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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2016 11:01am
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Julie, I can hardly wait till we get pictures of your build. Will you be on site during the full phase of construction? Full time or part time? Or toggling back and forth from Oregon to Texas? Julie, do you own a pick up truck? (its almost a must, e ven if its an older farm truck for making supply runs) Man, this is going to be exciting for us. Probably because we have all been watching you plan it from the start and sharing it all with us. I have a visual of the entire thing in my head. I will be curious to see how close my thoughts are to the finished unit. Once construction starts, it will go fast ie the outer shell anyway, especially with pro's doing the work. Interior will slow down a bit, but not much. Are you pitching in where you can, ie painting exterior, things like that etc?
We are all excited for you. What would be so cool is to organize a "small cabin forum" reunion or even cooler, a work party/reunion and all meet at Julies place with trucks, trailers full of tools and bang away on the cabin? OK, just thinking out loud here. I know we are spread too far around the continent and world, but the camaraderie would be so cool, wouldnt it?  We all know each other so well in here already. Its like family members.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2016 05:44pm
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toyota_mdt_tech
Yep, I'll be living on the land in a camper while everything is happening. The cabin won't take much time to build. It will be the waiting for the appropriate county people to do their things -- perc test, site evaluation, etc. There will probably be weeks in between those things before I get the actual building permit.
That's why I can't move up there until the nighttime temps are reliably above freezing and they haven't been yet. I have a couple of investors interested in buying my house to add to their rental properties, which is the direction I decided to go in rather than wait for offers, people to secure a mortgage, etc. And with investors having their own financing, I have more flexibility in moving out and handing over the keys.
I'll definitely be buying a used truck. I've been watching the ads for both used RVs and trucks up there. Since it's a big outdoorsy/recreation area, there's a lot of decent things for sale at good prices. It looks like people trade up frequently. Plus, no sales tax AND Oregon tags are good for 2 years. Hooray! Better to do it there than here in TX.
I'm going to work on the interior at my leisure.  They're doing interior walls, of course, but I want to take my time and choose floor and wall coverings that will suit best after living with it for a bit. The plywood will be fine briefly and the Wiseway won't have to go in until mid-fall. The Materials section of Craigs List there has revealed some pretty neat deals at times on hardwood flooring, stone, and such. Since the Wiseway is a pellet stove, I won't have the larger clearances needed that woodstoves require.
I thought about painting the exterior but that's only about $200 in the builder's package so it's kind of not worth my trouble. I did tell him, though, that I will supply the paint so he might even knock off some of that cost. I want to choose the color and type of paint so I can keep up with that in the future.
I've got the building down and the electrical covered by my chosen contractor. It's the plumbing that continues to vex me. I know people are amused at my drive to keep it simple but I kind of have to for my own ability to maintain but, even more pressing, because of my inability to find a recommended plumbing contractor who serves Bly Mountain. So either I'm going to have to hope we can coordinate with the plumber the builder knows 70 miles away or I'll have to find someone with decent plumbing skills who can do what I need and, as owner-contractor, it will be on me. At least the electrician can wire up the Girard on-demand water heater in the wall to 12-volt for me. We can figure out the LP connection, should be simple enough.
Haha, by all means, come one, come all, let's party at Julie's Cabin! BYOT (Bring Your Own Tools, lol.) Seriously, we should have a get-together! My neighbors about 3/4 of a mile away play music every weekend so we'd have a band. I'd provide the eats.
Thanks for all of the help, inspiration, and just plain putting up with me. I'm getting really psyched. I can see this, too! Partly because I have visited countless "shed" lots, walked off feet inside of them, and decided what I could live with and what I couldn't. Seeing the gambrel with a horizontal aspect, 8 ft. walls, and loft was like BINGO! Even being much smaller and shorter than what I'm doing.
Sigh ... back to plumbing and water. I actually found a soil survey report of Bly Mountain online yesterday! Apparently, it's Lorella series and the bedrock ledge is about 20 inches below the soil surface. Haha, PERFECT!!!! Bedrock foundation, here we come. But now I'm wondering if there might be a shallow well possibility below that bedrock if we cracked it a good distance from the cabin? Hmmm.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 20 Mar 2016 06:47pm
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A word (and memory) about my "attic" bedroom.
