How To Select the Ideal Building Site

Once you arrive at the site, you should start making notes. Keep the survey oriented in a way that matches the landscape as you walk your property, and record any special features (such as trees you want to save, rock outcroppings, areas of heavy drainage, as well as any good views). If you have used survey equipment to find a potential site for your house, locate and mark it with flags or marking tape.

You should have a property survey that shows what you have purchased somewhere in your real estate papers. It will show boundaries and corners, as well as any important legal information (such as the location of streams, rivers, ponds, floodplains, utility easements, and roads). It may also show the location of wells as well as any existing or proposed septic systems. If you don’t have it, your county or township records department will have it on file. But be careful how you interpret old records. If the land has been in your family for years, the old survey data may not have the correct information. If that’s the case, you should get a boundary survey before you proceed further.

If you have already started to plan your home, you may have a preliminary site plan that can help you to record and evaluate site information. Instead of working with the original documents, make a copy of it so you can make notes directly onto the plan. If you have a house plan in mind, draw its outline on a sheet of paper to the same scale as the property survey or site plan. Then, cut it out with a pair of scissors. Indicate the front of the plan on your cutout. Lay it out on the survey or site plan, and slide it around to test out various house orientations. Pay attention to any directions, so your house works well with views and terrain. Make a note of where south is, so you can maximize your use of the sun. And when you find a good position, tape the cutout to your site plan.

Here are some things you should take into consideration while you analyzing your site.

The sun can your friend or your enemy, depending on how you use it. Sunlight streaming through a bank of windows can brighten your interior, and it can give you free heat. In warmer climates, however, too much direct sunlight can make your home hotter and will require the need for more air conditioning or curtains. Shade from surrounding trees, slopes and rock outcroppings, as well as any generous roof overhangs can keep indoor room temperatures to a more manageable level.

Nothing sounds as soothing as gently flowing water, as long as it doesn’t go through your basement or any other room. Use a utility locator to study drainage patterns around the site in which you plan to build your home, and look for any noticeable signs (such as ribbon-like mounds of leaves and debris, gullies, or bare places that have been affected by runoff from heavy rains). You don’t want to position your home in the path of springtime gulley-washers. And if the property has any features (such as lakes, ponds, rivers, or streams), look for any signs of flooding (such as clumps of dead grass or leaves that have been snared in plants located above ground).

A gentle breeze going through an open window can keep your interior cool. It can also reduce or even eliminate the need for air conditioning. If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow in the country, a strategically placed deck will allow the wind to be swept free of snow without needing to shovel. But strong winds can make an unprotected deck unpleasant and even unusable. Trees, hillsides, and outcrops can give you protection from wind, but the conditions can vary. So, you may want to ask neighbors for any additional information. That way, you can get a more thorough assessment of what it’s really like.

Many people plan their site around a specific view (whether it’s a lake or mountain meadow). If you’re fortunate to have several options in your area, make sure you study them carefully. And try to imagine what they would look like in all four seasons. A great summer view might not look as good in the winter, or vice versa. If you have enough time, plan several site visits at different times of the year. Views and window walls often go together, but be careful about large expanses of glass that are aimed north or west (especially if you’re in a cold and cloudy climate). If you want to take advantage of passive solar energy, have most of your windows on the side of your home that comes closest to the south because your home will benefit from the sun.

Your site’s surrounding terrain isn’t just about looks. It can affect the cost of construction, your energy use, as well as the amount of maintenance required. It can even affect certain aspects related to convenience. Any piece of land that you can comfortably walk on with little or no exposed ground rock is an indication of favorable building potential. Steep slopes and exposed rock can cause building challenges and will increase construction costs. It will be harder to build access roads and to dig out basements. It may even be necessary to include retaining walls. In some situations, you may need to use construction tools to build a sub-basement. And if the ground is rocky, you will most likely have to blast through it to build foundations as well as any water and sewer lines.

The slope requirements for lookouts and walkouts can vary. Exposing at least the top four feet of the foundation wall will create room for operable windows, and walkouts will need the entire floor-to-ceiling distance to be exposed (at least in the door area). If you have a floor plan in mind, you can use survey equipment to figure out the amount of exposed foundation by marking the basement wall or corner that will be buried the deepest. And you can use a string level to measure the horizontal distance to the wall that will be the most exposed. Then, measure the ground to the horizontal line to see how much of the wall will be exposed. Ideally, it should fall somewhere between four and eight feet.

