[fu3l]

NOTE: This is my dream BOL, which is why some parts seem a bit extravagant. But I would like to become a rancher so many, if not most, of these requirements are what you would need to run a largely self-sufficient ranch. I am open to all thoughts,critique,and additions as long as people keep it clean and non-agressive.

Resources

• Must have large established wood stands
• There must be at least 1 of each of the following types of wood stands: Hardwood for flooring and fire/heating and Softwood for construction and furniture
• Must have 2 year round springs
• At least 2 seasonal creeks or rivers
• 2 ponds, natural or drainage, that are stocked or stockable
• 2 wells with solar pumps

Land

Ranch: (Side note: I will be making a similar guide line for myself in the future for a smaller property that would be a pure BOL, not a ranch)
• Minimum of 9600 acres
• Minimum of 10 fenced plots
• At least 7000 acres of grazing land
• Must have a 8’ retainer wall all around cattle plots to prevent escape and protect from predators
• Must have suitable calving, veterinary, and handling facilities
• Stable and corral for horses
• Suitable breeding facilities for both horses and cattle

Housing

• There must be enough housing for 30 people
• At minimum 350 square feet per person
• 1 full bath per 6 people
• 1 kitchen per every 10 people
• 1 separate facility partitioned into 2 spaces for butchering game and smoking or preserving it
• Enough indoor storage space for each persons vehicle
• Enough indoor storage space for utility vehicles
• A separate facility for housing all tools and working on or building anything needed
• A garden area large enough to produce enough fruits, vegetables, and herbs/spices for 30 people
• The house should preferably be 5 floors. 3 above ground and 2 below.
• The underground floors should be large enough to house 30 in case of emergency with 100 square feet per person, 1 kitchen per every 10 people, and 1 bathroom per every 10 people


House Materials
• Should be built of reinforced concrete
• All windows should be heavily tinted to reduce light glare and save energy and also increase privacy
• All windows should be made of ballistic glass
• All doors should be reinforced with multiple locks


Energy

• Availability for year round geothermal power and heating/cooling
• A water source large enough to be partially diverted into a waterfall as a power source for water turbines
• Must have raised areas for placement of solar panels and wind turbines
• The combined output of geothermal, solar, water, and wind power at minimum must meet the minimum power requirement for all needs

 

[fu3l]

Might consider a separate coppacing woodlot just for firewood.

Might consider several wells in addition to wanted surface water.

Just my opinion.

Crap, I blatantly forgot any wells. And what does coppacing mean? I did say separate wood stands for each type if thats what you mean.

Are there different types of wells or just wells? I have heard of like deepwater wells or something like that and I dont really know what it is.

 

[fu3l]

With all that land and all these ideas I am confused why you are concerned about the bathroom ratios. If you build a toilet and shower separate you solve most problems when there are more than 6 people.

These quotes along with several other things you mention describe our family place almost to a tee are you spying on us? :

http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=73448

I know that a community bath would be better and more efficient then multiple bath's but this would be for family in most cases so it needs to feel homey, our society isnt used to communal baths in the home so it would make it feel weird and very industrial.

And I guess great minds think alike, I would love to have over 20k acres. But I am going smaller, but hey, if I were to get the funding I would happily go larger. Mind if I ever pm to ask you about ranching because you seem to know about it?

The type of well would depend on the area. In some areas where the water table is fairly shallow, wells between 30 and 100 feet deep can use shallow well pumps (Pumps that work down to about 26'-27' of lift).

Otherwise the well would need to be much deeper and a deep well type pump used. It is strictly a local situation. Can be either or both on the same large plot of ground.

You can get solar powered pumps of either kind.

Coppicing (spelled it wrong in the first post. Sorry)

It is a method of growing trees from the existing root stocks after a tree is cut down. A wild wood can be harvested as needed and appropriate coppicing trees planted for long term use. Ash and hickory are good ones. The same root structure can grow dozens of trees over hundreds of years in good ground.

http://www.coppicing.com/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing

Hope this helps.

I would probably go with solar pumps, and I guess its all by area like you said. but I will edit it 2 wells with solar pumps.

And the info on coppacing is very interesting, would surely make growing trees more efficient, right?

like it.

i would say designing your roof to support solar would allow you to find more choices in lot/location that tying yourself to geothermal. (sure you can use stand/pole mounted panels in your massive landscape but for theft/vandalism, i say roof on tracking stands, or if budget is an issue on non-tracking stands tilted up at the latitude of your location to meet the sun).

you're already requiring site based on water source which is good/normal. limiting yourself further to 9600 acre lots with geothermal.... not saying can't be done, but i will likely limit your choices by a very large factor. and the rest you can build.

so think about PV and also active thermal for water heating and mirror based furnaces for heating a goo that inturn heats water, in a larger scale application they are very efficient. (i just finshed windpower for dummies, and Power from the Sun)

when i've envisioned something like what you describe, i come back to a structure with a courtyard. having a wind or pv powered pump that pushes ground cooled water through a sprayer or fountain while in a courtyard in the shade... zzzzz sorry, just fell asleep on my dream-hammock.

imagine an interior cascade in the lower left of this graphic, with 60 degree water being hit by the wind before sweeping across your rooms:

there's a 2nd way shown here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windcatcher if your springs run underground near the home...

concrete is a yes, but why not fully grouted block walls? (cmu) you can stockpile pallets of 'spare' block, and learn the skill for repairs/additions. doing concrete formwork and the amount of readymix required means a whole lot more bags of quickcrete than grouting walls. or this: http://www.integrawall.com/introduction.htm uses tensioning rods to create the pre-stressed tension vs. filling with concrete, if your readymix supply runs low, or in areas that don't need a solid 8" concrete block.

That is some very interesting stuff. I never thought about having a central courtyard but now you say it, it makes sense. You could also have a garden in it.

I am not a mason nor a contractor so I don't really know much about building, so I just went with what I know works. But what you said makes sense in the fact that you could more easily repair it.

 

[fu3l]

ooohhh, that makes alot more sense. You may lose a little space but you save traffic and time. therefore, you have a more efficient working unit.