Consequences of Sloped Land?

[DutchessR]

Debating making an offer on a 3 acre piece of property with a nice older home on it, but I'm stuck on this one issue: the bulk of the land - the pasture - is heavily sloped, to the point where it was difficult for me to walk up. Granted, it was covered in dew and my shoes were inappropriate for the terrain, but it is reasonably steep. The house sits at the bottom, so I'm concerned about drainage, but I'm also curious as to whether this has any implications for livestock/produce (too steep? etc).

Any thoughts?

[Orville]

I would want to see the house during/immediately after a heavy rainfall. It's important to know where the water goes. Sloped land is not fun to work...if you cultivate it, rain will wash it away. It can be dangerous to operate equipment on a grade. Just some thoughts.

[frogmammy]

...and all your animals will have 50% of their legs shorter on one side than the other!

Mon...couldn't resist....

[mysticokra]

Our house is situated next to a mountain ridge. The previous owners never dealt with this issue. Over the years, the rain that came down from the mountain brought silt and debris under the porch and house. It built up to where the porch was beginning to rot from ground contact.


I had a track-hoe come in and remove 26 dump truck loads of dirt along an arched path that was 132 feet long.


At its highest point the wall we built to hold back the dirt is 10 feet high and tapers down on both ends.



Total cost to fix this about $6,000. The alternative; a rotten house.
The side benefit is we now have a more consistent humidity in the house.

[trappmountain]

Actually I live on 18 acres of sloped land with the house at the bottom. I agree you need to be there during a hard rain and see where the water flows. Other than that there is no problem. Do the same with you gardening. Watch how the water flows and plant away from it. I do it and it works. My animals don't mind the sloping either. I have chickens, goats, dogs and cats. It's great when tossing a ball for the dogs. They have to run uphill and therefore tire faster.

Honestly, with some good observations there shouldn't be any major problems. The animals don't care about the grade of the land just what it produces for them. As long as the water isn't going into your basement the house should also be fine. Good Luck!

[MorrisonCorner]

If I had to do it over again... (well, actually, if my great great great grandparents had bothered to ask me...) I'd never buy a farm with a steep slope. EVERYTHING is harder. And the movement of material during a rainstorm (or spring thaw) should NOT be underestimated. Manure runs downhill... seriously. I've had the entire sheep fold pick up in a storm and move, depositing 2 feet of organic waste against the side of the barn, the fences, pretty much anything that might slow the flow ended up knee deep in stuff that has to be removed by hand.

Ah, the joy.

Moving equipment around is more dangerous. Stretching fence can be a royal pain. Installing gates? Don't make me laugh. Hay trucks can't get to us (250 bales in the ditch because they couldn't make the grade or the turn). About the only advantage to slopes is logs roll downhill. The disadvantage is, of course, they have to stop against something. Hopefully not your barn, truck, tractor, chicken coop, or log splitter.

My husband dreams of a lowland farm...

[Oxankle]

When I bought this place it was covered in brush and trees, could not see much of the ground. Turned out it had a forked creek and several HUGE gullies left over from the days before roads. It is a creek bottom with hills surrounding it--in the days before the white man and roads the water ran to the creek and cut gullies.

When the white man cut roads on a grid the roads started cutting down along the ditches and deprived the gullies of their flow, so they started filling in with grass and brush. Some of them have two-foot trees in the bottom, but they are still ten feet deep and steep sided.

If you have a choice, find some flat land, or at least some where the land slopes AWAY from the house. If the slope is a North slope it will be deprived of sunshine for part of the year. You would be surprised at how quickly you can fall out of love with land that is hard to walk over. You will be limited in places to garden. You cannot row-crop steep land. Cattle trails will wash out. Vehicles cannot climb it in wet weather and as already stated, fences and gates are a problem.
Ox

[DutchessR]

Thanks for the info, folks!

I very much want to see the property after a rain, but oddly enough, we haven't had a spot of rain up here in a couple of weeks, and more importantly we're stuck in a buyer's market--houses are leaving the market as quickly as they appear. I was going to view 16 properties over the weekend, and by the time Saturday rolled around only 5 were left on the market. And this particular house is surrounded by more expensive equestrian property. There's about 15 feet of flat grass between the house and the start of the slope, but the fencing and barn do sit right at the base. A retaining wall may be necessary there.

I guess now I'm concerned about some of the planting issues that were mentioned. Is terracing an effective option?

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by DutchessR

Thanks for the info, folks!

I very much want to see the property after a rain, but oddly enough, we haven't had a spot of rain up here in a couple of weeks, and more importantly we're stuck in a buyer's market--houses are leaving the market as quickly as they appear. I was going to view 16 properties over the weekend, and by the time Saturday rolled around only 5 were left on the market. And this particular house is surrounded by more expensive equestrian property. There's about 15 feet of flat grass between the house and the start of the slope, but the fencing and barn do sit right at the base. A retaining wall may be necessary there.

I guess now I'm concerned about some of the planting issues that were mentioned. Is terracing an effective option?

Terracing is very labor intesive and living out west, I would assume probably illegal as it would obstruct the flow of water. That is just a guess though.