Even if the area has good soil quality, it wouldn’t do much good if you don’t have access to other utilities. If there aren’t any fixed roads, electricity lines, and clean water, it won’t be a good site for building construction. Not only do you want to make sure the property is usable, but you also need to make sure you can get in and out whenever you need to.

Here are some things you should look for in this step.

Whether you’re planning to build a home in the country, the suburbs, or the city, you want to do a thorough investigation of the location. Drive through the area and walk the neighborhood at different times. Find out about any current or prospective locations for airports, train tracks, and heavily travelled highways. You also want to find out about the location of any sewage treatment plants and landfills.

Evaluate the area for growth potential. While a fast-growing area may give you quicker appreciation on your home’s value and more choices in terms of subdivisions and sites, they tend to suffer from proverbial growing pains. Infrastructure, schools, and public services can fail to meet the demand of the growing population.

Both contractors and inspectors need to use a utility locator to find any facilities located around the building site. If it’s a commercial property, you need to make sure it’s popular with the public (especially if it’s a hotel, restaurant, or mall). By using survey equipment to do a facilities check, both you and the builder can determine if the investment will be profitable. In some cases when the project is the main attraction, you should look for any public utilities and infrastructures that would be beneficial. Like any other construction project, it’s important to double-check everything before you break ground.

You want to make sure how the surrounding land will be used in the future. If there is a great deal of undeveloped land around your building site, you need to know what is planned for it. Contact the local government planning and zoning departments for information about any of the following:

• Land use designations.
• Permit requests and approvals.
• Schedules of upcoming meetings related to land developments in the area.

Here are some important considerations during this step.

Before you can decide on an ideal lot, you need to know what you plan to use the land for. Make a decision about any features you want and make them a priority. This will make it easier to make a final decision as you go down your list.

If you’re a subdivision developer, you need to know what’s being planned in the area surrounding their building site because you can’t control what happens on adjacent land. This can be a concern if you’re thinking about building a lot on the outer edges of the subdivision, because a great pastoral view can be the site for a future strip mall.

You should always start with knowing the purpose of what you plan to build. Is it for commercial or private use? Will it be open to the public? Both you and the contractor should have an agreement that lists the requirements and restrictions of the project. You also want to make sure the safety and usefulness of the infrastructure is sound. It’s better to address any problems before you start construction than to deal with them in the middle of the building process.

How far away do you plan to move? Do you want to be close to friends and family? How far do you want to live from your workplace? Do you have a county, zip code, town, or city in which you want to start your search? Do you want to move closer or farther from the city? You might be willing to pay more and wait longer for a lot that’s located closer to downtown than one in an outlying suburb or rural area.

Before you decide on a building site, you need to think about any local laws or ordinances. There are places where building construction can’t go past seven or eight in the evening. This restriction can stop some parts of the project, especially when it comes to solidifying concrete during the evening hours. With that in mind, both you and the contractor need to know about any arrangements made by the local government. You also have to secure permits, endorsements, and approval letters. In fact, the legal aspects of the building site should be part of your overall plan.

You may want to look at your commute time to work as well as your access to the following:

• Public transportation
• Schools
• Shopping
• Recreational facilities
• Hospitals
• Churches
• Open spaces

Walkability might also be an important consideration. Would you rather be five minutes away from what you need, or is a half-hour acceptable?

Without knowing about the status and qualities of a potential site, you may run into problems later on. Here are some things you should take into a consideration during this step.

This document will have a site inspection checklist that answers several questions about the location and its background. It collects information about the people in the neighborhood and their opinions about the proposed project. This type of pre-construction survey is important, because it provides estimates and assessments about the area. It can also help you to determine whether the location is suitable and if it will be a profitable investment.

There are several kinds of survey equipment and tools that can help you find the perfect site your new home. Before you go out, you should make sure you have a 100-foot tape measure and a compass. Some cheap marking flags and a spool of orange marking tape from a building supply store will allow you to mark any potential roadways and building sites. They can also help you mark trees and other features that you want to save. A pair of binoculars and a camera can also be helpful. And if you have someone to hold it for you, bring a stepladder. If your building site is on sloping ground, you will need a string level and a spool of string to hang it from.