Follow up on lot 15 Sweetwater Ranch

We did get lot 15 sold.  This was a heck of a deal.  Premium open water property in a great community with a double slip, double decker boat house with all the frills... Sold for 135,000.  The cost for boathouse and all the utilities installed are knockin' on half of the sales price.  Wow, great deal on Richland Chambers Lake

Do prices follow lake level?...Best Deal on the Lake...10-16-14

Best Deal on the Lake Alert!!!   Low lake level at Richland Chambers Lake does have  upside.... 

What can possibly be the upside to the current lake level at Richland Chambers Lake?  Well for frequent boaters you do get to get to know where the hazards are located, but besides that:

 1. When the lake comes back (and it will) there will be lots of new underwater cover for spring spawning and bait fish. So an already great fishing lake will be that much better.. and...

   2. With lots of property for sale and only a few properties selling,  some prices have fallen with the lake level.  If you are looking for a good deal on prime water front property, this is it,  lots 32 And 33 Azure Bay.

Both lots have northerly facing wide open water front with a steel retaining wall in  place and in the neighborhood of 100' of waterfront each.  They are priced at $95,000 each, which in was unheard of in years past for premium water font property.  Azure Bay is a very nice community with only site built homes and lots of wildlife.

Check it out:

Lot 33 Details Lot 32 Details

Richland Chambers Lake Level March 2014

Richland Chambers Lake Spillway

 The gates are closed and have been for a while at the damn on RC. Richland Chambers Lake level is still going the way of most Texas Lakes.  We are 7.12 feet below pool level as of March 22, 2014.  Our historic drought has seen the state's total water reserves as low as 65% in 2013 with Texas lake levels down across the state.  Not wanting to be the harbinger of bad news but we need some rain!  Richland Chambers lake level is not the product of increased demand, in fact the pump station at RC lake was shut down for a period of several weeks this winter due to pipeline construction in the area and maintenance on the pump station.  Tarrant Regional has been taking water out of the lake since day one back in 1989 and still operates one pump station on the lake. We just need rain (did I say it again?)  Julie and I have lived on Chambers Creek for over 20 years.  Our backyard has been about 150 acres of Chambers Creek bottom.  During normal conditions the creek gets out of it's banks 3-4 times a year and fills the bottom for several thousand acres.  The creek takes a few days to get back in its banks as the water makes its way downstream and the lake fills.  The same thing happens in the Richland Creek bottom as well.  When we get a good rain in the right places they open the gates at Navarro Mills Lake west of Corsicana.  Richland Creek floods and flows into Richland Chambers.
The lake will come back when we get some rain.  Check out this link:  Navarro County Rainfall History
Also get the Current Lake Level on our lake level page.  In the mean time pray for rain...

'Big Chill' coming to Richland Chambers

Rooter says "Bundle up!"

Like most of the country cold, cold temperatures are here at Richland Chambers Lake.  I actually saw a boat trailer at the ramp at  FM 2859 late yesterday afternoon.  The temperature was already in the upper 30's and the wind was blowing pretty good so talk about a hearty soul!  It takes true adventuresome spirit to be out on the lake in this weather.  

So we all know to take the necessary precautions in freezing temps, right?  Cover the outdoor spigots, bring in or cover the tender vegetation and make sure you have plenty of firewood.
What other things do you need to know about Lake Life in the extreme temps?  On Richland Chambers a lot of people have lake-fed irrigation systems.  The pumps are usually located in the boathouse or on the shoreline, normally in an enclosure.  These systems are susceptible to the freezing temperatures.  They need to be drained prior to freezing weather.  Usually a drain plug or drain valve is located somewhere in the system.  Removing the plug or opening the valve is all that is necessary.  The system drains and you're set.

Also it is common for a boathouse to be equipped with fresh water for fish cleaning and things like that. The water supply should be cut off and the drain valve should be opened to drain this system as well to keep from having to make costly plumbing repairs.
The low tonight is forecast to be around 21 degrees, wow that is cold for us!  Bundle up

Our Home Construction on Richland Chambers The Slab

Plumbing rough-in, forms and beams

Post tension cables

This is the 2nd installment of the house building chronicle:   One of the requirements of building in The Shores on Richland Chambers is the engineering process for your slab.  We got the drawings and turned them over to the concrete contractor.  He took them and got started forming and digging the grade beams.  We selected a plumber after reviewing several bids and they came to rough in the slab.  Once the plumber was done I called our local Orkin franchise to 'pre-treat' the slab.  They came out and sprayed really good stuff around all the plumbing openings in the concrete.  This will seriously dissuade any bugs with the intention of coming inside form underneath.  This is step one of their process.  They will come back after the house is just about done and spray around the edge of the foundation.