[pcwerk]

Originally Posted by DutchessR

Debating making an offer on a 3 acre piece of property with a nice older home on it, but I'm stuck on this one issue: the bulk of the land - the pasture - is heavily sloped, to the point where it was difficult for me to walk up. Granted, it was covered in dew and my shoes were inappropriate for the terrain, but it is reasonably steep. The house sits at the bottom, so I'm concerned about drainage, but I'm also curious as to whether this has any implications for livestock/produce (too steep? etc).

Any thoughts?

Make sure to get a building inspector to check the house out for prior water
damage/leaks/etc. Our place is rolling but there are plenty of flat places for
garden and such. Neighbors don't seem to have a problem with "contour
farming" corn and soybeans. It depends on what you want to do with it,
but if three acres is all you have to work with and all of it is very steep you
might want to wait for something else. I always like to take my time in making
such a weighty decision. CYA.
James

[moonwolf]

my house is at the top of the hill. I can't imagine it being down below.
The barn was built down the slope a bit and it was a problem with water flowing down to it. Finally I dug all around and layed drainage tile with a layer of crushed rock, though in early spring when the ground is still frozen, there is puddling near the entrances. I'm just glad the house is where it is. It has the entire area on the slope side dug down with the required tile drainage and filled in with several feet out of sand making that a sufficient drainage to the downhill connection to the basement drain.
I would not make a property first choice with a house downhill.

[rzrubek]

Originally Posted by DutchessR

, and more importantly we're stuck in a buyer's market--houses are leaving the market as quickly as they appear. I was going to view 16 properties over the weekend, and by the time Saturday rolled around only 5 were left on the market.

That would be a "Sellers Market" if they're being sold as fast as they come on the market. A buyers market is when they don't sell and the buyer can pick and choose at their leisure.

[DutchessR]

Indeed, it was a typo. I was probably thinking "Gee, I wish it were a buyers market!"

[sullen]

I live with 4 ravines at my place, and that makes the land unusable if you want to get a truck in there. Thats why I could buy it cheaply. I put my Modular halfway down a slope, and our place is at a 500 year flood plain. Your local town office should be able to tell you if and when the place floods. Bring them doughnuts and start up a rappore with them, town offices can be very useful.
I would look at other places, things come up all the time.
Just my 2 cents, living with 10 acres of hemlock and ravines. But the hens and dog's don't notice!

[Lerxt]

Originally Posted by frogmammy

...and all your animals will have 50% of their legs shorter on one side than the other!

Mon...couldn't resist....

Truly tragic. Makes em walk in circles if they ever find level ground.

[Lerxt]

And for what it's worth Faed and I live on a big 18 acre hill. It levels off where the home is and drains into a creek that's dry unless it rains a good bit. Right at the bottom of the hill we have our garden which has produced more than we ever thought it would. I mean stupid amounts ridiculously large produce. More than we could ever hope to consume. Even with canning or freezing. It seems that all the good stuff washes down and settles in the garden for the plants.

Definitely try to get a look at it when it rains. If there's a basement look for signs of mold or dampness. If no basement try checking the crawl space. I had a 60-year-old home once in a 50-year flood plain (go figure) that had the dryest crawl you could imagine. I actually found old but intact Mail Pouch tobacco pouches down there from when it was built. Ticked me off I had to buy flood insurance for my mortgage. Tripled my home-owners insurance.

[minnikin1]

You'll never need to buy a treadmill or a stairstepping machine to stay in shape.
Of course your legs might suffer the same fate as the animals....

Our acreage is sloped, in some spots quite steeply. It has it's pros and cons. I don't think I would be happy if there weren't a few flatter spots.

If you wanted to terrace a few areas, that would help you enjoy your land a lot more. If you can get it for a price that leaves room for such expensive work, it might be worth it.
Tough decision....Good luck!

[foxtrapper]

I live on a slope. The whole place is a slope. What a pain it has turned out to be. All the equipment constantly tries to go rolling down the hill. You've got to park everything carefully to have it stay in place. From the truck to the lawnmower.

Forces you into 4wd if you're not already there. From the truck to the tractor. Otherwise, you tend to be stuck.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd try to avoid a dedicated slope to live on. Quite the pain in the arse.

[DutchessR]

Thanks for the advice. I think I may avoid the problems that a slope causes with a newly presented solution--a different property! 8 flat acres that has an acre of trees, a better-maintained farmhouse plus a newer barn! (The barn on the other property was looking like the leaning tower of pisa). It may not be surrounded by equestrian properties but it's also $35,000 cheaper And in nearby Pierce county which sports lower taxes and less land use regulation.
Now we need to make an offer and hope they accept it.

Though what I keep wondering is... there's a driveway that runs the entire length of the 3 acre property and the pasture levels (a bit) at the top. Why on earth did they build the house right on the street at the base of the hill, rather than on the nice pad up top?

[rzrubek]

Originally Posted by DutchessR

Thanks for the advice. I think I may avoid the problems that a slope causes with a newly presented solution--a different property! 8 flat acres that has an acre of trees, a better-maintained farmhouse plus a newer barn! (The barn on the other property was looking like the leaning tower of pisa). It may not be surrounded by equestrian properties but it's also $35,000 cheaper And in nearby Pierce county which sports lower taxes and less land use regulation.
Now we need to make an offer and hope they accept it.

Though what I keep wondering is... there's a driveway that runs the entire length of the 3 acre property and the pasture levels (a bit) at the top. Why on earth did they build the house right on the street at the base of the hill, rather than on the nice pad up top?

Hey sounds like you scored!! Way to go girl!!