Site Data & Building Design

It’s just as important to know all about the site you are building on as it is to know about the design of the building you are going to build. It could mean the difference between making a profit or not, or having those marble bench tops you have always wanted

The best way to learn about your site is by collecting all the relevant site data and getting it analysed properly before you start designing anything.

The data you should get includes:

  1. Planning Report – This will set-out the guidelines of what you can actually do on the site.
  2. Soil Test – this will tell you the type of soil, if there is fill, if there are rocks hiding in the dirt, etc.
  3. Legal Point of Discharge – this will tell you if you can connect stormwater easily or if you have to run a pipe hundreds of meters or even if you need a retention pit on site
  4. Property Information Report – this will tell you if you are in an area subject to flooding, termites, bush fire, snowfall, etc.
  5. Dial Before You Dig – This will give you information on all the services near the site
  6. Feature & level Survey – This gives you a detailed plan of the surrounding site and most importantly the slope of the land

But why is this information important? Well simply because your house design should always work with the site, if you fight against it that’s when it can cost you big $

An example. What if you hit a rock when excavating? Well, most builders won’t include the cost of rock excavation in their contracts so there is a bill you weren’t expecting, and it can be big.

A previous job I was involved within the Northern Suburbs uncovered a massive boulder when excavating. To remove this thing, it cost approx. $50,000 and many many charges of explosives. Not only that but it added about 2 months delay to the project, and time is money. This was brought about because the Owners “had to have” a massive excavated half basement.

Now all this could have been avoided if they took the advice and just avoided excavating. Something as simple as that can be big. Imagine what you could do with $50,000?

Always know your site and design to compliment it, not fight against it.