Jj Ratcliff

Ellendra Nauriel wrote:Does your property already have a house on it? Some places require new construction to be a certain distance from the boundary. I've seen a few parcels that were too narrow to build on because of that.

The only boundary restriction is distance of a sewer system. We do have a house that we moved onto the property and everything is squared away with that.

Leigh Tate,
That has been an issue that makes me cringe every time I try to lay everything out. An ATV sized trail would be sufficient to collect firewood and such. I honestly hadn't considered that. A full driveway/road would take up way too much of the width. I'm sure glad I reached out on this forum. I would sit down to map it out and would end up being discouraged because of the width so much.  Thanks for the insight.

Caitlin Mac Shim, you really hit the nail on the head to get me going in the right direction. Exactly what I was looking for.  I really appreciate your feedback and will definitely look into that book. Part of my problem is that it is too blank of a canvas. Im a very visual person, and since there are no visual boundaries other than the four corner point on my property, I was having a hard time imagining where everything should go. Thanks again. I'm gonna start working on a new map with these principles.

I will first say this is my first post but have been a long-time lurker. I have been trying to design out my homestead on my own, but would like the advice of others. My property is 4 acres and some change, but it is 145' wide by a quarter mile long. It is currently just a hayfield. We have use of about 3 additional acres that joins our property. It's all family property and I hope to buy another 3 that would make it less narrow. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for laying out such a property geometry? I'd like to make just my 4 pretty much self-reliant. The extra property will come eventually.  We plan to have goats and chickens along with sizable gardens. Also, I'm trying to layout a small tree stand. We live in South louisiana, so the winters arent too harsh to warrant a whole lot of trees. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.