When you decide to build there is so much to learn. We built our modern homestead and 2015 and we learned so much! I would do it all over again though saying that! The government bureaucracy you are dealing with is EVERYWHERE! its a pain. could you image how bad it would be if you had building codes and inspectors to deal with? No wonder it cost so much to build now a days
Fascinating. Recently purchased vacant land on Gabriola Island, BC. Similar to you we placed a motorhome as a refuge while we take our time getting to know the land before we build, but still wanted a street address before applying for a building permit. One email to the RDN (Regional District of Nanaimo) with a GoogleMaps screenshot showing the approximate location of the existing driveway and about 20 minutes later we got a reply with our digits! I was impressed then, but I'm way more impressed after seeing your ordeal lol.
Yep, those are some very good things to consider. When I bought my piece of land, (6 acres) there was a big ditch with no way to drive onto the property without driving through the neighbor's yard. There weren't any special circumstances to consider so they let me decide where I wanted the driveway to be. They gave me an address based off of the location of the driveway. Mine was fairly simple. Depending on the county, zoning, township, etc, it can range anywhere from Simple to Never Ending Nightmare.
Funny you put this up, we had an issue at our off grid property last week and needed an address and we dont have one! And we are finding out its much more difficult than you think!
Here in Texas, I had to measure from center of each of my neighbors driveways to the center of my driveway (used a wheeled measure) and call into the 911 service to establish the address, quick and easy.
Yes, you really need those concrete blocks to overlap. Come rainy season they may fall over. I think most places do the addressing the same way now, they put the emergency response people in charge of establishing addresses and then give it to you. Then you give that to the postal service. The postal service don't give out addresses for new building sites. Enjoying your videos, by the way.
Address. Yaii we got that covered! Okay we live in an old house with existing address but still, all properties that have any border touching a road already have a predetermined address here in Finland. In zoning they go by wonderfully complex system but here out in the countryside the number is directly the distance from road start to property start divided by ten. This helps in navigating to unknown addressess both for rescue service and visitors. Changing the driveway is matter of dealing with the road keeping authority, who in turn is taking their role in maintaining that regulations are met about visibility and accessibility and all that. Very fortunate for us as our current driveway is a bit nonideal but we have already talked to our communal road keeper of our plans and got okay to go as we wish
I have watched many of your videos but I don't often comment. I think this video is great...one of those things that people don't actually think about. Also, I like this style of video where you show part of it live (or do voice-overs) to cover pre-shot video. Your video techniques have greatly improved (I love the drone) and I look forward to the rest of the series. Good luck.
Great stuff, I live in rural South Carolina where it's a very good idea to have a good relationship with ' The Codes department '. They are not strict there , but for me that's great. ( it helps to have a brother in law that is very educated in construction engineering)
Paint in glow in the dark paint your address in large numbers on those concrete support blocks at the entrance. Numbers on a mail box is not seen as easily by emergency vehicles. Believe me, without a street address on ALL city, county and emergency maps ( and don't assume if on one map the other department has the info ) . My parents moved a house to a location that wasn't recognized as a street and my father experienced an emergency, we had to actually go out and chase down the ambulance that didn't know where to go and was driving around wasting time looking for their house. In subdivision where I live, city and county officials suggested painting the house number on the curb more visible than on a mail box or on the house.
I hate dealing with building codes and the bureaucracy in all of that. I built a garage wayyyyy above code for a friend of mine and was questioned as to why. Trying to explain that building codes is a min. to the inspector was comical and frustrating all in one. He failed that initial inspection because it wasn't what all these pop up cheap minimally built developments do. I immediately called and had his but in the hot seat. They hire people with no experience or minimal and that believe code is how things are supposed to be built instead of thats the cheapest minimal standard.
Make sure you address is easily seen and also able to be cleaned when it snows. You would be be surprised how many first responders dont always know where they are when responding. Especially since its a new address.
And put clear address numbers where they can be easily seen from the street. That really helps 911. In my area, the local fire dept put addresses where they did not see 'sufficient' addresses. The local folks here want them to be reflective with dark background, visible from both directions, near the drive entrance. If there is a gate, they must have an emergency access method (typically a physical key kept in a lock box they specify, so all lock boxes have the same key, to keep confusion down from fire and ambulance/EMT crews).
As a firefighter this is very true. Unless your house is on fire. It can be difficult to find in wooded areas at night even some developments can be difficult. I ran a Cardiac Arrest in an area without street lights and because I came in my own car without scene lighting it was very difficult to find the house. I had actually passed over it and realized I missed it when i saw a house number further down. Also if somebody happened to have an accident nearby they can also use your house number as reference which is also helpful. Definitely have something on your mailbox but with your Retaining wall you could put a large number easily scene.
