as "fire lily". One is a gorgeous climbing vine with petals that look like flames. The others are bulbs. Needless to say, we hope to have some on the property.
The property is just over 5 acres, all wooded with a year round creek running through it. Along the creek sides there are a lot of rhododendrons and azaleas. I look forward to seeing it in the springtime someday. It's at the end of the street which is a county maintained road. Very few neighbors and the back of the land drops downhill...no one going to build back there!
This blog will be quite informal, sometimes just a rambling journal as we work our way through the eventual development of Fire Lily Base Camp. Months may go by with nothing posted, other times postings might be very frequent. More of a personal journal for us.
I'll try to keep it interesting but understand if no one really follows it...LOL!
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
Then in 2-5 years we will build a pole barn...Stu's future "Man Cave". That will have 3-5 RV spots as well...gotta have room for visitors! In 5-10 years we hope to build a log cabin for when we aren't traveling all the time. We anticipate summers in TN and winters in FL...someday...LOL!
We have named the property....it is Fire Lily Base Camp. The fire base camp is in honor of Stu and his firefighting career. The lily comes from my Froggi nickname and LilyPad, which was my rolling home. We then discovered there are several lilies designated as "fire lily". One is a gorgeous climbing vine with petals that look like flames. The others are bulbs. Needless to say, we hope to have some on the property.
The property is just over 5 acres, all wooded with a year round creek running through it. Along the creek sides there are a lot of rhododendrons and azaleas. I look forward to seeing it in the springtime someday. It's at the end of the street which is a county maintained road. Very few neighbors and the back of the land drops downhill...no one going to build back there!
This blog will be quite informal, sometimes just a rambling journal as we work our way through the eventual development of Fire Lily Base Camp. Months may go by with nothing posted, other times postings might be very frequent. More of a personal journal for us.
I'll try to keep it interesting but understand if no one really follows it...LOL!
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Where is the Fire Lily Base Camp?
Check it out...lots of woods but on a county road. 5+ acres with septic and water meter installed. Love it! Closing today....
Still rolling,
Stu & Donna
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