What would you change about layout?

[Morian]

We are under contract for 5 acres of bare land (mostly clear with a few trees and a pond.) we are pretty sure where we want to place our house, but as we plan out where other things will go (horses will have loafing shed and a sacrifice area to save grass from getting over grazed, we will have a compost area, we would like chickens in the future, I'm sure we will want multiple yard hydrants and a storm shelter. Etc) that made me wonder, if you could go back and re-arrange where things are placed on your property, what would you move/change, and why?

[jwal10]

Horses....as far from house as possible, flies. Garden close, chickens close. All animals down wind....James

[moeh1]

Out there I would put the storm shelter close to the house
I wish i had thought about all the outbuildings wiring and well lines before we put the driveway down, I woould have run conduit underneath first. We are now ripping some up for that.
We laid out where the house was going and set up some stakes to simulate where some of the building would go, we ended up moving the barn and tilting it a little for view.

[Wolf mom]

Take your time - get to know your land; the wind, the way the water runs off, how the sun travels across it at different times of the year and lots of other little things like neighbors.

If you're going to have a well and septic, that's most more important and will define where a lot of things can/can not go.

[CIW]

On a small plot like that I would make sure to minimize roadways and paths. They are expensive to build and maintain in comparison to the tangable return recieved. (They only cost you money). Use the public throughways wherever possible.
There are, of course, other factors such as geographics that may weigh heavier in the decisions of layout.

[mrs whodunit]

I would camp on the land for awhile to just see how the wind blows, how the sun sets/rises, noise, all that sort of stuff

[Nimrod]

Originally Posted by mrs whodunit

I would camp on the land for awhile to just see how the wind blows, how the sun sets/rises, noise, all that sort of stuff

This.

If you can't camp on the land, then visit often. Where does water pool when the snow melts or there is a big rainfall? Does the snow drift in places? Where does the neighbor have their well and septic?

You need to figure out where the well is going. You want the septic system and the area for the critters where they won't pollute the well.

Probably a good idea to be able to see the pasture from the house. Position the house so it is sheltered from the cold winter winds by trees or a hill. They are usually from the NW. The house has to face south and get good sun for passive solar heating.

[motdaugrnds]

Morian, as usual for these folks, you're getting great advice!

When we first moved onto our 6 acres, it was imparitive that the well water be situated in an area that did NOT permit anything (ceptic tank as well as animal shelters) to drain it it's direction. This means you need to know your land; and as has been said, camping there or visiting during bad weather is a must to see how your land is affected.

Remember to keep your drives on the high spots, your animal shelters below your well and your house and your ceptic tank below your well.

Is that pond a spring-fed one or is it collecting run-off water? That makes a great deal of difference in the way you deal with it.

Is your 5 acres flat? Does it all slope toward your pond? What type of soil is it? How deep to bedrock? It just might behoove you to get the local agricultural agent to come out and talk with you about those 6 acres. Talking with local neighbors can also give you useful information. (One of the things I discovered at our place was the way the soil moved around, i.e. We have a 5% slope with sandy loam. This meant I needed to create boundaries that stopped us from losing the top soil.)

[ChristieAcres]

Since we are on our new property, we are deciding where to put everything ourselves. I also agree with camping out on your property, as that is what we are already doing. In our case, it would be more optimal to have our well above our home, but we have chosen one of the highest spots for our home site. The septic is already in, and below our home site. While our main garden will be below our home, I'll have a "kitchen garden" outside my kitchen door. The orchard is already below our home site, which is fine. We have 5.1 acres, so similar property size, but ours is sloped, with flat areas, too (almost 4 acres of thick forest).

[wogglebug]

You need to ensure you have good fences, ASAP. This is to keep your place and livestock home safe, and keep surroundings safe from your stock and dogs straying as well.

As people have said, roads are dead space. Keep your house as close as reasonably possible to the public road, consistent with controlling noise and access. This will also cut the distance you need to run utilities from the public road, and stop you getting marooned when things turn wet, soft and boggy.

Conversely, you need access space around buildings and trees, sufficient to drive a truck, and with good allowance for turning. You don't want to be halfway through a narrow alley with a semitrailer when you need to start turning to avoid the trees up ahead.

Hay is insulated apartment living for rodents, which in turn is smorgasbord for snakes. Keep distant from the house.

Compost can attract rodents sometimes too. Also, manure is heavy and a component of compost, compost is somewhat lighter. Keep the compost away from the house, and near the livestock.

Dog run if you have one, and poultry pen, are dirty and dusty. Keep them away from the house, and together so dogs can call alarm on predators. It may be worth putting a dust-catching windbreak next to them.

Try to arrange that all your land is visible from your house. This for security, and for observation of your crops and livestock.

If there's any probability of crazies shooting into your land, it may be worthwhile to arrange an area (say behind the barn) that's visually sheltered from the public. Think about access from ALL boundaries, not just the public road.

How big is the pond? It may be worth dedicating the last fifty yards of the catchment area for it as a grassed waterway. That is, a fenced pasture area which filters the water going into the pond, and which is kept clean by maybe mowing but not grazing. It may also be worth protecting the banks by fencing the pond, and running water out to a drinking trough for livestock. This also gives some protection of children (and you legally) from drowning dangers.

Gates in corners of pens and paddocks makes moving stock simpler.

You've got restricted space. For windbreaks and shelter-belts, think tall and skinny. Pines, poplars. If you know the difference between clumping bamboo and running bamboo, then bamboo is suitable as well.

[michael ark]

Put your power underground. Then you don't have to worry about the weather taking it out as easy.Set up more than one source of water and spend the money on frost proof faucets up front .Worrying is no fun and fixing them in the cold is worse.