I am so glad we didn't have this issue. We just had a dirt driveway that had a gate to keep the old owner's horses in. When we asked about building permits and inspectors, we were told that there was no such thing in our county. The guy at the courthouse/town hall basically said, "well if you want an inspector, you could get one from the city about two hours away, but it might take them 6 months to get over here..." When we asked about an address, the response went like, "well the government requires us have 911 addresses, and the sheriff issues those out..." When we went to the sheriff to get the address, the response went like, "you have a way to the property, and are living there?" We told the sheriff something about the main gravel road off of the paved county road, just passed 3 bridges on the left with a green gate... He knew where we were... Couple days later, I am building a small deck off of our 6x8 popup camper, and through the brush and thicket this sheriff's suv pulls in and rolls down his window and basically says, "This where you live?" To which I reply, "yes Sir." He tells us this number would be easier for us to remember, tears off a sheet with the address, and tells us to put the numbers on the gate that are visible at night from the road... He also suggests to us to inform the lady at the post office that we are here... drives off waving... The lady at the post office basically tells us, "put the box where the guy doesn't fall in the ditch, and remember that you can't reach it safely, he can't either..." We found out later that our mailman carries 6 spare tires in the bed of his truck and a couple times he has gone through 5 in a day...
my wife and bought land in Texas, had no address on a corner of two streets.. we called the non emergency line for 911 and they set up our address over the phone (you would expect postal would be over this) we had an address before we had a driveway, ended up setting driveway on the other street
Hey guys sending y'all love from upstate NY! Our family wants to get out own property and build a timber frame. We have been watching yall since the beginning. I have went through 4 phones 😂. We now sit the kids down and watch y'all through the phone and have it transferred to the 📺. Me my husband and 6 kids and my granddaughter wanted to let yall know how much of a part our lives you are. Keep on trucking
You both are GREAT!! My driveway plan was next on my list and I did not know any of these issues could be a possible issue with my property. You possibly saved my hundreds of dollars or more plus the headaches and frustrations. Knowing this info I can take on the driveway and address issue informed. Thanks a ton!! ✝🙏❤
haha "freedom!" 1:59 made me laugh. I really like your videos keep up the good work. Great to see your house plans, really cool to see that is embedded in the hill. That will save some space! I'm looking forward to how you are going to do the joinery, that is an interesting skill. Greetings from the Netherlands.
We purchased Raw Land too, We were told we needed a residential/home Permit to get an address, but we are going to be living in our travel trailer as well, until we can build just like you guys. Soooooo we were going to get a PO BOX. Long story short! I spoke with local Post Master she told me if you have land, and a driveway the County HAS to give you an address, However it isn't logged into the 911 system (For that you need a home/house permit. Called back to County Office - SHE WAS RIGHT - I got an address within 15 minutes. If you need emergency services your address still shows up in there system it just isn't logged as a Residential Home. Amazing "I love Red tape"
Did not know any thing about this kind of stuff when I started owner-building back in the 1970s. Was 1/3 mile off the county road, had a foot path in that I owned that was on the 30 feet X 1/3 mile to be driveway. Had to build an 8 foot road in through stumps and over a swamp all by HAND after putting in a 30 foot culvert at the county road. Had truck after truck load of "Pitrun" brought in as I could afford it to build up the road bed. That was just to get to the edge of the 20 acres. Their were a number of RFD mail boxes on the county road, so I just put my box in amoung them. I even named my 1/3 mile driveway "Sunshine Lane" that later went on the county maps! Took me several years to even do this much...
I had a really easy time getting a street address. I just went to the post office, and they told me install a mail box at the county maintained Rd at the bottom of the hill (and there was even an empty space on the existing posts for mail boxes), and they would put a form in side and after I filled that out, I had an address. Now this does mean, my mailbox is 2 1/2 miles away from my property at the bottom of a hill. Also it can be confusing as well as my address is either referenced as the county maintained Rd, or sometimes the actual dirt Rd my property is on. Depends some times. Half my paperwork is one, half is the other. I also often times I get people telling me my address doesn't exist when ordering things and they look it up on computers. I have to explain to them it is a new rural address.
I don't know what country you are in but that was basically the way I did it. Here however, there is only delivery to a mail box if you are grand fathered in so I have to go to a communal box, a few miles away. Others get it delivered at the drive or the box or in town which is paid for. Now, I also have the problem of some people telling me my address doesn't exist at times when placing orders and it's been a year. But then I live in a Hamlet so small and decreasing in population over decades that most people in the province have never heard of the place.
I am in the US, in a very rural part of Eastern WA. They were very helpful and nice when I got my address. The whole address not coming up on computers issue is to me just funny. I am old enough to remember life before computers, so find it mildly amusing how people don't seem to know what to do if the computer doesn't agree with reality. A few decades ago, there would be no problem with a new address, the folks at the post office would deal with it when they got the mail or package. But now, before sending they try to verify it is a legit address, and have problems with it not showing up. I just assure them, it is indeed real just new. So far I haven't had trouble with anyone denying me shipping. Not sure if you have this in your country, but in the US you can actually do "general delivery". Which means it is just shipped to the post office and you go in and ask them for your mail. You don't have to pay any fee for this, and best part you get no junk mail. This is set up for folks who have no address, like homeless or rural folks who can't get a mail box for some reason.
I love watching your cat walk around in the background while you shoot your video. She just does not care what you are doing at all. Who built the driveway? Georgia must not have those laws because I know several houses where they can't see anything! Some people just put huge round mirrors because they can only see one side. Usually, they just gun it and go! I like watching your videos but everything is SO MUCH WORK!
