Site Work | House Building Update No. 3

Though not as glamorous as other portions of the project, site work is an important step in new home construction. Since we now have the okay to build, I plan to write an update every couple of weeks to document this process. I hope that you will follow along from wherever you are reading!

Update number three is all about the site work that has gone into preparing our land for a new home.

preparing the building site

DEALING WITH THE TREES

As I mentioned previously, We had begun the site preparation ourselves by cutting down quite a few of the huge oak trees on our property. Craig’s parents were willing to help us with the tree removal in trade for firewood, which they use as a winter heat source.

site filled with trees

We reserved quite a few of the straight log pieces. Asking around, we were able to find someone willing to mill them into lumber. With this lumber we hope to add some special accents to our home, including our dining room table.

The man who is going to do the milling for us collected the logs and brought them to his shop. We are hoping to have the kiln dried lumber from him by the end of the summer.

EROSION CONTROL MEASURES

With all the trees removed from the building area, the excavating crew set to work. First, the crew added some environmental protection measures. Our city has in place ordinances to prevent erosion during the construction process.

One measure is to add large gravel rocks to the portion of the driveway closest to the street. Because large trucks are in and out of a seemingly muddy construction site many times per day, these rocks help to loosen the mud before it is tracked onto the road.

Another way to prevent erosion is by adding a temporary silt fence around the portion of the site where the work will take place. In the event that sediment becomes loose on our building site, this fence will stop it from reaching the nearby pond. This will protect the pond’s water quality.

SCRAPING THE SITE

Approximately six inches of topsoil was scraped and pushed aside on the site, for future use. Because this topsoil contains quite a bit of organic material, it is not stable to build on top of. Small plants or brush might grow into the concrete foundation if the topsoil is not removed. In addition, topsoil holds in moisture. If pressed onto a concrete foundation, it may hinder it from curing properly.

This soil is, however, a wonderful material that will be spread back into place once the house is finished. It will be the perfect base in which to plant grass seed.

PLANNING THE EXACT HOUSE LOCATION

The excavation crew called me to the site to determine where exactly the house would be positioned. Although we had a basic idea of the location previously, the site looked a lot different with fewer trees. I have to say that, to date, this has been the most stressful part of the building process for me. It just seemed like the first real permanent decision. And that decision can’t be changed further on in the process if we are unhappy.

Our site is not a standard city lot where all houses are facing in the same direction toward the street. Because of this, we had quite a bit more flexibility on how to orient the house. Factors such as natural daylight, slope, views, and sight-lines all came into play and eventually we settled on what we think will be a good location.

Tape measures were run, laser levels were activated, and the crew was able to stake out the corners of the house and garage. I think it is pretty amazing how these modern day tools speed up the process.

DIGGING THE HOLE

Finally, the entire site was prepared and the crew could begin digging the hole for the basement. Above all, this is the portion of site work that I was most looking forward to. Seeing the large machinery in action was truly incredible.

We found that our site has quite sandy soil, with a bit of gravel content. This is actually favorable for house building. It basically ensures that, as long as the ground is graded properly, we will never have water issues in our basement. Compacted sand also provides a great base to build upon.

A portion of the soil was taken off site. The rest was left, to fill in around the footings and foundation.

SITE WORK COMPLETE

After hours of digging, and packing down the soil, the site started to take shape. And oh was it ever exciting!

This picture shows the outline of the house, marked in orange. It will be easier to see once the footings and foundation are set up. We are really excited for that next step! I have heard that once the foundation is complete, the rest of the building process seems to go very quickly!