Site Work and Layout

  By  August the construction documents were developed and we were ready to begin the site work.  I had visited the site several times during the plan development phase to check the topography and solar orientation. Thick underbrush and woods made this a bit of a challenge, but we were able to get a good general idea of a ridgeline that would provide a good natural elevation above some otherwise low lying areas. An engineer report showed no expansive soils (Yazoo Clay) present. We also had a flood certification survey performed to establish that we are well above the areas base flood elevation. 


  A computer simulated sun study helped to establish the best compass bearing to establish our layout for the house pad. A little further tweaking was needed after enough clearing was done to have a good idea of the front presentation to the public road. 



 Directing the orientation of the building to the site.



   Too often the layout and orientation is given short thrift on a building project.




By flattening the top of the ridge and building the pad forward, we allowed for our future foundation drop ledges to give the front presentation the raised conventional look, and allowed for a nice gradual slope to the garage entry without requiring all the homes entries to need stairs.

Next post, the foundation begins!

 

What did you think of this article?




Trackbacks
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
  • No comments exist for this post.
Leave a comment

Submitted comments are subject to moderation before being displayed.

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.