6 Brm. home, private lake, 13 acres, barn, 3 ponds NW IN

Hebron 4500sf, 13 ac., prvt lake, $639K 219.208.0500 jerrykbooks.com/JK-House.htm

A 4,500 Square Foot Luxury Home on a Thirteen Acre Wildlife Preserve With Many, Many Extras

Did you ever spend a wonderful vacation in a beautiful and idyllic setting and not want to go home? That is exactly what this property offers to its new owner. It is highly unlikely that you will find a home and property that offers what we are now offering here.

This is a 4,500 square foot home built in 1998 on a 13 acre wildlife preserve. The wildlife preserve was designed under the U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture in a three phase plan including Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management, Upland Wildlife Habitat Management, and four Wildlife Watering Facilities. This was a three-phase program with weekly oversight by the local Soil Conservation District that took three years to complete. It involved taking out all the hay and replacing it with a special mixture of “Warm Season Grasses and wildflowers,” the original grasses of the Midwestern prairie. It also entailed a 2-row windbreak of over 1,000 White Pine trees around the entire perimeter of the property, and the design, building, and landscaping of four ponds, the largest one being a small lake of over an acre in size and up to twelve feet in depth. The ponds are all stocked with Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Albino Catfish, Grass Eating Carp and minnows.

The wildlife ecosystem that is in place here is scientifically designed to support wildlife from the microbiological level, up through insects, birds, waterfowl, and an abundance of deer. The deer and Pheasant in particular seek out and thrive on the habitat here far more than the row crops that surround us in this agricultural region of Northwest Indiana.

The “Big Pond” as we call it is a small lake with a very large dock built of heavy timbers and extending over thirty feet into the water. It is 24 feet wide and has a diving board, swim deck, a swim ladder, and an anchored 12 ft. X 12 ft. floating swim platform with an Oak frame & Oak swim ladder. There is also a large sand beach with a large storage box for chairs, parasol, etc... The pond is very well aerated year round, providing exceptional water clarity and extraordinarily vivid colors in the fish population, and it is lighted with two large all-weather halogen floodlights. It has a commercial, $6,000 floating fountain with lighting that produces a 2.5 inch vertical jet 25 ft. in height, and a crown ring about 35 ft. in diameter. The fountain has a very heavy electrical panel and separate electrical meter dedicated to its use with a 100 amp service and three timers. It has three submersible heavy duty motors & pumps with solid brass impellers. The lake also has a large hill on one side into which has been built a 13 tier waterfall surrounded by many, many flowers, shrubs, decorative trees and plants. The waterfall is built with hard rubber base and the 13 travertines are concreted in and feature a large flat stone for each spillway. The waterfall goes into a small pool, which feeds into the lake by a small stream. Near the base of the waterfall is our 19 ft. handcrafted wooden flagpole flying a 4 X 6 ft. embroidered American flag. The pool and pond are lined with a 3 ft. strip of large river rock, and have some large & gorgeous Weeping Willows on its banks, as does the Back Pond.

The lake is connected to the “Middle Pond,” by a navigable canal. The middle pond is about one half acre. The canal is up to 16 ft. wide and is spanned by a 24 ft., rustic and charming timber bridge. A fishing hole has been dug out of the canal, making it possible to fish from the bridge. The bridge was built to allow passage of the paddleboat even when the pond levels are at their highest. An auxiliary well has been dug to a depth of 100 ft. and one inch water lines have been placed underground allowing the well to supply any of the four of the ponds with over 17,000 gallons of water a day to maintain the water levels in drier periods. The pond drains through a 14 inch standpipe with a heavy metal grate on the dam, surrounded and secured by several yards of concrete. The back pond affords a lovely view of the water from the kitchen and back deck, and also has a dock and an aerator, and a maximum depth of about twelve feet.
There are several one-of-a-kind 1,000 lb. Oak benches around the ponds from the sawmill.

