What should I do with my backyard?
I live on an acre that is kind of a long rectangle. My land extends down a hill that is covered in trees and vegetation, and there is a creek at the bottom. It is a little steep.
My wife was suggesting we put a bench down there, but being shady and full of vegetation there are a lot of bugs, and it would be hard to put a bench down on unlevel ground.
We are up for chopping down a few trees.
Cut back into the hillside so you create a flat space.
Put up a gazebo with a fire pit in the center. You can put tiki torches around to deal with the bugs. If you don't want a gazebo, you should still cut back into the hill and make a level space where you can lay down pea gravel and a fire pit with chairs. (you may have to build a retaining wall in that section to stop erosion. If the spot is right you can hang some hammocks between trees. I had land like yours years ago and built my kids some tree house platforms that connected together. They loved it.
That sounds great. How would I move the dirt? We were considering a retaining wall and moving dirt, but it sounds pretty tough.
Would I have to hire workers and spend thousands of dollars? Probably nothing I could do with my shovel and wheel barrow right?
Thanks
Your best grandpa probably moved mountains with a shovel. Don't be a weak modern man and start digging. You'll be surprised what you can move over a month or two.
Grandpa was smart and used beasts of burden like oxen, draft horses, mules, donkeys, and cheap chinese railroad workers.
Be the ox, now you don't need to go to the gym.
If your body says stop just stop for the day, ok?
If OP has a job that will take way too long to get done.
Small bobcat for $250/day will take care of it in one day.
Money well spent.
Im OP and yeah that was what I was thinking when I saw
say "You'll be surprised what you can move over a month or two."
Listen I really enjoy exercise, and shoveling, and moving dirt, but I work all day, and have a family, and other responsibilities. I probably have about 12 spare hours a week where I can really choose to do whatever I want.
Maybe I just don't want to give up everything for digging for the next few months..
Typical millenial, never want to get your hand's dirty and put in a little work to get something you want. You just want the bobcat fairy to come in and do all the work for you! This is why are society is screwed when everything comes crashing down, and trust me, it's happening soon when people like you are steering the ship.
I paid the bobcat fairy 1.5k to clear an acre for me. They did it in one day. The bobcat fairy helped me get on with my project.
>get a load of this boomer
post bicep flab fatty
Tell these MILLENIALS.
Back in my day, a man would work 30 hours a day on nothing but 'baccer, buttermilk, and cornbread. We were THANKFUL for a shovel (before we could afford one, paw would make me dig holes with my bare hands).
Several smaller terraces should be easier to do and less prone to crushing you under tons of dirt if your retaining wall collapses. Then maybe build a deck over that.
Rent a small bobcat excavator for the day. $150-$200 its well worth it.
Solar orientation of the hill? Personally id cut a swale into it or multiples swales and plant orchard trees along with perennial bushes. Id also throw a ton of cheap bird houses and wildflowers to attract bug predators like birds, wasps and bees. Permaculture orchard/food forest, google it.
yo, AZ accidentally did this with their frugal canal building method , shit is cash
Chopping trees is wise anyway before they become overgrown so I'd drop them while contemplating and let them dry out for easy dismemberment. I fall most of my trees then return months later when all is lighter due to dehydration to cut them up.
>and there is a creek at the bottom
Assuming you're Stateside, before doing any grade changes, check the FEMA flood map (msc.fema.gov) for your area. If there's nothing there, good. If you're in a shaded area, do not do any grade changes as fricking around with floodplain never ends well when the inspectors see it (and thanks to the prevalence of LiDAR and aerials, they can and will).
Leave it alone chud
Do you own both sides of the creek? How much of a reach do you have and what is the fall along it?
I don't. My property ends at the creek below.
I'm in a similar situation except it's not my property. There's a 2 acre lot innawoods next to my house that the owner cleared half of a decade ago and hasn't done anything since. It's not posted property so I can legally enter there and I feel I've been missing out by not using it for fun and profit.
stealth
survival
garden
Cut it all down and grow vegetables and fruit.
Giant slip n slide
Pit bike track. Leave the woman in the kitchen and slam beers with the boys and ride.
I highly recommend getting a detailed survey done. I have a similar 1.3 acre set up and my property is in the middle of my creek. It cost me $1200. I framed one of the large printouts. I built a fence and a shop and I knew exactly where all my easements are.
Take the time to get the vegetation under control and decide which trees you want to keep. How big is the creek.
stone shrine garden. just dig up some big rocks and stand them vertically in a circle and cover the ground in moss