Now this video was very well done and anyone buying property for any reason will get good advice from this video. I am in the country similar to this couple and I live way back in the woods. I started buying property regularly around my house in the woods so now I have no neighbors ,however in our area you get the address from the power company whether you have/want power or not. Then go to city hall with papers. Took me an afternoon but that's how it was done here. Love the videos, stay strong
Your process for an address is far more convoluted than what I had to do. I started at the post office and they put me on the right path. Street addresses here are assigned by the emergency planning people so they can find your place if you dial a 911. When I arrived at the county jail house, where the 911 response team is located, I was taken to an office and had to point out on a map exactly where my driveway was. Mine happens to be on the outside of a corner where 2 streets meet so they asked me which street I wanted to use for my address. Since it looks like an extension one street I chose to have the address listed as being located on the other street. Once I told them, they used a computer program to assign the address and just told me what it would be. No costs, no inspections, no nothing that wasn't really needed. Getting the postal service out to mark where they want the box installed has been another matter. Being on a rural route they want a location that is no more hazardous than it needs to be, so their carrier will be safe while dropping off the mail. So far I have not seen them and I will soon just dig a hole using my own judgement and they will be stuck with the location.
I think it might depend on how cooperative your postal carrier and postmaster are. Ours are great folks, the only thing they wanted was to be able to pull at least 3 feet off the road on a spot where they wouldn't get stuck in the mud and have our box mounted within a specified height range.
You guys look like you are having a good time. I enjoy watching your videos. My friend wanted to build a log cabin. we had it figured that it would take us about 9 months. Boy were we wrong. It took us 2 and a half years. We got it done and every one loves it. I can wait to see your house when you get it finished. Good Luck!!!
Thanks for this video! I've always wondered about the bureaucracy of getting an address on a remote place like this. Good to know you got the address before you started building! Thanks for sharing the knowledge with us!
Hey I just wanted to share with you a story about my grandfather developing property in Florida. The property was large enough they had to build a road on it. This road that my grandfather build is still there and with the original name he gave it and is now maintained by the city. The property was sold off to developers and now the nice woodland with house and acres of land is now track housing. But I remember chasing squirrels as a kid all over the property and driving up and down our road named after the family and build by my grandfather. Anyway I wanted to share that because what you have done will be able to be enjoyed for years in stories just like my family.
In the township I live in, send a driveway request form to the township board, they inspect where you want the driveway and approve it ir say where you gave to relocate it to. The board also decides if a culvert is needed. Then a $50 address request fee only after an approved driveway is in, then wait 3mo or so after thay and you get your address.
When we first moved to where we are, it was a brand-new rural "development" (raw land that people were just starting to put houses up on), and it took UPS and Fed-Ex the darndest amount of time to figure out where to find us. To help, we started out with a physical address that made sense, and then the USPS decided we needed new "9-1-1" addresses that are supposedly based on GPS coordinates, but that made no sense. Ah, the memories. ;)
I just put up a mailbox and made up my own address. It worked for a while but then the postmaster caught on and wouldn't deliver the mail there anymore. Works for everything else though.
Looks like you could use about 10 more geo blocks to stabilize that slope. And, you may want to re-arrange your existing blocks so that they overlap and lock into one another. Do they make half blocks?
Greyman Zink they would have I'm sure except they didn't even want to do it to begin with. (And I don't think they really needed to except to meet code and possibly fire truck access "requirements"... $2,000.00 later they have the same access they did before but now the county might give them a "mail box/address".
I am stating the fact that they dug into the slope, making it susceptible to erosion. With the gap behind the wall, makes it unstable and subject to falling, basic retaining wall physics.
GREAT video. There are so many things that nobody seems to talk about. I have 5.5 acres in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri....but I have not done anything with it. I never would have guessed about needing to go through obtaining an address.....something to think about in the future.......if I plan to do anything with that property.
I guess this just proves how much things vary state to state and even by county. We bought raw land and just recently got an address. I just called the county, gave them our map #, and a few days later had an address! Bottom line is before you buy a property it's a good idea to find out how difficult your county will be to deal with, and what zoning your property is listed as. Also, we found out that if you have more than 10 acres, you can rezone the property as agricultural and our property taxes on 40 acres are less than $100 per year!
I guess we got lucky. We didn't really have to do much except fill out the residential placement permit and flag our property for Road and Bridge to okay our driveway. We waited a couple of months and had our numbers. Thanks for the video.
I had to get a 911 address for my property before I could even put a trailer on it. I had to put in a driveway (when I bought it, there was nothing), but since it was to a state maintained road, I had to get permits from the state's department of transportation. It will have taken about a year to get to move onto the property (staying in nearby hotels was expensive!). Looking back on it, if you are in a hurry and are daily calling people to get it through, you can probably get your address in a couple of months, but if there are a lot of other delays (especially if you have a spouse that is not pulling with you) it can easily take a year. Either way, the people in your county (and possibly some state) offices will get to know you very well. I should mention that there are individuals who will do a lot of the permit work for you (for a fee). I did not use these services and did it all myself (although it has been a hassel, as long as it only requires a phone, pen, and computer, I can do it).
Any idea how they assign you a number? Here in semi-rural Australia, the land is all surveyed, divided up and sold off. There are all sorts of Lot numbers and such, but the way the street or road number is given is by distance. For instance, we are 2.87 kilometers from the main road, so we are 287. Odd numbers on left, even numbers on right. Council puts up yellow posts with these numbers for fire department, garbage pickup, police, most people have an idea about how it works too, which is great.