When I was a senior in college, I lived in an old home owned by the church. It was across the street from campus and connected to the building where various church services and religious groups met. So rent was cheap and the church alternated years between choosing five men and five women to live there. Since you could only live there one year, it was great that the women's year was my senior year.
Anyhoo, I worked on campus during the summers and was already there ready to move in for the fall semester so I had my pick of the 5 bedrooms. I chose one of the 2 attic bedrooms. I LOVED it! Yeah, the steps to it were tall and narrow and the slope was almost vertical, lol. It was far removed from the rest of the house but that was the point! Living with 4 other gals, having to read a LOT for my major and two minors, and working besides, I wanted a place of retreat and privacy!
I adored the room itself. I loved the sloped ceiling under which was a built-in bureau and storage. The bed had to be positioned so I didn't bump my head if I sat up the wrong way, lol. (I don't know how the guys managed! They must have always put a short one in there, haha!) I had one window that looked out over the street below. The ceiling was low at its tallest point but it made me feel cozy. This English Lit. major felt like she was in a medieval space, a castle chamber, with its height, interesting ceiling, and feeling of privacy and protection. I was sorry to leave it behind.
Happy times. Re-creating that type of space in my cabin makes me smile.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 08:48pm
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Well, the builder decided to consult with a different truss company, one that would be more responsive, shall we say. This one is located just 25 miles from my land, so that's a plus!
And he also came up with a new design for me to consider, putting the carport on the side rather than the back. Wowza. Obviously, this is just a sketch and the support beams for the carport wouldn't be sticklike.
This is no longer a loft but a second floor and if I do it, I WOULD put it to use. That would mean I WOULD put the full bathroom up there, in the area over the carport. Dedicated storage space, too. And since I'd be saving space by not having a utility room downstairs, I wouldn't put in a staircase that turns. Rather, I would do a longer staircase with a much more gradual incline/descent and wider steps, like I have on the outside of my current house.
I think I like the carport space on the side. It could lend itself to a screen-in porch in the future or another room, of course. I ESPECIALLY like having all of that space on the first floor solely for kitchen and living room. MAGIC!
The front door will be on the 24 ft. side, btw. Big windows on each side with window boxes for plants. A small slider on the side and I'll get creative with windows on the back. There will be a plain 36-inch wide exterior door from the carport. Windows in the loft, of course. An egress window over the carport might be good.
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 08:58pm
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That's a nice style. This might help as well.
http://www.easyrafters.com/gambrel.htm
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 10:42pm
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Well, considering I'm not building it myself over time and the actual building will take maybe a week tops, the lion's share of my cabin project on my end lies in the planning. So I doubt the whole thing will be even close to "20 pages" once completed.
I thought the planning process and problem-solving that goes into building a small cabin residence off-grid and on a budget might be valuable and interesting to some people. Guess I may have been wrong in that.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 10:57pm
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Consider this thread closed.
See y'all after the cabin's done this summer if I have sufficient internet speed and data.
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 10:59pm
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I was raised in a two story home. Two bedrooms upstairs and I have always liked those old two story home. I liked looking out the windows fro up there and you could see for ever. You don't see any built like that anymore.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 11:05pm
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That's how the small older homes in western Pennsylvania, where I grew up, are, neb. I have a fondness for them, as well.
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Stein
Member
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# Posted: 21 Mar 2016 11:42pm
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon Consider this thread closed. See y'all after the cabin's done this summer if I have sufficient internet speed and data.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 12:07am
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Good luck Julie,
Do make sure the truss company is providing a stamped drawing... the drawings may be more conceptual but are a little "sketchy" looking in the details. If he got there he can get to 7' upstairs, go ahead and hit code as long as you're at it. Don't forget insulation room for whatever method you choose there.
Look into using hardipanel or something fire resistive on the carport ceiling.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 12:43am
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Quoting: Don_P Good luck Julie,Do make sure the truss company is providing a stamped drawing... the drawings may be more conceptual but are a little "sketchy" looking in the details. If he got there he can get to 7' upstairs, go ahead and hit code as long as you're at it. Don't forget insulation room for whatever method you choose there.Look into using hardipanel or something fire resistive on the carport ceiling.
