Having the chance to pick your lot for your new home is an incredible opportunity. In addition to building your dream home, you get to build it on your dream lot. Before you can begin pouring concrete and raising walls, though, you have to do a few things to ensure the lot is adequate for building. To help ensure a strong foundation and a beautiful view, here are four steps you need to take to prepare a lot before your home construction.
Remove Trees and Roots
Unless you’re planning an architecturally radical home that is built around the trees on the lot, you will likely need to take some trees down before construction can begin. While it can be heartbreaking to remove trees from the lot you’ve purchased, you can plan carefully to disturb as few specimens as possible. When removing trees, it’s important that you remove the roots, as well, so that they don’t cause damage to your home’s foundation in the future.
Remove Groundwater
The presence of groundwater on a lot can make it dangerous for building. After all, if the groundwater is depleted at any point, your home will lose much of its support, resulting in a potential collapse. Therefore, it’s important to use dewatering pumps to properly remove the groundwater from the site and then reinforce the empty cavities with concrete. When performing this process, be sure to check local building and environmental codes to ensure you do everything correctly.
Level the Land
Even if you want your property to have a slope, there will still need to be portions of the property that are level to allow for proper construction. Therefore, you’ll need to utilize major earthmoving equipment to flatten the area of your property where you plan to place your home’s foundation. Without this flat surface, construction will be much more difficult and expensive and could result in a failing foundation in the future.
Test the Soil
As you’re moving dirt around, it’s a good idea to take a few samples and send them off to have the soil tested. The testing lab will look at the chemical makeup of the soil and its current moisture content to ensure it won’t unexpectedly change in the future in a way that could damage your home. Plus, the lab will check for any potentially harmful substances that could put you and your family at risk.
Properly preparing a new site for home construction is one of the most agonizingly long parts of the construction process. It can seem to take days for any progress to occur, especially if you don’t have experience in soil movement. Remember, though, that this portion of the construction process is crucial to provide you with a home that lasts for generations. Stay patient, then, and know that your new home will be done when the time is right.