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Thanks for the Cooperative Extension tip, OutdoorLover. It's a valuable resource and will keep me occupied for quite a while.
I can't figure out why more houses don't have garages, but it's definitely on my list. That, or an attached barn I can use to park my car. Where do people put their tools and stuff?
Sure, there is a TON of info there - written, videos, and they even have live webinars and classes. In addition to browsing on a really big site like that, I also do Google site searches - for example, you were asking about using tunnels to protect plants... I did the following search:
When you prefix the Google search with "site:" and then put the URL of the site of interest, then a space and your search terms, it restricts your search results to only pages that come from that site of interest, hugely helpful!
And among several helpful results from the above search, I found these pages, which survey plastic mulch, row covers, low tunnels, high tunnels, cold frames, etc
The most economical building for storing equipment and vehicles is a pole barn.They are very easy to build and are rugged. If you go with a metal roof, go with a 5/12 pitch or more so the snow will slide off.
... I can't figure out why more houses don't have garages, but it's definitely on my list. That, or an attached barn I can use to park my car. Where do people put their tools and stuff?
For the first five years living here, we had no garage. We did not like that.
Then I extended our roof eaves out eight foot in all directions around our house, toward the driveway I extended it out 20 foot. Now we have space to park three automobiles plus a tractor and much outdoor equipment. On the Southside of our house the roof extension is done in greenhouse roofing, so that side of our house is great for growing citrus trees, figs and whatnot. That was a very inexpensive addition and it has improved our standard of living a great deal.
Now all winter long we can step outside without stepping into snow, we can walk to our carport and access our vehicles without any contact with snow. And there is no snow or ice on our vehicles.
All of our firewood gets stacked under a roof now. And it is baked in sunlight all summer long.
Our metal roof has a pitch of 1/10 [it drops one foot for every 10 foot of run]. The snow/ice pack slides off very slowly.
Our house is a steel structure, originally marketed to be an airplane hanger. I bought it as a kit, every hole was pre-drilled, all bolts, washers, and nuts were supplied. It was an easy build for one-man. Though I had no input to the pitch of the roof. It is what it is. This style of home is called a barndominium. I have high ceilings and zero internal support columns or walls. Our house is one big open room. 40' X 60', 2400 sq ft with 12' to 14' ceilings. After 20 years on submarines I prefer high ceilings over me, and I installed thirteen large picture windows, to give us a wide peripheral view of the forest that surrounds our home.
I’ve never been on a snowmobile, but the idea of riding through the woods is appealing. In general, are clubs welcoming to beginners or are they more suited to experienced riders? I’d love to try, but I need a place to learn. Are the trails only open to snowmobiles, or are they also used for cross-country skiing and walking your dog? I apologize for what probably seem like silly questions, but we don’t have many sled trails in SoCal
Now I’m convinced that if I have a shingle roof I should replace it with metal. I can’t see myself shoveling the snow off, and salt pucks wouldn’t work since I can’t throw to save myself. Between the electric start snow thrower and metal roof, it seems that dealing with Maine winters is all about being prepared. Add on snow tires and a wood stove, not to mention warm clothing and a generator, and I should be ok.
You don't have to be a club member to use the snowmobile trails, but each club appreciates participation; beginner or experienced makes no difference. They have to clear trails in the fall, maintain bridges, mark trails every year, negotiate/re-negotiate trail permissions, groom trails every week (and sometimes several times per week)... it is an endless labor of love for the hobby. You do have to buy an annual snowmobile permit from the state for your sled, and observe certain rules, but that it not hard.
Maine is a trial system state.... which means pretty much that you legally have to stay on the trails, unless you get permission from a private landowner. (It is not like out in much of the northern Rockies where there are large areas where you can ride -off trial in many of the public land areas.) But Maine has an huge and awesome snowmobile trail system. So you'll have plenty to do.