Slab pre-treat

Slab pre-treat

Pump truck to place the concrete

 Once the pre-treat was done our concrete contractor came back and continued preparing the slab. They finished and reinforced the forms,  laid  plastic moisture barrier and placed the post tension cables along with some rebar.  Early the next morning  concrete trucks started to arrive.  Since our lot is fairly narrow and the slab is pretty large a pump truck was necessary to place the concrete.  All the concrete was poured at the same time for what is referred to as a 'monolithic' pour.  Which simply means it is all one big piece.

The truck is controlled remotely

Placing concrete

Placing concrete

Finished slab

Once concrete is poured it is there. You have to think through everything that needs to go in the floor. I would have done a couple of thing differently at this point, nothing earth shaking, but definitely causing a little extra work to get accomplished now.

House Construction on Richland Chambers, Step one

My original intention was to document the house building process, so here's goes the first installment to recap the last few months of construction.

Step One: Get a soil analysis.

Everybody knows the foundation is the most important part of any home. The soil analysis is accomplished by doing core samples on the building site, then the engineer prepares a report based on the sample. Around  Richland Chambers Lake  Navarro county has "highly expansive" clay soil which shrinks and expands depending on the amount of moisture in the soil. So an adequate foundation is critical. The soil analysis is then taken to an engineer along with your floor plans and he generates a foundation plan. In our area we see a lot of post tension, big beams and piers depending on the engineers recommendations.

The house pad is prepared by establishing the grade, then select fill is brought in, spread and compacted in 'lifts'. This is not a real glamorous stage of construction, however extremely important.

Select fill being installed in 'lifts onsite

View of back of house pad

Launch at Oak Cove Marina on Richland Chambers Lake

Richland Chambers is almost 9.5 ft low as of today and the hot summer continues. Apart from the record low of 11.5 feet in 2006 this is the lowest the lake has ever been. There is still plenty of open water for boating out there and the place to put in is at Oak Cove Marina.

Oak Cove Marina on RC Lake is located right off of US 287 just before the bridge if your heading south east. Jerry and Roylene have taken advantage of the low water conditions to improve the boat ramp. They have done a lot of dredging, put down more rock and the ramp has 5 ft of water all the way out to the end of the cove today.

So yes you can launch your boat on Richland Chambers.

To keep up with the lake level go to: RC Lake Level

Good deal on Richland Chambers Lake Property

The Shores on Richland Chambers is a 600 lot, almost 800 acre subdivision that opened around '04-05' and sold by Texas Land and Lakes. The neighborhood was sold out by about mid 2009. Since that time there have been many changes in the economy and now in 2013 there are quite a few lots for sale by individual owners. There have been some very good deals in The Shores  and this is one of the best.  The lot is .59 acres and is a good building site with just a little slope.  There is also a single slip boat house on the water included with the property.  Check out the listing:  Lot 511 The Shores.  
Like more info or would like to see it in person?  Shoot me an email: johnteelremax@gmail.com

Like a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream

Where has the blog gone?  Nothing is worse for a blog than inconsistency, right?  Well it has been many months since I have blogged and you can see in the picture where the house is as of yesterday 17Aug13.  Yes, some progress has been made though not what you would expect from supposedly a well thought out and planned building process.  

Building a house for yourself requires many things, perhaps the most influencing of which is motivation.

Many things have happened in our lives for Julie and I this spring, beginning about the time the blog dropped off.  So not wanting to sound as if I am complaining or offering up excuses, I won't.  Suffice it to say we have not been as motivated to make the change and move south down Chambers Creek about 12 miles or so.

The real estate market has been good and busy this year.  The lake is down 8 1/2 feet and we have moved our boat to a deep water slip in the marina at The Shores.  

We have been on the water quite a bit however not as much as last year.

Our motivation is returning with each new board nailed up and the goal is to move in around Christmas.

We'll see.

"Like a twig on the shoulders of a mighty stream"

~John Candy~