You know I just realized the word "address" starts to sound weird and comical after you hear it a few dozen times!!! Good work guys, good video, good channel!!
In my area the first 15m setback from the road is owned by the township for right of way hydro or future sidewalk. The driveway entrance is paid by you but the township owns it and maintains it.
Something else to consider: easements (right-of-way). If you move/modify your driveway make sure it doesn't interfere with an existing easements. If you share your driveway with a neighbor or if it's use is the only way to get to a land locked property you can't just move it.
I dont think Lincoln county MT has any restrictions like this for county road entrances. I have 3 roads in, 2 are basically skids with gates. No building code either. Its enough wild west and high tech that i love it! One side of property still has 100 year old address that no longer had a road. When I first moved here I had UPS and fedex deliveries with no mailbox or markers and they still delivered to the communal box. Legends!
Funny story. Thank you for sharing. Just so you know, I have been building as a professional contractor for my entire adult life, and you will never know the ins and outs because every state, county and city is totally different and the codes/interpretations of codes changes over time. You just need to do your best to solve the issues as they come! Good job.
About those house plans that I see in the background... Are you sure about that circular stair? Jesse you look pretty tall, will you be able to climb that without ducking? I know that I've climbed a few and none of them would work for me because of my height. Or is that just a secondary set of stairs? Let alone how tough it is to carry anything up those kind of stairs.
The criteria for obtaining an address varies by locale. I know that some jurisdictions use approval of septic, others use the driveway permit, others still a building permit, etc.. Check with your local county/borough/parish to get the exact particulars.
Good call to share this. I had no idea there was a process involved to obtain an address. I assumed that if I purchased property, it would come with an address. I've been looking at agricultural / residential on Zillow and then Google mapping their locations and then, I do a demographic query by the address listed.
Thanks for sharing your video. There are many very practical reasons why putting a three car garage under your house is a bad idea. Block retaining wall would have looked better/more integrated into the hill if it was installed level. Hope your back heals.
I think you were very lucky! In the county I live, they treat you like a criminal and try to make your life as miserable as possible. The department of transportation has to approve and engineered driveway and it is expensive! $$$$$
me and my husband did something similar only lucky for us the driveway did come in at 90 degrees to the road, and it was by accident that we got an address, we were in the court house and the lady that does that seen us and said hay you don't have an adress yet. we do now.
Precisely why I don't plan on ever dealing with the headaches of building. In your case, it's not bad if you are certain of keeping that home the rest of your lives. I, personally, think I'll just buy land in the country and establish a modern homestead from there. Great videos tho! I know they are beneficial to anyone wanting to learn the steps and the process. You guys are great tho! Keep up the good work! 🤙 +pure living for life
I don't know if my last comment got to you. I think it got onto a Cabelas RUclips on boots. anyway, we had a garage sale last weekend. a family came who told us they were going to homestead near you. we were able to help her with stuff to get her started. her name is monica. she has 2 kids and a hubby. they are subscribed to your channel. hope you meet the soon.
we have fire numbers which equates to an address. I can get UPS in the summer but have to go to town (45 mins) to the post office and my PO box. I wish I had enough neighbors to push the issue so we could do an apartment style mailbox cubby (hope that makes sense).
When you decide to build there is so much to learn. We built our modern homestead and 2015 and we learned so much! I would do it all over again though saying that! The government bureaucracy you are dealing with is EVERYWHERE! its a pain. could you image how bad it would be if you had building codes and inspectors to deal with? No wonder it cost so much to build now a days
Fascinating. Recently purchased vacant land on Gabriola Island, BC. Similar to you we placed a motorhome as a refuge while we take our time getting to know the land before we build, but still wanted a street address before applying for a building permit.
One email to the RDN (Regional District of Nanaimo) with a GoogleMaps screenshot showing the approximate location of the existing driveway and about 20 minutes later we got a reply with our digits!
I was impressed then, but I'm way more impressed after seeing your ordeal lol.
Yep, those are some very good things to consider. When I bought my piece of land, (6 acres) there was a big ditch with no way to drive onto the property without driving through the neighbor's yard. There weren't any special circumstances to consider so they let me decide where I wanted the driveway to be. They gave me an address based off of the location of the driveway. Mine was fairly simple. Depending on the county, zoning, township, etc, it can range anywhere from Simple to Never Ending Nightmare.
Good information! I just thought a plot of land automatically came with an address. The driveway rule was a surprise as well.
Funny you put this up, we had an issue at our off grid property last week and needed an address and we dont have one! And we are finding out its much more difficult than you think!
Here in Texas, I had to measure from center of each of my neighbors driveways to the center of my driveway (used a wheeled measure) and call into the 911 service to establish the address, quick and easy.
Love you two, keep up the great work, hope your back gets to feeling better
.
Yes, you really need those concrete blocks to overlap. Come rainy season they may fall over. I think most places do the addressing the same way now, they put the emergency response people in charge of establishing addresses and then give it to you. Then you give that to the postal service. The postal service don't give out addresses for new building sites. Enjoying your videos, by the way.
Address. Yaii we got that covered! Okay we live in an old house with existing address but still, all properties that have any border touching a road already have a predetermined address here in Finland. In zoning they go by wonderfully complex system but here out in the countryside the number is directly the distance from road start to property start divided by ten. This helps in navigating to unknown addressess both for rescue service and visitors.