But if you don't have ready access to a trail then, you'll have to trailer your snowmobile to a trail parking area. So if you are serious and don't want to trailer, that changes your search criteria, away from the coast to further north and inland. Of course, you can rent snowmobiles in places like Rangeley, which might be a good thing to do. And actually, you could take a short trip to the northern Rockies this winter, to a place like Island Park ID, West Yellowstone MT, or Togwotee Pass or the Big Horns in WY, and rent a sled there to see if you like it. Then you'd know how to rank its importance to you.
Snowmobiles are very easy to ride these days: electric start, fuel-injected performance, reverse gear (LOL)... literally, you just push the thumb throttle lever and away you go. It is that, steering, and a hand brake... that is the sum total of the controls. My son and I took it up 4 winters ago (to replace auto-racing) and it is a lot of fun. Crossing a frozen lake was a bit of a new experience, but you get used to it! (And you learn to ask about the ice, and stay away from certain shoreline areas.) Being prepared, getting good boots (I recommend Sorel's), and proper layered clothing (wool and synthetics, not cotton), and not getting yourself out alone and into a jam is are keys thing to think about.
Here is the Maine Snowmobile Association site: https://www.mesnow.com
MSA is a sort of 'central club of the clubs' and most local clubs belong to it. There is a good map site there, which shows the statewide trail system but there are a lot of local club trails that you have to learn about from the individual clubs.
I think you are catching on to the winter thing... begin prepared. You have a good list of things to have there. Plus having the attitude that putting up with some extra work and inconvenience is just in the course of living a full and interesting life.
My take on the snowblower issue. I'm a senior woman, fairly active and stronger that most women. My driveway is about 15' wide by 60' long and fairly steep. My neighbor brought his medium-sized two-stage snowblower over for me to try. I actually wasn't able to handle it. It was too heavy to turn and I didn't feel safe with it. I also didn't like the thought of not being able to transport it in my car for repairs and being dependent on others to transport it.
So I bought a single-stage snowblower on Craigslist. These machines are much lighter. In years past the were considered insufficient for "real" snow, only capable of handling a few inches of light stuff. But in recent few years they've been greatly improved.
This is the one I bought: Toro PowerClear 721 E (E for electric start). $650 at Home Depot.
This machine weighs 84 lbs, about the same as a lawnmower. It operates basically like a lawnmower. Manufacturer says it can only handle 9" of snow, but I used it in much deeper snow and You Tube videos show this also. You just have to slow down and take several bites out of the same area, like mowing grass 12" high. It's not self-propelling, BUT the paddles turning forward pull it along to a certain extent and I found it pretty easy to use. It doesn't take a lot of effort. Most importantly, it really does throw snow a good 30 to 40 feet (which is important, so the snowbank along the driveway doesn't get higher and higher). I was amazed at how well it handled the heavy wet snow left at the bottom of the driveway by the town plow. (You have to be careful of that though because it has a lot of gravel in it, which wears out the rubber paddles.) It throws slush about 10 feet.
Drawbacks: It makes a terrible amount of noise; you need heavy duty ear protectors. The paddles have to be changed when they wear out. Pretty strong vibrations; be careful of carpal tunnel syndrome and put a piece of foam pipe on it to dampen the vibrations. Very difficult to get to the spark plug. You cannot leave gas in these machines for too long; it gums them them up really bad.
My fatal error was buying a "used three-times" machine on Craigslist. It did not work; had multiple problems. Seller took it back home, supposedly did a tune up, and it still didn't work. I took it to a repair shop and put $325 into repairs. Still didn't work. Seller agreed to refund my money, made an appointment to pick up the snowblower, didn't show up, sold his house, and now even the police can't find him. That's when I learned about his police record. The machine still sits in my garage.
I don't recommend buying a snowblower on Craigslist. Buy a new one and you'll have a warranty.
Would I buy a Toro Powerclear 121E new today? I would be tempted, especially because I could return it to Home Depot if it didn't work. There are other brands of single-stage snowblowers to consider. You can learn about snowblowers at this great forum: https://www.snowblowerforum.com/
My main point is that today's lighter single-stage snowblowers are a viable option in many circumstances, especially for women
Lol why would you want to operate a snow blower? There are other ways to get snow removed. Some older people who try to do their own snow removal end up dead from a heart attack. There are people on here who will disagree with me and that doesn't bother me one iota.
