I haven't replied to this thread because you laid down some very specific criteria in the original post. However, you might find my experience with the GG's interesting nevertheless even though I'm in z6b. I planted 21 of them as a screen a couple of years ago. They were 7ft tall when I planted them and after 2 1/2 years, they are now 12-13 ft tall. I've been extremely happy with them. They have survived 2 very bad years of drought (including this year on the South Shore), high winds, and heavy snow without a problem. I couldn't be any happier with them. I also like their wonderful scent. Here are some pictures when I planted them and last October when they were 1 1/2 years older. The pictures are misleading in that they are actually in full sun even though there are trees around and forest in the background. My property is actually to the right of the GGs. I put them up to screen out my neighbor's pool (shown in the picture) and their house.

Depending on what is available in your area, check to be sure that your land can have a septic system if your lot is not already on municipal waste disposal -- I once owned a 12-acre lot which had 1 [one] place that passed perc... nearly 1,000 feet from where we had wanted to site the house. Our present 15-acre lot has only two areas that passed perc, and we were advised that it was a limited pass (no more than 2 bathrooms, no dishwasher). Also, if there is no municipal water, get the well drilled before building! A) It's likely to be a major expense and B) construction will need water available. And C), you'll find out if you need additional equipment to make the water potable. Before you firm-set your house site, rent an RV and spend a couple weeks living at that orientation. it's much easier to move a RV from north to east than it is to guess that you'll like your kitchen window facing a particular direction. Check with close-by, long-term neighbors as well as the meteorological services for that area. We discovered that although local meteorologists considered storm winds to be primarily from the northwest, neighbors [and our experience since then] warned that the severest summer storms come from southeast and milder ones from due west, while winter storms come from due south. This can matter, not only for planting, but for considering window size and orientation, and whether your front door and garage doors will be blasted by rain and snow. As soon as you choose your probable house plans, start selecting and getting the actual prices of fixtures, cabinets, and flooring. Keep a spreadsheet that details how much [X] cost on what date. Add 5% to the cost for each year in advance of the expected building date to allow for inflation. You'll save yourself a lot of last-minute stress if you've already determined that you like a particular type of light fixture, bathtub, kitchen cabinet, floor tile, and so on. Yes, manufacturers will change styles but not all that often, and your choice will usually be available within a 5-year timeframe. One thing I do [and it doesn't seem to be a common practice], is to make a scale model of the house plans. The operative word is *scale*! I use balsawood, styrofoam and cardboard of various thickness, measure carefully thrice before cutting, and put together with glue and tape. I discovered that -for me- a fifteen foot hallway is dreary, trotting around kitchen islands is weary, and I don't like it if the refrig door gets in the way of carrying a dish to the counter. While pretending everyday activities, my scale model of *me* discovered that many doors are too narrow to manage when on crutches [or in a wheelchair]; some designing-idjits put the bathroom sink too close to something else so that you can't walk past if the cabinet door beneath is open -- a different design had the TP holder four feet from the toilet... ; those same design-idjits apparently think everybody can reach both the top shelf in the kitchen (6 feet up) and the back of the base cabinet. If I need a ladder or to get on my knees, I don't count it as usable storage! And speaking of storage, do consider what you may need, especially if you have hobbies or special interests that may take special spaces. Try to imagine living there during a snowstorm, hurricane, icestorm, and flooding rains. Also imagine carrrying groceries in and garbage out during those conditions -- I don't like attached garages, but my future house definitely will have a portico so I can get the groceries to the kitchen without slippery steps.

Wow... The youngest 2- or 3-family rental property for sale right now in my area is 150 years old, so 200 years sounds normal to me for this sort of thing! Making the call on how much of a risk 200 years is has to do with what's been renovated when, and where you are: If the town was first settled 200 years ago, the builders could have done anything. Other places were built up and had some common building standards by that time. Whatever you do, DON'T buy it without having inspections and at least looking inside first. The basement will tell you a lot: the condition of the foundation (is the field stone still square?), and the stability of the sills... take along a pocket knife or screw driver and stab a sill or load-bearing floor beam. If it crumbles or feels like popcorn instead of wood, you are likely looking at some very major structural work. The basement and the attic will also tell you about water damage, whether the electric was updated since knob-and-tube wiring, and whether the house has any insulation to speak of (no insulation or horse-hair plaster makes for higher heating bills). I'd find a good inspector with experience in older houses, and make any offer contingent upon that checking out to your satisfation. Good luck!

One creating a landscape would never use a silver maple. They are messy, weak, not long lived and don't have spectacular fall color. A sugar maple is all around better (with harvestable wood if you ever get hard up for a new dining table.) :-) in such a wide open space single trees would seem "lost" until canopies got large and trunks got thick. Clusters of trees would be more meaningful. Don't think of it as "one" or "three" trees, but as a large foliage mass held aloft by 3 "columns" as opposed to one. in the large space 3 trees each side would be a stronger, better proportioned statement. I show them in a semi-circle layout but as an alternative you could also arrange in triangular form. To be worked out in plan view. I would drive some highly visible poles or tall sticks in the ground to represent planting locations and drive by them for a few days to see if it needs adjustment