Changing the driveway is matter of dealing with the road keeping authority, who in turn is taking their role in maintaining that regulations are met about visibility and accessibility and all that. Very fortunate for us as our current driveway is a bit nonideal but we have already talked to our communal road keeper of our plans and got okay to go as we wish
I have watched many of your videos but I don't often comment. I think this video is great...one of those things that people don't actually think about. Also, I like this style of video where you show part of it live (or do voice-overs) to cover pre-shot video. Your video techniques have greatly improved (I love the drone) and I look forward to the rest of the series. Good luck.
Great stuff, I live in rural South Carolina where it's a very good idea to have a good relationship with ' The Codes department '. They are not strict there , but for me that's great. ( it helps to have a brother in law that is very educated in construction engineering)
Paint in glow in the dark paint your address in large numbers on those concrete support blocks at the entrance. Numbers on a mail box is not seen as easily by emergency vehicles. Believe me, without a street address on ALL city, county and emergency maps ( and don't assume if on one map the other department has the info ) . My parents moved a house to a location that wasn't recognized as a street and my father experienced an emergency, we had to actually go out and chase down the ambulance that didn't know where to go and was driving around wasting time looking for their house. In subdivision where I live, city and county officials suggested painting the house number on the curb more visible than on a mail box or on the house.
I hate dealing with building codes and the bureaucracy in all of that. I built a garage wayyyyy above code for a friend of mine and was questioned as to why. Trying to explain that building codes is a min. to the inspector was comical and frustrating all in one. He failed that initial inspection because it wasn't what all these pop up cheap minimally built developments do. I immediately called and had his but in the hot seat. They hire people with no experience or minimal and that believe code is how things are supposed to be built instead of thats the cheapest minimal standard.
Make sure you address is easily seen and also able to be cleaned when it snows. You would be be surprised how many first responders dont always know where they are when responding. Especially since its a new address.
And put clear address numbers where they can be easily seen from the street. That really helps 911. In my area, the local fire dept put addresses where they did not see 'sufficient' addresses. The local folks here want them to be reflective with dark background, visible from both directions, near the drive entrance. If there is a gate, they must have an emergency access method (typically a physical key kept in a lock box they specify, so all lock boxes have the same key, to keep confusion down from fire and ambulance/EMT crews).
As a firefighter this is very true. Unless your house is on fire. It can be difficult to find in wooded areas at night even some developments can be difficult. I ran a Cardiac Arrest in an area without street lights and because I came in my own car without scene lighting it was very difficult to find the house. I had actually passed over it and realized I missed it when i saw a house number further down. Also if somebody happened to have an accident nearby they can also use your house number as reference which is also helpful. Definitely have something on your mailbox but with your Retaining wall you could put a large number easily scene.
I would have thought you would have alternated those layers on the retaining wall to make is stronger, no seams, like a brick wall layout?
I am so glad we didn't have this issue.
We just had a dirt driveway that had a gate to keep the old owner's horses in.
When we asked about building permits and inspectors, we were told that there was no such thing in our county. The guy at the courthouse/town hall basically said, "well if you want an inspector, you could get one from the city about two hours away, but it might take them 6 months to get over here..."
When we asked about an address, the response went like, "well the government requires us have 911 addresses, and the sheriff issues those out..."
When we went to the sheriff to get the address, the response went like, "you have a way to the property, and are living there?" We told the sheriff something about the main gravel road off of the paved county road, just passed 3 bridges on the left with a green gate... He knew where we were...
Couple days later, I am building a small deck off of our 6x8 popup camper, and through the brush and thicket this sheriff's suv pulls in and rolls down his window and basically says, "This where you live?" To which I reply, "yes Sir."
He tells us this number would be easier for us to remember, tears off a sheet with the address, and tells us to put the numbers on the gate that are visible at night from the road...
He also suggests to us to inform the lady at the post office that we are here... drives off waving...
The lady at the post office basically tells us, "put the box where the guy doesn't fall in the ditch, and remember that you can't reach it safely, he can't either..." We found out later that our mailman carries 6 spare tires in the bed of his truck and a couple times he has gone through 5 in a day...
my wife and bought land in Texas, had no address on a corner of two streets.. we called the non emergency line for 911 and they set up our address over the phone (you would expect postal would be over this)
we had an address before we had a driveway, ended up setting driveway on the other street
Hey guys sending y'all love from upstate NY! Our family wants to get out own property and build a timber frame. We have been watching yall since the beginning. I have went through 4 phones 😂. We now sit the kids down and watch y'all through the phone and have it transferred to the 📺. Me my husband and 6 kids and my granddaughter wanted to let yall know how much of a part our lives you are. Keep on trucking
Snow, snow, and snow, what a wonderful day.
You both are GREAT!! My driveway plan was next on my list and I did not know any of these issues could be a possible issue with my property. You possibly saved my hundreds of dollars or more plus the headaches and frustrations. Knowing this info I can take on the driveway and address issue informed. Thanks a ton!! ✝🙏❤
haha "freedom!" 1:59 made me laugh. I really like your videos keep up the good work. Great to see your house plans, really cool to see that is embedded in the hill. That will save some space! I'm looking forward to how you are going to do the joinery, that is an interesting skill. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Oh and that overlap in the blocks is a GREAT suggestion - especially if you get some really heavy rain on that hill.