The ponds are a delight in the winter, especially if you enjoy ice skating. The swim deck in the Big Pond is at a perfect level to accommodate skaters. We have chains and a 48 inch plow for the riding mower to plow the ponds for skating. The back pond has a shallow end averaging less than two feet for ice skating with an added measure of safety when the ice is less than 4 inches thick. The lake was recently featured on the cover of Farm Pond Magazine

The warm season grasses can be harvested in two or three cuttings a year and typically make for very high quality feed, and usually sell for considerably more than hay.

Although our home has a very efficient propane heating system, we heat all winter with an outdoor woodburner located 130 ft. from the house and situated between two large woodsheds; one shed is 28 X 32 feet, and the other is 16 X 24 ft.. The large woodshed is constructed from treated Yellow Pine timbers and sided with one inch beveled Cyprus like the house, and the smaller shed is framed and sided entirely out White Oak. Both have white metal roofs. The woodburner is connected to the house via underground water lines. It heats water to 180 degrees and transfers the heat into the house via a heat exchanger. It needs to be fed only twice a day most of the winter. We have a Firewood Processor, which is a machine that takes logs in one end and sends perfect, split firewood out the other on a 12 ft. conveyor. This machine can supply one year’s worth of firewood for the house in one to two days. We produce an excess of firewood thanks to this incredibly efficient machine capable of earning $500 an hour, which we sell to a clientele developed over the years who come here to load up several months out of the year. The woodburner also heats all of our hot water during the winter months for a free and inexhaustible supply of very hot water. We have saved as much as $1,000 a month in fuel since installing this system, and it is possible that this figure could double this year. The beauty of this system is not just its truly remarkable efficiency, but lies in the fact that the fire and firewood are not in the house. The house, in fact, is so energy efficient that we have installed an “Inforcer” system which draws in outside air on a cycled timer to keep the air in the house fresh. The system also has a built-in humidifier. The house has a 2.5 ton central air-conditioner and an attic fan regulated by a thermostat.

The property also has a small fruit orchard with several varieties of apple trees, pear trees, and peach trees. These attract an abundance of deer in the late summer and fall, and they come much closer to the house then for the apples. There are also some wild apple trees on the property. The yard around the house also have several rows of trees including Red Pines, Black Walnut, Spruce, Black Oak, White Ash, Black Locust, Weeping Willow, Black Cherry, Arbor Vitaes and some Maples. The walkway from the driveway to the front door is made or railroad ties and small river rock and passes through a latticed arbor made of 6 inch 10 ft. posts with an Oak roof and built in bench. It has evergreen groundcover on both sides with plants and solar lighting at regular intervals.
The barn is 42 X 50 ft. for 2,100 square ft. under roof. The floor of the barn is reinforced concrete with a center drain. It has two large lofts for an additional 700 sq. ft. of storage area. It has some very high quality windows, a large sliding door, and the walls are 14 ft. high. The trusses are on 4 ft. centers, which has become very difficult to get now from any builder. The barn has its own electrical service with its own meter and all wiring is in conduit, with all outlets being g.f.i..

The “Corner Pond” is on the southwest corner of the property, and has been left more natural than the other ponds. You will never fail to see an abundance of deer tracks on its banks, and quite often see Great Blue Herons fishing its banks. The Herons are regular visitors to all the ponds. The neighbor's pond adjoins it and it has two islands on which waterfowl nest every spring.

The back of the house faces East and has a 16 ft. X 48 ft. deck with built in bench and a Vermont BBQ that is plumed direct for gas. The deck has a very nice Jacuzzi, for which we are now building a new Cedar skirt with one inch Western Cedar from the sawmill.

The house sits about 1,000 ft. from the road. The driveway is stone and was built with a proper foundation of 4 inch rocks, then smaller material up to fine gravel on top. It can accommodate any size vehicle up to and including semis.

We have a continuing supply of free mulch and firewood logs. There is a working sawmill 1/4 mile from the property that we have helped operate. It has supplied us with abundant hardwood lumber for various building projects and crafts.

