We’ve built 2 houses in the last 8 years. We either like the process or we’re certifiably insane. Maybe a little of both. And while we love the home that we’re living in now, there are definitely some drawbacks that we’ll be dealing with this weekend.
Here’s what I see as the 3 biggest downsides of building a home vs. buying an existing home. Trees, trees and trees. Or perhaps more accurately, the lack of trees.
I don’t know how it works in the rest of the country, but in the midwest/northeast, new homes are usually built on reclaimed farm land. That means no trees. And if your land happens to have a few trees on it, chances are, the builder is going to clear them away to make the construction process easier. I know. All the environmentalists just had a heart-attack. But please don’t shoot the messenger. I hate it too.
Over the last 2 years, we’ve been slowly adding trees in the hopes of having shade and privacy before our kids go to collage. Last summer, we got a killer deal on 3 big dogwood trees that a local nursery couldn’t keep because they were getting too big. They cut us a major deal to take them all.
More often, we find smaller trees and hope that the deer don’t eat them to the ground before they get bigger.
And sometimes new trees don’t grow exactly how you envision and you end up with something like this Dr. Seuss looking maple tree. Or maybe it looks like a strangely shaved poodle?
So, this weekend, the re-forestation process continues. We’ll be planting 11 (yes, 11) evergreen trees (norway and serbian spruce for those who care). By Monday, I anticipate that we’ll be needing lots of Ben-Gay, ibuprofen and heating pads.
Somehow Memorial Day weekend is always a major work weekend at our house. Sounds more like Labor Day, don’t you think?
What are your plans for the weekend? Have you ever planted your own trees?
Note: If you’ve ever considered building a house because you think you’ll get what you want, think again. Unless you have an enormous/unlimited budget, you’ll always make compromises. You give up some things that you want in exchange for other things you want more.
In our case, we focused on the basic structure and layout of the house…the room sizes, configuration and positioning that we wanted…that meant giving up some other things like a gorgeous front porch. I dream of the day when we can afford to add the porch of my dreams.
{ 33 comments }
Our plans involve labor also. A little gardening, weeding, painting….ugh…. And we look FORWARD to Memorial Day??
Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage´s last blog ..Outdoor Galvanized Decor Ball
This weekend, we’re going to be working on clearing a lot to get ready to build a house. It was so many nice trees on it. We’re trying to leave as many as we can for now and hoping they wont be in the way.
Rachel Lynn´s last blog ..
Wow! I hadn’t even thought of that! My hubs & I are hoping to have the funds to buy or build a house sometime within the next year or two & I hadn’t even thought about having a lack of trees if we decide to build. I love lots & lots of trees around our house so that’s something to consider if we do build. Thanks for the tip
Remember to bend at the knees! I agree with you about the whole unless you have tons of cash you will have to sacrifice. We were going to build but I could not find the land that I was totally in love with in the area that we are living in. There were plenty of houses on the market and my house that I am in now just seemed perfect for me. The funny thing is it is much bigger then then the house I planned on building and was much cheaper which gave me more money to change what I wanted. Make sure you have your sunblock on and best of luck.
I feel your pain! My husband and I moved into our brand new home about 9 months ago and we are working on landscaping our backyard too. The front came with a lawn, a few bushes and a dinky little 6-ft tall tree. We just finished concrete, sprinklers and sod in the back…now it’s time for planting, planting and MORE planting. I think I would like my next house to be existing.
Daniell´s last blog ..Jessica’s Orange Rolls
We to moved into a new home with no trees. The builder planted 5 because we are on the corner and we have added a Japanese maple this year and for the first three Christmas holidays we bought a live tree to plant. It does take a long time for them to grow! Thankfully my husband tilled up half the back yard for garden so we won’t put any trees there. but I would love some shade close to the house! Hopefully the weather will be nice and you will get them all in. We are going camping and ignoring all teh work that needs to be done here.
I currently live on the farm my hubby grew up on in the Northeast, but just recently hubby and I purchased a 100 acre woods/farmland plot of our own around the corner where we’ll build our house.
I LOVE all the trees it already has, but my hubby is a tree fanatic, so we (or I should say he) is in the process of planting about 1000+ trees (colorado blue spruce {in honor of my homestate}, norway spruces, walnuts, crab apples, lemons, etc.) in grow bags (much more affordable to start them this way) on our current farm and then we’ll transplant them into windbreak rows or as landscaping elements once the house is finished.
Being farmers, though, we always wonder why people want to build these McMansions (at least in our neck of the woods) on “reclaimed” (unfortunately) farmland that look so out of place due to the lack of trees. Thanks for trying to add some trees back to your landscape. Personally, w’ll never appreciate it as much as the beauty of fields of hay or corn or soybeans, but it’s better than a house in the middle of an obviously former field.