Yeah, Don, they will. The builder just sent the sketch over to me to make sure this design would be OK since the carport placement and size of the second floor is different from what we had discussed.
The loft ceiling is 7.1 but the center beam brings it to 6.5'. That's allowable by code for attic/sloped ceiling habitable space, right? (If I'm remembering correctly, it is but I could totally be wrong.)
Guys, I didn't mean my comment to "escalate" the situation. It's simply the truth. I've got maybe 8 more weeks here in TX before I head north to live in the camper on my land and have the cabin built. I won't have affordable/accessible internet installed until the cabin IS built so communication will be hit or miss and there won't be many, if any, pics until I've got everything hooked up. I can't afford Verizon's big data plan which is used up in no time.
That's just the reality. My situation is the reverse of most of y'all's. The careful planning, coordination, and legalities are the biggest part of "Julie's Cabin." The construction end will be quick, done, and a huge relief!
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 01:17am
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon The careful planning, coordination, and legalities are the biggest part of "Julie's Cabin."
Just my opinion, but I believe more effort in the planning stage would have benefited in a few other past projects. Discussing the planning could help future builders realize that. There's no rule
I am aware of that demands dirt be turned before the thread hits any particular number of pages.
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 01:39am
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon I won't have affordable/accessible internet installed until the cabin IS built so communication will be hit or miss and there won't be many, if any, pics until I've got everything hooked up. I can't afford Verizon's big data plan which is used up in no time.
You ain't just a woofin', J2.
Verizon duuu luvs us.
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:05am
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This thread
Has been one to watch
To get an education for anyone attempting to, or just considering a cabin build.
Anyone
J2 has proven that.
Very few stones have been left unturned.
The pros here have offered up their recommendations.
This adventure of planning will soon culminate to fruition.
And this PA by way of TX soon to be OR bound lady will embark on an adventure of a lifetime (we know this one).
See ya at the cabin, J2.
We'll bring the IPA
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:09pm
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Quoting: MtnDon Just my opinion, but I believe more effort in the planning stage would have benefited in a few other past projects. Discussing the planning could help future builders realize that.
Thanks, MtnDon. I tend to think in type. Always have, I've written since I was 8 years old. Every situation is different and I think that by folks sharing their experiences, others will find something useful or applicable to their projects and maybe to questions they were hesitant to ask.
It's not like, Poof, here I am on a remote piece of property suddenly building! At least, I don't think it is for most people! In my case, this isn't a recreational place, a second home, a luxury. It's a huge leap of faith to get back to the real "me" and live according to what's inside of me, not according to how society says I should live and what I should be buying and consuming. I want a simple, cozy, functional small cabin home that fits well within its forest environment to become one lovely living space, without one imposing on the other.
I'm selling just about everything I own and picking up stakes to do this. I may not be physically building it myself but my brain, heart, and soul are fully vested in it.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 02:23pm - Edited by: Julie2Oregon
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Quoting: Gary O See ya at the cabin, J2.We'll bring the IPA
Yay! 'Course I'll have to meet y'all in town or somewhere for your first foray to the mountain. Good ole Google maps is rubbish about directing one to the land, I discovered. It shows this crazy, meandering path all around the mountain when it's actually accessed quite easily off 140 and takes maybe 6 minutes. Go figure. The IPA would be warm. 
Thank you for your kind words, my friend. Can't wait to see you and Cabi!
Oh, and regarding the Internet dilemma, I can't find any way out of going with HughesNet satellite but I'm still on the case. There's supposedly CenturyLink phone service on the land and I don't quite get why I can't get at least some sort of phone-based Internet, especially if I'm willing to upgrade that line, which I might be, depending on the cost. I've gotten different answers from different people at CenturyLink, grrrr. At first I was told I could get up to 10 mbps which isn't awesome but would work. Then I was told I couldn't get any at all, and then that Qwest served my area which is a different arm of CenturyLink. Frustrating.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 03:25pm
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I found the front door. Looks like I'll be driving to Houston in the near future and hauling the thing to Oregon with me, sigh. But this is the best price for a speakeasy door that I've ever seen by many hundreds of dollars. Have NOT seen a speakeasy with an arched top. Gotta do it. This is my one cabin splurge. The front door is important to me. It turns the shabin/barn into "home."
