Projects

Over the years we have suc­cess­ful­ly com­plet­ed a num­ber of build­ing ponds in TNland improve­ments on a 46-acre prop­er­ty in Sevi­er Coun­ty TN. In 2007 we tim­bered the prop­er­ty for pulp wood in prepa­ra­tion for lat­er pas­ture phas­es. A year lat­er we installed a one mile loop road and con­struct­ed rus­tic entrance walls of field stone har­vest­ed on site. Since that time we have worked annu­al­ly to restore the orig­i­nal pas­ture areas and open up the impres­sive views of the Smok­ies. This year’s improve­ment was a bit more ambi­tious – a ¾ acre pond build­ing project.

In late win­ter 2014 we received a web­site inquiry from RM out­lin­ing con­cerns about exist­ing struc­tur­al boul­der walls, as well as the desire for a patio and fire cir­cle. We vis­it­ed the site in spring and found the spa­cious home, a recent fore­clo­sure pur­chase, had been built on a blast site high in the NC moun­tains. The gran­ite har­vest­ed from the blast­ing had been used to con­struct a pair of mas­sive retain­ing walls for the upper park­ing area. Unfor­tu­nate­ly, the walls were more than just unat­trac­tive, they had been con­struct­ed with­out the skill and care nec­es­sary to ensure dura­bil­i­ty, safe­ty or cor­rect drainage.

The mur­der of Cristie Schoen, her hus­band JT Codd and unborn daugh­ter in March 2015 rocked Asheville and much of the coun­try. The cou­ple, though rel­a­tive­ly new to the area, were much loved and admired. Cristie and JT both worked in the movie indus­try and were in the process of restor­ing a small farm in Leices­ter, and gen­er­al­ly nest­ing into their new moun­tain sur­round­ings in West­ern North Carolina.

Tom and Katy Berga­mi orig­i­nal­ly con­tact­ed us in 2009 after pur­chas­ing an over­grown 17 acre farm in White Pine TN. After years of neglect much of the for­mer pas­ture had grown over in cedars, pine and mul­ti­flo­ra rose. Fol­low­ing an ini­tial site assess­ment the Bergami’s set aside a mod­est bud­get for pas­ture restora­tion and mow­ing. Each year incre­men­tal improve­ments were made. Even­tu­al­ly, in 2012, they built a small barn with a live-in loft, with well and sep­tic installed for a future home. Only one thing was miss­ing – a driveway.