Buying raw ground in Bollinger County and figuring out what goes on it first is a genuinely hard problem, because every decision constrains the next one. Here is the order that works for most people.
First: a lockable, dry building for tools
Before anything else you need somewhere to leave a chainsaw, a generator, fuel, hand tools and a ladder without hauling them back and forth every trip. This does not need to be big. A 10×12 or 10×16 covers it. What it needs is a good floor, a heavy hasp bolted through the door with carriage bolts, a shrouded padlock and non-removable hinge pins.
Put it near where the driveway ends and where you will eventually want the working part of the property, not near where the house will go.
Second: shelter for you
If you are going to spend real time out there, a small insulated cabin changes what is possible. Somewhere to get out of the weather, sleep, eat and keep dry clothes. A 12×16 or 14×24 with spray foam insulation and one of our finish-out packages including electrical, flooring and wall coverings is a very different experience than a tent. Our Side Porch Cabin and Lofted Cabin styles are built for this.
Plumbing we do not do in house, and on bare land water and septic are usually the long pole in the whole project, so start those conversations with a contractor early.
Third: equipment cover
Once there is a tractor, a mower, a UTV or a trailer on the property, they need to be out of the weather and out of sight. This is the building that needs length and a wide door: 12×24 minimum, 14×32 if you want to walk around anything, with a 9 or 10 foot roll-up. We build up to 16×60.
Fourth: the shop
The building you will use every single day once you have it. Insulated, wired, with a real bench and good light. On a property under development, everything breaks, and a shop is the difference between fixing it and driving to town.
The decisions that constrain everything else
Two, and they are both about access. Where the driveway runs, and how wide the tightest point on it is. We need roughly two feet of clearance past the building width along the whole route, about 13 feet of overhead, and ground firm enough for a loaded trailer after rain. If you build a driveway that will only take a 10 wide building, you have permanently limited what can ever be delivered back there. Think about that before the gravel goes down. See our delivery prep page.
The other is drainage. Put buildings on high points, on level gravel pads about a foot larger than the building on all sides, standing a few inches above the surrounding grade.
Paying for it over time
You do not have to do this all at once, and most people should not. Rent-to-own has no credit check, runs 24 to 60 month terms, starts at $75.44 a month on a 6×8, takes your first two months as the deposit and carries no early payoff fee, so you can add buildings as the property develops without a bank in the middle. Cash custom orders take 20% down and financing with no money down is available with approved credit.
Buildings start at $1,900 for a C+ Utility 6×8 and $2,762 for a Cardinal Utility 8×8. Every one carries our 10 year guarantee, a 50 year LP SmartSide siding warranty and a lifetime AdvanTech floor warranty, handled by us.
Get Started on Your Marble Hill Building
You do not have to drive to a lot to get moving. Use our 3D Shed Builder to pick your size, siding, colors, doors, windows and add-ons and see the building take shape on screen. When it looks right, send it to us and we will confirm pricing and a delivery date for Marble Hill.
Prefer to talk it through? Call our main office at 618-518-5578. We will walk you through building styles, custom options and rent-to-own and financing, and answer anything on our FAQ page. You can also see what we serve nearby on our location page.