Brie´s last blog ..The College Graduate
We live in a new (it was 1 year old when we bought it) duplex. Aside from the lack of trees, there was also a lack of fence, so we had to deal with that first. Maybe this year we’ll plant one or two trees. But it will probably have to wait ’til next year. I think we’re lucky though, because the developer has planted big trees along the street so our area is not completely bare.
Jo @ To a Pretty LIfe´s last blog ..Swimsuits.
I feel your pain!!! I feel like I’ve been planting something every week for the last 2 years. Tree are so hard because you have to dig out such a big hole and we have the hardest ground… we’ve actually used this mini-jack-hammer like thingie to dig some of our holes. It’s TOTALLY worth all the effort… what a difference landscaping makes.
ENJOY & I hope you get them all planted with some time to spare for a yummy bbq!
You should try putting an ad out in the local paper or contacing nurserys, contractors or demo crews. Sometimes you can get a great deal on a full grown tree if you choose to have a crew come in and spade it out then replant it. In our areas we have lots of trees relocated to the state park, it gives them the size of tree they need and the homeowner gets a deal becasue they get paid to get rid of it not having to pay to cut it down. Good luck!
That maple tree made me laugh out loud! Thank you!
I am in the complete opposite position. I love my land more than my home. We have two 100 year old oak trees in our front yard that are to die for! You can’t buy that anywhere! My house isn’t exactly what I want. It’s a little too small, but I seriously want to be buried under my oak trees. I keep telling my hubby if we ever move, we are taking the trees with us. Possible?
Have a great weekend! I will be working on DIY projects for my niece’s wedding next week.
Blessings!
Although our home is not new and we have plenty of lovely established greenery, we too enjoy planting our own. Mostly citrus or fruit bearing tress so far, I want to plant some other types soon. Have a nice “relaxing” weekend
We are new construction as well. We planted 5 trees 2 years ago. The redbud didn’t make it through the winter so we will be pulling it up this weekend and putting something in it’s place. I envy older neighborhoods with huge, established trees. When I took my kids to visit my parents house further south, my son thought their neighborhood was “the forest”.
Good luck this weekend – hope you have nice weather!
Danielle
I LOVE planting trees – really, any kind of landscaping. In our development, which is about about 5-7 years old, our lot has the most trees. It helps that my B-I-L owns a tree nursery!! I still find my tree-planting desire restricted because I want room for the 5 kids to play. Thankfully, we have purchased a 5-acre lot that has lots of trees (some nice, some not-so-nice in the most random places) and we plan to build in 2 years. I am THRILLED at the prospect of landscaping it all. Best of luck to you! As for compromises, I know some will have to be made but, for me, the front porch is not one of them! Question is, what is??!!
We have the same problem here too-we didn’t build ourselves, but bought it brand new and treeless. We’ve added a few and are grateful for neighbors that have done the same. Next time, I’ll be look for an older (but nice) home in a well established neighborhood full of trees. I miss that shade and privacy! Happy digging!
We did new construction 9 years ago, and so we have a yard full of 8 1/2 year old trees. The trick for us was to buy a lot of small trees, most of which grow fast (leyland cypress, cryptomeria, river birch, etc.), and to buy a few large trees. I think we bought 5 large ones that the nursery had to plant for us, and we bought 24 trees that were small enough that we could plant ourselves. Over the last two summers, we’ve finally benefitted from the shade of the 5 largest ones, as the smaller ones continue to grow and fill in.
Jenny´s last blog ..The Five Mile Mark
We are cleaning the garage and organizing it, and working in the yard. My oldest son graduates next weekend, so we need to get some things done. Of course, having a party always forces you to get some things knocked off of your DIY list!
~Liz
Liz@HoosierHomemade´s last blog ..Chicken Phillies with Tyson Grilled & Ready Chicken
Yeah…we searched for a few years for some land with trees. Most of the land is- like you said- farmland without any trees. We live inside the woods and it’s a very nice thing.
This weekend I’m going to participate in my first (and probably last) ever half marathon! I’m going to need all the luck I can get! LOL!!! (and I’ll be right there with you- with bengay, heating pads and lots of ibuprofen!)
Astrid´s last blog ..Walk for Arthritis- Go Team Allison!
Our house was built in 1926 so we’re not new construction but we may as well be! Everything was so overgrown, wrong for the space or just bad that we’ve ripped out all the old stuff and been relandscaping- since 1992. Yikes! I love anything to do with gardening so I really don’t mind. Right now we’re redoing the side bed that we originally did in about ’93.
Your Dr. Seuss maple made me laugh. He looks to be suffering from the lack of a central leader, that’s why you’ve got the three wild looking branches at the top. Some corrective pruning would take care of that pronto.
No trees here at our house either, other than a small one the builder put in by our front porch We just bought our first one this week, ONE. That was all we could afford. It was about $150, good grief! And it is sitting outside waiting for us to plant this weekend too. It is going to look hysterical, out there all by itself.
