Dream coming true a step at a time.

Sled Solutions

Sled Solutions

Member
Some of you have noticed that I've posted questions asking about certain things regarding the house we are building. This is a 19 year dream in the making and some have asked me to post up the progress. We moved from the suburbs of Detroit to Northern Michigan, SE of Traverse City to be exact. Took 19 years to convince my wife we should but I finally won the fight. So, for those that care I will be sharing the progress of this project in this thread.

Property is 1.33 acres, about 200 yards off the snowmobile trail and 200 feet from 1000's of acres of state land.

Property in it's untouched state.

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Today they cleared all the trees for the driveway, building site and pole barn.

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Building site

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Pole Barn site ready for construction hopefully next week.

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Looking from the pretend garage down the driveway to the road.

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A little wood needing to be cut and split.

Mostly Oak...

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Thanks for looking, more to come in the coming weeks.
 
A

anonomoose

New member
While it is tough at first, over time I expect that you will view this as a good move....from nearly every perspective.
 
J

jbsugarbrown

New member
Congratulations---Looks like a very beautiful spot! We built a few years ago ourselves (I have a handful of pics posted under my profile). It can certainly be difficult when you bring other human beings into the construction mix :) Others have an overall good experience with building, such as John and Nora have shared in their journals. Try to enjoy the process and keep focused on the end result. For us, ours is just a stepping stone to someday maybe getting closer to the northcountry. Thanks for sharing, these threads are a lot of fun to see and hear about. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
 
chords

chords

Active member
You have good reason to be excited. That looks like a great build site. Keep us updated and remember, we are all here to offer up our advice along the way.

...................................................................:cool:..........................................................................
 
LoveMyDobe

LoveMyDobe

Active member
Congrats!

YEA! We did the same thing 4 years ago. Had the land bought prior, came up and cleared the building spot. Actually camped on it before building. It made things become realistic. Good luck on your adventure. But when building, you may find the contractors don't always show up when you want them. Kinda hard to get the ball rolling if they don't all work together. Ya just got to plan ahead far enough, if possible. We only had a couple months for the well and septic guy to show up before the house was set. It was in the spring when they are the busiest. Then dealing with inspectors. Hubby lived in the pop up camper when all this took place. I stayed back in IA working and selling the house there. Overall it is a VERY rewarding experience and a joy when completed. Are you going to live in the pole building first?
 
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mjkaliszak

New member
Keep posting as progress is made, " love it when a plan comes together ". I wish you the best. I guess for me it will be " spending " my dream $$$ on gas going back n forth & all over " chasing the snow ! I'm sure you know the drill.... Some day maybe in the next life... I will be fortunate enough to have a lake house adjacent to a snowmobile trail . Looks like you have a neighbor ? Might be able to keep an eye on things for you as you build , just a suggestion.
 
S

snoluver1

Active member
Congrats on winning the battle!! I've been working on my wife for 15 years and think I finally have the upper hand. Now I'm just trying to get it done in this crap economy before she changes her mind. Apparently, its not that easy to get out of a house your 50k upside down on! Good luck and keep the pics coming.
 
S

Skylar

Super Moderator
Staff member
That is awesome Paul! Hopefully everything goes as planned, and you have no issues. Glad you are going to keep all of us in da loop!
 
B

Bradzoo

Active member
Paul, we are very happy for you and your family and more than just alittle jealous (one of these days), keep us posted

Bradzoo and Kelly
 
R

rmk4ever

New member
One thing you will find out is that, pole barns could always be bigger. I'm looking to build another or add on to this one. Good luck & keep us updated on the progress.
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
Nice!!! What a fantastic location for a house!

It's weird looking at these photos because they look so much like some I took when my daughter was building her place up near Marquette. Nothing beats a hardwood forest as a spot to build a home.

Roger on rmk4ever's comment about out-buildings. I've always used the formula of deciding how much space I think I'll need and then doubling it. You know how the toys just seem to accumulate.
 
Sled Solutions

Sled Solutions

Member
Thanks everyone! If you guys want to get a collection going to build a bigger barn I would LOVE more space. LOL I'm already over budget on the 30 x 40 so it's going to have to do.

We are so excited about the location, the lot is 90% hardwoods which was a huge bonus. Mostly Oak a few poplars, some pine and maple.

High on the priority list is to get heat and electrical to the barn along with high speed internet so I can work.

Our builder is such a great guy, funny he was the last one we contacted. The excavating crew was just AWESOME!! They certainly went above and beyond and were very friendly. They let me clear the spot for the barn and pile pile up the brush to save on the cost. Figure I saved at least one truck load of brush being pulled out and a couple hours labor. I'm guessing it canceled out the 4 loads of sand I had brought in for the barn. I saved on that also since they would just bring back a load on the return trip from dumping the brush instead of an empty truck.

This is the 3rd house we've built so we are no strangers to the building process. However, this is the first house we've built "up north" on property were we had some say in where things go and we actually have trees. My wife and I built a house after we got married in a bean field so NO trees and the second house we built was in a subdivision with virtually no trees. I was very protective over the trees on this lot, we took only what needed to be taken.

For the most part our houses never get bigger or fancier but the surroundings keep changing. Ultimately we wanted to live up north and leave the weekend warrior stuff to those that could deal with the constant traffic. Since the end of June I've had this whole new sense of calm come over me. We've been living in the family cottage near Houghton Lake so my up north life started a while ago just without our "stuff".

The basement will be dug next week and the barn should be going up. The barn is an issue in it's self. I tried to help a friend out who lives in Clare who IS a builder and builds many pole barns by giving him the job. He needed the work and i was going to pay someone to build it why not help him out. Well........this has turned into a disaster so I have NO idea when he'll actually get his crap together and start the project. It's a shame, I really tried doing the right thing and gave him the job but he's acting more like he's got a 12 month back up of work. All my frustration lies with him right now.

Anyway, probably too much information so I'll be done rambling on.
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
frnash said:
You got married in a bean field? How unique! :D
But seriously, congratulations on the property, it sure looks nice.
Click to expand...

Tough crowd...but funny. It's a little like "Throw that cow over the fence some hay."

Sorry S.S. - Back on topic - A lot of us wish we had your project to look forward to and a little of your new found sense of calm.

When is your expected completion date? I can only assume it is before the snow flies. Maybe "completion date" isn't the right term (are houses ever completed?). "Move in date" might be a better choice.

Keep the photo updates coming.
 
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Adam B

New member
Instead of starting up a donation pool for the large pole building, everyone help out and buy from Sled Solutions!

Good luck with your build. This is what I would LOVE to do someday....
 
D

Dave_B

Active member
Congrats Paul!

I know you already know this but, your living all of our dreams! I don't really have much to offer but, if you do a work weekend, to do whatever, I'll do what I can to help. Keep us posted on progress and needs and, hopefully, you can plan a JD weekend for those who can help will get up there for you.

BTW: Tell your father-in-law I love the truck. New tires by Monday. They had to order them.

Dave
 
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