Starting the New House Build! La Fonda vs The Cold Old Ranch Project

Home Starting the New House Build! La Fonda vs The Cold Old Ranch Project Ep 1

Starting the New House Build! La Fonda vs The Cold Old Ranch Project Ep 1

The Old Ranch Project Begins!

We are officially breaking ground on our newest custom home build. In this first episode, we head out to the lot to begin the "brush out" and lot clearing process, but things get off to a chilly start with La Fonda, our 1990s dump truck.

Building in a wooded community means balancing architectural covenants with the practical needs of a construction site. We’re walking you through our order of operations: from clearing scrub with the mini-excavator to the technical challenge of staking out a house on a tight lot with strict 5-foot setbacks.

We’re joined by 3rd-generation loggers and the crew from Pioneer Builders to get this site ready for the foundation. Watch as we navigate property lines, calculate roof overhangs for the plot map, and witness some incredible tree-topping and excavation work captured on the DJI Mavic 4 Pro.

In This Video, We Cover:

Cold Starting Heavy Equipment: Will La Fonda and Kip turn over in the freezing weather?
Lot Clearing & Site Prep: Removing brush without damaging the trees we want to preserve.
Precision Surveying: Can a team of framers accurately stake a house? (Wait for the surveyor's reveal!)
Excavation & Grading: Managing a 4-foot grade change and prepping for footings.
The Old Ranch History: A look at the community we’ve been building in since the 70s.

Products & Gear Used:

Drone Footage: DJI Mavic 4 Pro (6K Time-lapse)
Tools: Milwaukee Track Saw & Laser Level
Apparel: TrueWork
Excavation: Custom lot clearing and tree topping

Follow the Old Ranch Project

If you’re interested in high-performance home building, custom framing, and the reality of site development, make sure to subscribe and hit the bell. We’ll be taking this house from raw dirt to a finished high-performance home.

Chapters