The downside of older houses though is often TOO MANY TREES. And OVERGROWN trees. In our past houses we have taken down trees that were diseased (and that is SO EXPENSIVE! yikes), that took over our entire roof and house, and that dumped RIDICULOUS amounts of pine needles everywhere and it was always a mess. And we have lived with a house that had so much shade we were craving the sun. We have also spent tons of money on tree pruning over the years. I’m pretty much over trees, myself. lol.
I guess you can never win.
This time I want to add in a few trees mostly for privacy. I still want the sun! Remember, we live in Seattle where it rains too much.
You are very lucky to have such a huge beautiful property with so much land everywhere! Ha, that cracks me up. We don’t see that much land, um, anywhere? My yard is teeny. I want the trees so I can’t see my neighbors.
Have fun planting! I only have the one so I might still be able to walk on Tuesday.
melissa @ the inspired room´s last blog ..A Porch: Before & After
I have several projects I could jump in to but I better make rebuilding a filing cabinet I scored at the Habitat Restore the priority. It’s in the area where I want to install a workbench but before I do that I have to paint the wall behind it.
Condo Blues´s last blog ..Ditch the Disposables: Try Reusable Produce Bags
I live in a house built in 1940 and it, and all the neighboring houses, is surrounded by big beautiful trees (truly a nightmare come fall though). While I always admire the fresh, clean, newness of a … well, new development, the lack of mature trees is always the first thing that strikes me about the newer neighborhoods, so I completely understand your tree frustration. I love the big arching canopy the trees create and that hits you as you pull onto my street.
Labor for us too this weekend. We are ripping the cabinets out of our kitchen and will be putting new ones in later in the week.
Mary´s last blog ..Reusable orange floral coffee cozy
Good luck to you, we have planted a zillion trees it seems like. We have everything from Bald Cypress, Pecan, Live Oak, Red Oak, Chinese Pistachio, and lots of Crepe Myrtles. It’s been hit or miss here on wether they grow or not. But I one day hope to have the acre full of trees.
My dad built his house in Iowa about 10 years ago. About a year after the house was finished, he planted around 10 4-foot tall evergreens. They are now about 20 feet tall. Your choice is a good one for fast-growing trees. His land was re-claimed farmland, and he had the additional obstacle of bumpy lawns from the rows of corn that had been previously planted there. 10 years later, everything is perfect though. Good luck with your trees!
LOL! Our house in TN was new construction, and somehow we got the ONLY tree in the entire neighborhood. It was HUGE and much coveted by our neighbors. Have fun planting!
Mom in High Heels´s last blog ..Spoiled by (near) perfection
Wow, I could have sworn you lived in the South. I’ve just assumed that all along. Where DO you live? (I mean what state?)
Funny–here in NC we kind of have the opposite issue. “Woods” is the default and open space is rare
Amy at The Red Chair Blog´s last blog ..Guaranteed Ugly
Kimba, we’ve built two houses in the past 18 years. The second one, we picked theonly lot in the entire develop that had pine trees lining the back. We’ve planted a virtual little nature oasis compared to our neighbors including a rather large natural looking garden pond with a waterfall and large koi. So yeah, after laying EVERY stone in that pond I needed Ben Gay and Ibuprofen. But you know what…it’s totally worth it. Plant it and they will come. The wildlife that is! LOL If you look at our house on google earth it actually cracks us up! Our neighbors are always asking why we have a huge array of birds and stuff that they don’t have. ummm.
I am on the willow tree planting jag….nothing better than sitting under one. My Design Guide.com
I can totally identify with your story of home building and no trees. We built here (in Kansas) 5 years ago in field formally home to cows and corn. Our lot had one tree that is nice and big, but every storm that comes through I hope it is still standing when the wind dies down. We have a few $10 steal-a-deal trees from Walmart end of the season sales, and also just planted two Serbian Spruces this spring. They are beautiful. And yes, it was backbreaking work! Hope you survived. Do we get to see pictures?
So true! We’ve built 2 houses. The first was on a farm field and we spent a fortune planting big trees to add a little shade to the virtual desert we were sitting on. This house we made sure to get a wooded lot–but now we’re dealing with the issues that too many mature trees bring with them (as Melissa mentioned above). I hope my next place can find a happy middle-ground between a desert and a jungle!
Julia´s last blog ..The Truth About “House Hunters” on HGTV
We planted our own trees at our first house. They were Red Oaks and they grew pretty fast. When we planted them, they lost all their leaves and we thought they had died. (I think we planted them in the spring or summer.) We got a very pleasant surprise when spring came again and buds began to appear on the trees and soon, the tree was covered in beautiful leaves. Anyway, those trees grew pretty fast. We’ve moved but have driven past our old house several times and the trees have gotten SO big. So, you might want to research these trees to see if you’d be interested in planting them in your own yard. I’m in southeast Texas just so you know where they were growing.
Sheila (TCW)´s last blog ..Harvest