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Salty Craig
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 07:54pm
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Hey y'all. It's looks like my comment disappeared and maybe some others as well. I haven't checked all day until now. What kind of a fire storm did this create? I complimented the contents of this thread with pure descriptive praise. Just had a hitch about one small detail.
I missed whatever was said and probably glad I did. Im sorry if my comments ticked anybody off. I'm more sorry that this forum is so politically correct that my thoughts were erased.
Julie, best of luck to you!! I can't wait to see a picture of your cabin.
Craig
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 08:32pm
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Julie2Oregon
Have you considered the need for a sump pump . Not that you need any more on your plate.
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Littlecooner
Member
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# Posted: 22 Mar 2016 08:52pm
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Good luck on the build. It has been a long time coming but it is finally here. We will look for pictures in a few weeks. I bet the excitement will be too much and you will find internet service to post pictures, even if you have to drive into town and find some wi fi at the local coffee shop. Time of make the move and go north gal. The weather is great and you should be snuggled in before winter with that speak easy door to check on visitors.
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2016 12:20am
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Just
For the crawl space? I've got instructions for building techniques that naturally divert the water path from the space so we'll see. Of course, I'll be following it to see where it goes, lol, and would be stoked to find where it might be collecting!
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 23 Mar 2016 01:16am
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Littlecooner
Oh, it will be a lot longer than a few weeks. I'm afraid I don't get excited about taking photos. I'm awful at it. But the cabin will hopefully be photogenic once she's up.
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silverwaterlady
Member
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 05:45pm
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Hi Julie,
I hope you continue to post in this thread. I have been missing my cabin and have enjoyed all the planning you are doing. I'm sure many of us,as I am are reliving our cabin builds through you.
Some Members with cabins completed have threads with over 30 pages. I don't see anything wrong with that.
I love the door!
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 07:55pm
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silverwaterlady
Thanks! It is a challenge doing this on my own and having to line up everything from 1,600 miles away. I've been very grateful for this forum and all of you!
Haha, but knowing that even the local contractors in Oregon have trouble finding the people and answers they need for particular projects there makes me feel not quite so inept! It will all work out and be an amazing sense of accomplishment.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 09:11pm
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Julie, are you the general contractor, ie you pulling the permits? Just take your design to building dept and you apply for the permit.
You will need a site plan, take that to the planning dept after obtaining a mailing address (you will need it anyway) and then submit the plans to the building dept.
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 09:33pm
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Quoting: silverwaterlady Some Members with cabins completed have threads with over 30 pages. I don't see anything wrong with that.
HOLEEEE COW!
I just did a cursory look.
Are we the onliest thread with over 30 pages?
Guess we better back off some, let others share their joy.
Riiiight after my next post.....probably....maybe.....
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Don_P
Member
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 10:30pm
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And not a spade harmed in 30 pages
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Julie2Oregon
Member
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 10:58pm
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toyota_mdt_tech
Yeah, I'm going to be the contractor. Just buy me a pink hardhat and hum the Green Acres theme song, lol, cuz I'm about as competent as Zeb the Handyman. 
I spoke with the planning director himself a couple of days ago. It's a process. First, I get the test pits dug and go to the On Site Dept. to request the site review and perc test and sketch out what I'm doing, get the septic permit, then I trot over to the building department with my sketch for the building permit, then it's the whole other, more detailed set of drawings with the setbacks, yada-yada, for the planning department. Joy. Depending on what demands they make I may have apply for a variance on something. I hope not.
I was rather hoping I could somehow fall under the jurisdiction of the planning department for the little town near which I'll be living, hence my call to the county. (I don't.) It was just my luck that the planning director himself happened to answer the phone, hahahahaha. He was very pleasant, though.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 24 Mar 2016 11:11pm
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Gary O
Yours is the standard by which those of us also blessed with verbosity can only aspire. I salute you and Cabi!
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