Unless you can do all the work yourself or have friends who will prioritize the work you need done and charge you a "friend" rate, you could have very long waits and expensive invoices to pay. Example: a friend needed a plumber (no water) so made some calls. Wait time 3 months. Found friend of a friend of a friend and cut the wait time to 2 days.
You cannot leave gas in these machines for too long; it gums them them up really bad.
LOL. I almost mentioned fuels...but it is worth mentioning. Yes, all carburated engines have serious problems with gumming up from the ethanol in put most gasolines. The ethanol absorbs water and after a few months, that starts to form a gum. It plugs small passages in carburators; with more recent carb designs in yard equipment, which use tinier and tinier passages to better regulate fuel flow at idle to meet newer EPA regs, it is becoming a bigger and bigger problem.
Try to find a station that sells ethanol free gas, and use only that in things like lawnmowers, snowblowers, generators, old cars, etc. That will solve the gumming problems.
If you can't get ethanol free gas, then use something like Shell premium that tends to have a lower ethanol content.
Then add a fuel stablizer like Stabil to your fuel for such equipment, and your fuel ought to be good for a year + or -.
Summer fuels won't burn as well in winter; that is a factor for fuels bought in urban areas that have different summer vs winter fuel requirements from the EPA. But AFAIK this is not a factor for anywhere in Maine.
LOL. I almost mentioned fuels...but it is worth mentioning. Yes, all carburated engines have serious problems with gumming up from the ethanol in put most gasolines. The ethanol absorbs water and after a few months, that starts to form a gum. It plugs small passages in carburators; with more recent carb designs in yard equipment, which use tinier and tinier passages to better regulate fuel flow at idle to meet newer EPA regs, it is becoming a bigger and bigger problem.
[list][*]Try to find a station that sells ethanol free gas, and use only that in things like lawnmowers, snowblowers, generators, old cars, etc. That will solve the gumming problems.[*]If you can't get ethanol free gas, then use something like Shell premium that tends to have a lower ethanol content.
In 2005 I bought a 1978 Honda Goldwing. I think at that time it was the only all American made motorcycle on the market. Unlike those Hardleys that are loaded with Mexican and Japanese parts.
In 1978 I was driving a 1977 Kawasaki 1000 that I eventually put over 100,000 miles on before I retired it. But I had always wanted a water-cooled Goldwing. Their center of gravity is really low, unlike Kawasakis.
The Goldwing had four carbs with 3 inch long rubber throats connecting to the intake manifold. In 2010 I fired it up, and that rubber had dissolved so much that it sprayed gasoline on both my pant legs. I knew that as soon as the engine and exhaust heated up it would light up my pants, so I shut it down. Ethanol dissolves rubber components and it had dissolved those rubber throats.
I spoke with a few motorcycle mechanics. The bluebook value of a 1978 Goldwing was a small amount compared to the estimate to repair the bike. They all refused to work on the bike. I listed it on craigslist and traded it for something else.
You can download the realtor.com app
For free and set up searches
I will also add a buyers agent works on behalf of the buyer
And guides the process to the terms in the offer
And most of the time it’s 100% free
They get paid from the listing brokers commission split
It’s a no brainer to use one
They can also set you up on an auto search from the mls
I’d also look at towns … that may not be right on the coast but near it … real estate is much less and so are the taxes … speaking of taxes
Different towns have different tax rates some vary greatly!!
Be sure to look at annual taxes when doing searches .. ( I’d be paying 3 times my annual amount if I was in the neighboring town
You can operate a snowblower… most are easier today than yrs ago
Even in this inflated market … their are some good deals
Look on YouTube many real estate companies will list
Their properties ..
Thanks, mainebrokerman. I've been using realtor.com for a while now and always expand my search to 25 miles from Belfast. I've been surprised at how different the tax mill rates for the various towns are, and that will definitely factor into my decision to buy a particular house.
I hadn't thought of the YouTube videos. Thanks for the tip
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