Driveway quote and Plan B

Last Friday I took off from work and drove over to the Sanderling lot to meet with Peter, our driveway contractor. We needed to finalize a route for the drive and go over some options, such as materials for retaining walls.

The day was partly cloudy and breezy with temperatures in the upper 50s. Very nice!  Peter looks to be in his 40s and seems quite competent. The meeting results were a blend of good news and bad. Bad: The best driveway route would involve removing a (large) tree, something we had hoped to avoid.

Driveway corner.

Tree on right of photo above would have to be moved. Peter thinks he can save the tree by moving it downhill from it’s current spot. (Drive would come in near tree on left.) Blue lines indicate the placement of the retaining wall and the outside edge of the driveway curve. Basically, moving the drive closer to the fence line (seen at the back of the photo) would create a to-sharp corner that would not pass County specifications, and swinging out to avoid the tree would require a huge retaining wall and much longer curve, complete with culvert, to get back to the ridge. As it is, the wall would be about 75 feet long and will require fill material behind it. The fill can come from where the drive would meet Sanderling Court, as that part  of the drive has to be dug down to the current road level. Although we are not keen on moving the tree – odds are it will survive relocation with a small root base – it seems to be the best compromise for us.

Good news:  Most of the driveway work is just digging, which is the cheapest rate.

Peter and I discussed material for the retaining walls. The drive entrance will require a small wall on the down-slope side of the drive. That wall, which cannot be seen from the road, will consist of large (2 feet wide by 2 feet high by 8 feet long) concrete blocks. These cost about $40.00 each, not bad. Blue lines indicate where the blocks will go.

Lower drive will require wall on left side

We wanted the curve-and-corner retaining wall to be more attractive as it can be seen from the road approaching the lot and will be a focal point. Peter suggested river boulders, a natural material which meshes with our wish that we avoid “foreign” materials,  such as interlocking blocks, as much as possible. River boulders are large enough to hold the load of the drive (bottom course would be 2 ton rocks) and when native soils, grass or flowers are added the result is very attractive. Not cheap, though, as the rock has to be hauled in from Buena Vista and this, plus the cost of the rock itself, will raise the price.

We also need one, possibly two, culverts. Peter said he would work on the quote this weekend and get it to us in the next few days.  Now it is “wait and see” until the quote comes in. We hope it is in the $5,000.00 range.

Unfortunately, our plan to put a structure on the lot has already moved on to Plan B.

Peter mentioned (and we later confirmed) that the County will not allow us to build a garage before we build a house. Apparently Park County has been burned in the past by people building garages and sheds and then living in non-sanitary conditions. This is a blow to us, as we had hoped to put up a garage and use it to store tools and gear for a few years until we could put up a cabin. (Cabin requires a septic system and running water.) So, what to do now? We really want to be able to spend time on the land for both esthetic and practical reasons. It is hard to get any real work done when you have to drive 7 – 8 hours to get there and back, and renting a hotel/motel room for overnight stays at $100 per night. Plus we just want to be in the mountains for a while, particularly in the summer time.

Pam has (reluctantly) suggested we look at getting a used toy hauler. These rigs have some storage space along with basic kitchens and sleeping areas, and have fresh and waste water tanks. Elk Horn Ranches (the homeowners association for the Sanderling property) has an RV dump site, free for us to use, so we would tow the rig to the dump site from time to time to empty the waste water tanks and fill up with fresh water.  It seems many land  owners in the area follow this routine. Drawback is such a purchase takes money away from the construction fund. The trade off is having immediate use of the land and a place to stay overnight, along with the ability to move forward on lot clean-up and other jobs, or keep the money toward building a cabin in 5 – 7 years. (Well and septic would run about $20,000.00 and would have to be put in before we could get a building permit.) We are strongly leaning toward a toy hauler (storage for tools when we are not there) and taking advantage of the property while we are able to do so. We’ve checked out some toy haulers on-line, and depending on the driveway quote, will start looking at units in the next week or two.

There are RV dealers in Grand Junction, about 35 miles away. Here is an interior shot of a toy hauler for sale:

Toyhauler has a basic kitchen and bath.

Beds flip up in this basic toy hauler. Not fancy, although you can get fancier ones than this, but for an overnight stay it is probably sufficient.

Cargo area of a toy hauler

So folks, the land saga continues. In my next post I hope to have a definitive word on the driveway, and maybe even that work has begun!

In other news…

Son Toby is moving ahead with getting his Indiana referee credentials and arranging summer work with various softball leagues around South Bend. We hope this works out for him, and we have offered to help with any expenses he may have updating his equipment or paying for training. Toby is currently working for a carpet installation and cleaning service.  Pay is not great but he seems to be making ends meet. The referee jobs would add a little cushion to his income.

Daughter Felicity will be singing with her Sweet Adeline group (Northwest Harmony)  in Boise, Idaho late next month. The Sweet Adeline organization has a regional meeting and competition planned and we will be driving over to visit Felicity and listen to her group sing. More on this as the date gets closer.  (Should be interesting to see Felic and her music ladies, she has to wear theatrical-level makeup and have her hair done to sing with this group.  Totally not her natural look.)

Spring is arriving here in western Colorado. Grass is turning green and  the lilac bushes are just starting to bud out. Still, below freezing temperatures are in the forecast for a few days this week, so I cannot say spring is fully arrived. It is nice to be working outside without wearing a heavy coat and the dogs are spending much more time outside as well. We had rain last night so everything is a bit wet right now, but we will get the lawn raked and maybe even put out some grass seed to patch a couple bare spots this coming week.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s two cents worth:

I’m not much for camping, so a bit negative on RV’ing.  For one thing, the vehicle we have that can pull the weight of an RV is Jer’s 1976 International Scout II, which has not proven to be extremely reliable.  (The Subaru can’t pull anything heavier than an aluminum trailer, it seems.) For those of you who have lived in Colorado, you know licensing for vehicles is based on age and weight, and can be quite expensive annually (2010 Subaru Forester costs hundreds of dollars per year to license).  Vehicle insurance is also expensive, since each legal Colorado driver is paying for uninsured motorists (illegals up from Mexico, mostly).  Then, what to do with the RV once you have moved on and no longer need it?  Most of them seem to be left out in the weather to rot away, not so very attractive.  However, since Coloradans have so many “toys” – cycles, snowmobiles, ATVs – toy haulers seem to be holding their value a bit better than traditional trailers, and enjoy a resale market.  My main concern – how are the dogs and I going to get any sleep when Jer starts snoring in one of those tin boxes…