We purchased Raw Land too, We were told we needed a residential/home Permit to get an address, but we are going to be living in our travel trailer as well, until we can build just like you guys.
Soooooo we were going to get a PO BOX.
Long story short!
I spoke with local Post Master she told me if you have land, and a driveway the County HAS to give you an address, However it isn't logged into the 911 system (For that you need a home/house permit.
Called back to County Office - SHE WAS RIGHT - I got an address within 15 minutes. If you need emergency services your address still shows up in there system it just isn't logged as a Residential Home.
Amazing "I love Red tape"
All things will work out for your good... You kids are BLESSED!!!!
Did not know any thing about this kind of stuff when I started owner-building back in the 1970s. Was 1/3 mile off the county road, had a foot path in that I owned that was on the 30 feet X 1/3 mile to be driveway. Had to build an 8 foot road in through stumps and over a swamp all by HAND after putting in a 30 foot culvert at the county road. Had truck after truck load of "Pitrun" brought in as I could afford it to build up the road bed. That was just to get to the edge of the 20 acres. Their were a number of RFD mail boxes on the county road, so I just put my box in amoung them. I even named my 1/3 mile driveway "Sunshine Lane" that later went on the county maps! Took me several years to even do this much...
Great video! Anyone else beyond excited for the house, the tour, and the ensuing construction?? !
I had a really easy time getting a street address. I just went to the post office, and they told me install a mail box at the county maintained Rd at the bottom of the hill (and there was even an empty space on the existing posts for mail boxes), and they would put a form in side and after I filled that out, I had an address.
Now this does mean, my mailbox is 2 1/2 miles away from my property at the bottom of a hill. Also it can be confusing as well as my address is either referenced as the county maintained Rd, or sometimes the actual dirt Rd my property is on. Depends some times. Half my paperwork is one, half is the other. I also often times I get people telling me my address doesn't exist when ordering things and they look it up on computers. I have to explain to them it is a new rural address.
I don't know what country you are in but that was basically the way I did it. Here however, there is only delivery to a mail box if you are grand fathered in so I have to go to a communal box, a few miles away. Others get it delivered at the drive or the box or in town which is paid for.
Now, I also have the problem of some people telling me my address doesn't exist at times when placing orders and it's been a year. But then I live in a Hamlet so small and decreasing in population over decades that most people in the province have never heard of the place.
I am in the US, in a very rural part of Eastern WA.
They were very helpful and nice when I got my address. The whole address not coming up on computers issue is to me just funny. I am old enough to remember life before computers, so find it mildly amusing how people don't seem to know what to do if the computer doesn't agree with reality. A few decades ago, there would be no problem with a new address, the folks at the post office would deal with it when they got the mail or package. But now, before sending they try to verify it is a legit address, and have problems with it not showing up. I just assure them, it is indeed real just new. So far I haven't had trouble with anyone denying me shipping.
Not sure if you have this in your country, but in the US you can actually do "general delivery". Which means it is just shipped to the post office and you go in and ask them for your mail. You don't have to pay any fee for this, and best part you get no junk mail. This is set up for folks who have no address, like homeless or rural folks who can't get a mail box for some reason.
I love it when cats video bomb.
I love watching your cat walk around in the background while you shoot your video. She just does not care what you are doing at all.
Who built the driveway? Georgia must not have those laws because I know several houses where they can't see anything! Some people just put huge round mirrors because they can only see one side. Usually, they just gun it and go!
I like watching your videos but everything is SO MUCH WORK!
Now this video was very well done and anyone buying property for any reason will get good advice from this video.
I am in the country similar to this couple and I live way back in the woods. I started buying property regularly around my house in the woods so now I have no neighbors ,however in our area you get the address from the power company whether you have/want power or not. Then go to city hall with papers. Took me an afternoon but that's how it was done here.
Love the videos, stay strong
Your process for an address is far more convoluted than what I had to do. I started at the post office and they put me on the right path. Street addresses here are assigned by the emergency planning people so they can find your place if you dial a 911. When I arrived at the county jail house, where the 911 response team is located, I was taken to an office and had to point out on a map exactly where my driveway was. Mine happens to be on the outside of a corner where 2 streets meet so they asked me which street I wanted to use for my address. Since it looks like an extension one street I chose to have the address listed as being located on the other street. Once I told them, they used a computer program to assign the address and just told me what it would be.
No costs, no inspections, no nothing that wasn't really needed.
Getting the postal service out to mark where they want the box installed has been another matter. Being on a rural route they want a location that is no more hazardous than it needs to be, so their carrier will be safe while dropping off the mail. So far I have not seen them and I will soon just dig a hole using my own judgement and they will be stuck with the location.
I think it might depend on how cooperative your postal carrier and postmaster are. Ours are great folks, the only thing they wanted was to be able to pull at least 3 feet off the road on a spot where they wouldn't get stuck in the mud and have our box mounted within a specified height range.
If there are mailboxes only on one side of the street/road, that's where yours needs to be.
You guys look like you are having a good time. I enjoy watching your videos. My friend wanted to build a log cabin. we had it figured that it would take us about 9 months. Boy were we wrong. It took us 2 and a half years. We got it done and every one loves it. I can wait to see your house when you get it finished. Good Luck!!!