The basement has a fully finished recreation room that is around 500 square feet. It features, along with one other finished room in the basement, a cultured stone wall and knotty Cedar tongue & groove paneling, and a drop ceiling. All of the houses original support columns have been removed in favor of several large solid Oak and gluelam beams that serve to open up the various basement rooms. Much of the basement has ceramic tile and the central room has one inch thick Cedar paneling from the sawmill. The garage is a drive-in basement level two car garage with a built in 220V commercial pressure washer with soap injection and 50 ft. of high pressure hose on a reel. (You can wash your car all dressed up and not get wet!) The basement also has a woodshop and a finished full bathroom is being added in late 2008.

Dr. Jerry

The Interior

The entrance is into an open foyer with a ceramic tile floor and open above to a vaulted celing. It is transversed by the upstairs stairway which opens to the foyer on one side and to the living room on the other, with a large chandelier above on the foyer side. All drywall features ''Bullnose'' (rounded) corners.

The living room is 15 ft. X 19 ft. with a 17 ft. cathedral ceiling. The floor is a Black Cherry hardwood floor, and the ceiling is tongue & grooved knotty pine. The fireplace is a working fieldstone fireplace with glass doors and fan system. The sliding glass door leads onto the deck. All the windows in the house are gas filled, high-efficiency tilt-out windows.

The master bedroom is 13 ft. 4 in. X 14 ft. 4 inches and features a recessed tray ceiling. It also has a glass door onto the deck, where the jacuzzi is located. The master bathroom area has a large two-person Jacuzzi tub and tile floor, as does the first floor bathroom between the master bedroom and living room. The guest room is 13 ft. X 12 ft. and looks out onto the lake.

What is currently the office area is the largest room in the house and measures 20 ft. X 20 ft.. It looks out on the lake and also offers a second-story view to the North for some amazing wildlife observation. The dining room is between the office and foyer and measures 11 ft. X 11 ft..

The upstairs bedrooms measure just over 11 X 13 ft. and just over 11 X 11 ft.. There is an upstairs bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. The upstairs also has a drywalled but not finished storage room and an unfinished area on the opposite side. Both areas have electric and heating and AC ducts.

The kitchen area is 17 ft. X 12 ft., and there is a pantry off the kitchen measuring about 7 X 12 ft.. The breakfast area has a very lovely bow window facing the back pond. Almost every window in the house gives a view of the water. The kitchen has a fairly new dishwasher, good appliances and a reverse osmosis water system that is plumbed from the basement and mounted on the sink.

The basement has a finished recreation room measuring 30 X 14 ft, (slightly less wide where the furnace room is). The long wall features a fieldstone wall, and the rest of the room has Knotty Cedar tongue & groove paneling on the lower portion. The central basement room is large and has ceramic tile flooring and one inch Cedar boards. Both rooms have a drop ceiling. The basement bedroom also has a fieldstone wall and a drop ceiling.

The garage is on the walkout basement level and measures 20 ft. X 20 ft. It features a 220 V. 3 hp electric pressure washer with 50 ft. of high-pressure hose on a reel and soap injection.

The workshop is adjacent to the garage and measures the same as the kitchen. In the workshop you will find the emergency generator panel and an electrical sub-panel to provide plenty of amperage for power tools. There are six circuits wired into the emergency panel so that in the case of a power failure, the principal house circuits can be powered through this hardwired setup without any extension cords used. Just flip off the main breaker, start the generator, and power up each cicuit. The generator is is a 5 kw, gas powered unit with less than 50 hours on it and starts first time every time. It is not inconvenient to run off the generator when necessary. Power outages average about one a year and typically last just a few hours.

The central AC is a 2.5 ton unit that has been completely gone through recently with additional air returns and an attic fan added in the last year. The water softener is a commercial, very heavy duty and reliable dual tank unit, so that as one tank regenerates, the other never fails to provide soft water. There is a sump with a battery back-up pump to keep the basement bone dry in a 100 year deluge, which we have seen it do. The drainage under and around the house is etremely well designed. The house is equipped with a dish for high-speed Internet and one for satellite television. Partial owner financing may be available, as well as a succesful, mechanized firewood business.