The Perc of the Property

Part 2: Walking with Jack

Jack, a geological engineer before retiring, came through for us again, and nearly 80 years young, he met us at the property and walked the land to help determine soil depth and potential building sites based on his experience doing the same for NYS. Armed with a soil coring tool to measure depth and soil mix, Jack trekked more than 2 miles up and down steep slopes through the snow with us. We looked at several potential building sites together and Jack helped us make a few discoveries that will most likely save us from future heartache. 

The snow started falling in the beginning of our trek and we made our way up to what we thought was the top of our property, but in fact was the middle, and a potential site for building our home. Jack pointed out a large area, still brown, with leaves highlighting the fresh water running just below the surface, warming the ground enough to not freeze. We knew there was a designated wetland near the corn field close to the road, but we were unsure what was feeding it. Having pointed out this spring, Jack was helpful in eliminating this site because water would be a perpetual issue to the foundation and future home.

Moving further upslope, we came to a large flat area which we now know is near the top of our property. This was an area we hadn’t previously marked for a possible site because we were unsure of our property lines at that time. Jack found good soil depth with little effort and we all agreed the view was spectacular. With good advice and enough information to feel comfortable in removing the last contingency, we were ready to move forward with closing and begin a new set of learnings as owners of undeveloped land.

Thanks again Jack!