Thanks for this video! I've always wondered about the bureaucracy of getting an address on a remote place like this. Good to know you got the address before you started building! Thanks for sharing the knowledge with us!
Hey I just wanted to share with you a story about my grandfather developing property in Florida. The property was large enough they had to build a road on it. This road that my grandfather build is still there and with the original name he gave it and is now maintained by the city. The property was sold off to developers and now the nice woodland with house and acres of land is now track housing. But I remember chasing squirrels as a kid all over the property and driving up and down our road named after the family and build by my grandfather. Anyway I wanted to share that because what you have done will be able to be enjoyed for years in stories just like my family.
I'm looking forward to doing this in the next few years. Thanks for the tips and helping others to learn from your mistakes.
So sorry about the back. I've got a bulging disc L4-L5. In younger days it played hell with my golf game.
Thank you for saying that. Too many people say and think that Idaho has no regulations or taxes.
In the township I live in, send a driveway request form to the township board, they inspect where you want the driveway and approve it ir say where you gave to relocate it to. The board also decides if a culvert is needed. Then a $50 address request fee only after an approved driveway is in, then wait 3mo or so after thay and you get your address.
Wow, never heard of this issue before. Thank you so much! Learn something new every day.
Oh wow! What a headache. Glad you got that sorted out... thanks for sharing.
You both are not from this planet, and we love that about you two. Thanks for the video. Amazing and mad-crazy editing skillzzz we dig it.
When we first moved to where we are, it was a brand-new rural "development" (raw land that people were just starting to put houses up on), and it took UPS and Fed-Ex the darndest amount of time to figure out where to find us. To help, we started out with a physical address that made sense, and then the USPS decided we needed new "9-1-1" addresses that are supposedly based on GPS coordinates, but that made no sense.
Ah, the memories. ;)
I'll keep it short and sweet. Thanks for the great video.
Very good food for thought video
I just put up a mailbox and made up my own address. It worked for a while but then the postmaster caught on and wouldn't deliver the mail there anymore. Works for everything else though.
Finally a Address! Get that mail delivered now! Wooo. Can't wait till one day I can get my own address.
How right you are... who would think of what it takes to get a street address... great video.
Thanks for making the playlist of all your vids from the beginning. Got some catching up to do.
Wow, I always thought the post office issued addresses You learn something everyday..... :-)
Guys not only is your life project unbelievably interesting. You are great fun to watch. Thanks for sharing! When do you all start building?
Thumbs up... ENJOY... THE SIMPLE LIFE
Looks like you could use about 10 more geo blocks to stabilize that slope. And, you may want to re-arrange your existing blocks so that they overlap and lock into one another. Do they make half blocks?
Good point about overlap. I'd have also made it parallel to the driveway, it looks like it gets a bit close to the driveway on the up slope end.
Greyman Zink first thing I noticed as well...blocks ahold be half lapped
I too would have staggered the blocks.
Greyman Zink they would have I'm sure except they didn't even want to do it to begin with. (And I don't think they really needed to except to meet code and possibly fire truck access "requirements"... $2,000.00 later they have the same access they did before but now the county might give them a "mail box/address".
I am stating the fact that they dug into the slope, making it susceptible to erosion. With the gap behind the wall, makes it unstable and subject to falling, basic retaining wall physics.
GREAT video. There are so many things that nobody seems to talk about. I have 5.5 acres in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri....but I have not done anything with it. I never would have guessed about needing to go through obtaining an address.....something to think about in the future.......if I plan to do anything with that property.
I struggle with back problems as well, would not wish it on anyone. Hope you feel better, lots to do with spring rolling in.
I guess this just proves how much things vary state to state and even by county. We bought raw land and just recently got an address. I just called the county, gave them our map #, and a few days later had an address! Bottom line is before you buy a property it's a good idea to find out how difficult your county will be to deal with, and what zoning your property is listed as. Also, we found out that if you have more than 10 acres, you can rezone the property as agricultural and our property taxes on 40 acres are less than $100 per year!
I guess we got lucky. We didn't really have to do much except fill out the residential placement permit and flag our property for Road and Bridge to okay our driveway. We waited a couple of months and had our numbers. Thanks for the video.
I had to get a 911 address for my property before I could even put a trailer on it. I had to put in a driveway (when I bought it, there was nothing), but since it was to a state maintained road, I had to get permits from the state's department of transportation. It will have taken about a year to get to move onto the property (staying in nearby hotels was expensive!). Looking back on it, if you are in a hurry and are daily calling people to get it through, you can probably get your address in a couple of months, but if there are a lot of other delays (especially if you have a spouse that is not pulling with you) it can easily take a year. Either way, the people in your county (and possibly some state) offices will get to know you very well.
I should mention that there are individuals who will do a lot of the permit work for you (for a fee). I did not use these services and did it all myself (although it has been a hassel, as long as it only requires a phone, pen, and computer, I can do it).
Wow amazing, didn't realize it was that difficult to get digits.
Any idea how they assign you a number? Here in semi-rural Australia, the land is all surveyed, divided up and sold off. There are all sorts of Lot numbers and such, but the way the street or road number is given is by distance. For instance, we are 2.87 kilometers from the main road, so we are 287. Odd numbers on left, even numbers on right. Council puts up yellow posts with these numbers for fire department, garbage pickup, police, most people have an idea about how it works too, which is great.
You know I just realized the word "address" starts to sound weird and comical after you hear it a few dozen times!!! Good work guys, good video, good channel!!
In my area the first 15m setback from the road is owned by the township for right of way hydro or future sidewalk. The driveway entrance is paid by you but the township owns it and maintains it.
Something else to consider: easements (right-of-way). If you move/modify your driveway make sure it doesn't interfere with an existing easements. If you share your driveway with a neighbor or if it's use is the only way to get to a land locked property you can't just move it.
Great video guys! That would definitely not have been on my mind. Especially with the existing "driveway". House plans are looking great btw!
I dont think Lincoln county MT has any restrictions like this for county road entrances. I have 3 roads in, 2 are basically skids with gates. No building code either. Its enough wild west and high tech that i love it! One side of property still has 100 year old address that no longer had a road. When I first moved here I had UPS and fedex deliveries with no mailbox or markers and they still delivered to the communal box. Legends!
Great info guys. I never thought one min. about what is needed for an address. Thank you
Great information! Thanks for sharing. Something a lot of us would never know about.
Take care you two!
Wow those house plans are looking really nice!
I love the fact that you are already talking about building your second house and have not even built the first :)
Funny story. Thank you for sharing. Just so you know, I have been building as a professional contractor for my entire adult life, and you will never know the ins and outs because every state, county and city is totally different and the codes/interpretations of codes changes over time. You just need to do your best to solve the issues as they come! Good job.
Nice work guys! Great video and the blocks will work fine the way they are.
Very helpful, thank you. We are looking at several "TBD" address locations.
-Kori
About those house plans that I see in the background... Are you sure about that circular stair? Jesse you look pretty tall, will you be able to climb that without ducking? I know that I've climbed a few and none of them would work for me because of my height. Or is that just a secondary set of stairs? Let alone how tough it is to carry anything up those kind of stairs.
The criteria for obtaining an address varies by locale. I know that some jurisdictions use approval of septic, others use the driveway permit, others still a building permit, etc.. Check with your local county/borough/parish to get the exact particulars.
good video guys! thanks for all the tips. an I hope your back gets better.
You guys mention building a second house down the line? House #1 is barely underway! I thought the idea of a homestead is to never move again??
good luck with your journey.
what a big lesson😍 sorry you're in pain.
It varies from state to state. In some places, the post office determines addresses, others the county, the town or not vent the local power company!
Good call to share this. I had no idea there was a process involved to obtain an address. I assumed that if I purchased property, it would come with an address. I've been looking at agricultural / residential on Zillow and then Google mapping their locations and then, I do a demographic query by the address listed.
My top tip for back spasms is Diazapam. Took me 20 years and a stay in hospital to find that out. Hi from the UK by the way :)
Quality of the video was very good! Very good content. JC
Great stuff!! My spouse and I are looking in Idaho for land. Thanks for sharing.
In Virginia it took about 1 hour to get my address. I started at post office and after I got appoval, I went to city to get driveway permit.
Love your videos. Keep 'em coming! Nice job guys.
Thanks for sharing your video. There are many very practical reasons why putting a three car garage under your house is a bad idea. Block retaining wall would have looked better/more integrated into the hill if it was installed level. Hope your back heals.
Congratulations!
Love all the little teasers for the house design :DDD
Cool,didn't know all that. TY for vid.
You both Rock!!! Another Great, Entertaining and Informative video... Keep up the great work!!! 😀😀😀
That is the best video from you in a long time - hope to see more 📫😉
I think you were very lucky! In the county I live, they treat you like a criminal and try to make your life as miserable as possible. The department of transportation has to approve and engineered driveway and it is expensive! $$$$$
me and my husband did something similar only lucky for us the driveway did come in at 90 degrees to the road, and it was by accident that we got an address, we were in the court house and the lady that does that seen us and said hay you don't have an adress yet. we do now.
Precisely why I don't plan on ever dealing with the headaches of building. In your case, it's not bad if you are certain of keeping that home the rest of your lives. I, personally, think I'll just buy land in the country and establish a modern homestead from there. Great videos tho! I know they are beneficial to anyone wanting to learn the steps and the process. You guys are great tho! Keep up the good work! 🤙 +pure living for life
I don't know if my last comment got to you. I think it got onto a Cabelas RUclips on boots. anyway, we had a garage sale last weekend. a family came who told us they were going to homestead near you. we were able to help her with stuff to get her started. her name is monica. she has 2 kids and a hubby. they are subscribed to your channel. hope you meet the soon.
We just got a rural lot, but the bordering streets have names (we have a corner lot). Hopefully it's going to be easy for us to get an actual address!
Great sharing. Learned something.
GOOD JOB GUYS
Some things seems to be even more bureaucratic over in US, compared to Sweden. Some things, that is.
Good luck trying to build your own house and planning how to do stuff as you go anywhere in Europe. Not going to happen.
who would have know. Great nugget of information.
Yes lucky lets stick with that!👍🏼❤️🇺🇸
we have fire numbers which equates to an address. I can get UPS in the summer but have to go to town (45 mins) to the post office and my PO box. I wish I had enough neighbors to push the issue so we could do an apartment style mailbox cubby (hope that makes sense).