Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tired, this is not difficult so quit making it so. Site and house orientation is covered in first year construction classes. I teach them at the local college for Continuing Ed at night. If you have a local college or Junior College that has a program about construction, I strongly suggest you take it before building anything. You'll learn a lot about design as well as what is good construction. To simplify your request, you can set the batter boards on the house, it's fairly easy and straight forward. Find out from what direction the bad weather comes from. You want to put the garage to the bad weather side- cuts down on the heating bill. For our area that would be the garage on the Northwest side. You want the bedrooms on the spring weather side to catch any cool night breezes. Obviously you would ideally want the house located on the level part of the land but you also have to consider utilities. The farther away from utilities the more it cost to get them run in. Most often trees can make a difference as to where the house sits. You don't want a money tree within 25 feet of the foundation or expect issues with roots later on. On the ideal lot, the house would sit with the garage to the bad weather with the house sitting on the levelest part with trees to the west-side of the site to limit the suns heat. It doesn't always work though as few lots are perfect or even have a perfect location. When you think you've located the area, use a tape measure, a 100ft, and start a general layout. You can use rocks for markers. Orange spray paint is great for spraying the rocks so you can see them. Once you know that it will fit- yer done. I would say rent a transit so you have an idea of how the height of the floor will need to be but unless you know how to use one, it won't have much value to you. You might go by a rental place and have them show you a laser level and range pole. It's a no brainer to use and once you use it, you can get an idea of how high the floor level needs to be, assuming a basement. We don't use a basement here so if no basement, substitute slab for floor in the above. Setting a house is not that difficult but it does require some homework.
Tired, this is not difficult so quit making it so. Site and house orientation is covered in first year construction classes. I teach them at the local college for Continuing Ed at night. If you have a local college or Junior College that has a program about construction, I strongly suggest you take it before building anything. You'll learn a lot about design as well as what is good construction. To simplify your request, you can set the batter boards on the house, it's fairly easy and straight forward. Find out from what direction the bad weather comes from. You want to put the garage to the bad weather side- cuts down on the heating bill. For our area that would be the garage on the Northwest side. You want the bedrooms on the spring weather side to catch any cool night breezes. Obviously you would ideally want the house located on the level part of the land but you also have to consider utilities. The farther away from utilities the more it cost to get them run in. Most often trees can make a difference as to where the house sits. You don't want a money tree within 25 feet of the foundation or expect issues with roots later on. On the ideal lot, the house would sit with the garage to the bad weather with the house sitting on the levelest part with trees to the west-side of the site to limit the suns heat. It doesn't always work though as few lots are perfect or even have a perfect location. When you think you've located the area, use a tape measure, a 100ft, and start a general layout. You can use rocks for markers. Orange spray paint is great for spraying the rocks so you can see them. Once you know that it will fit- yer done. I would say rent a transit so you have an idea of how the height of the floor will need to be but unless you know how to use one, it won't have much value to you. You might go by a rental place and have them show you a laser level and range pole. It's a no brainer to use and once you use it, you can get an idea of how high the floor level needs to be, assuming a basement. We don't use a basement here so if no basement, substitute slab for floor in the above. Setting a house is not that difficult but it does require some homework.
TrapperL's suggestions, to spend some time learning the basics of home building, would almost certianly help the OP. Taking into consideration prevailing weather and the wisest use of existing trees would not be a bad first step in deciding how to orient a home.
That said anyone so opposed to hiring a truly qualified professional probably would not pay attention to a skilled teacher either. Further, the bizarre analogies that some posters attempt, comparing architects to cows, makes me wonder if the rest of their advice is similarly pigheaded...
TrapperL's suggestions, to spend some time learning the basics of home building, would almost certianly help the OP. Taking into consideration prevailing weather and the wisest use of existing trees would not be a bad first step in deciding how to orient a home.
That said anyone so opposed to hiring a truly qualified professional probably would not pay attention to a skilled teacher either. Further, the bizarre analogies that some posters attempt, comparing architects to cows, makes me wonder if the rest of their advice is similarly pigheaded...
Nope, I didn't compare architects to cows. I said I would sooner take the advice of a cow in siting farm structures than advice from an architect alone.* I also offered to buy you a drink, but I guess that isn't needed... I do thank you for the "bizarre analogy" notice though. I do try to make some of them colorful to lighten things up a little bit.
*Cows have their own requirements. Ask any rancher, farmer, or someone who designs abattoirs. Most architects are not "professionally trained" in cow etiquette. At least I never saw that course listed when I was at college investigating whether or not I wanted to be an architect.
Can you hire a person to review a parcel of land to determine what options are available for building sites, and to recommend where you would best site a house on a parcel?
What do you call this kind of professional?
How much do they charge for their services?
Yes, it's an architect- top of the list.
Your next best possibility would be a land planner- but a single home is not really their forte'.
Now, lets backup a bit. If you really want someone to tell you where to put a house within reason- get a septic guy to come do perk tests. You always want the house to be somewhat close to the best perking soil (so that can limit your possible site selection- that is if you have to have a septic system).
Next thing down the list is utilities- how far away, and how much cost.
Once you got those two out of the way- architect.
Yes, there is actually a course "Site Selection/Site Analysis". But, as I stated previously it has more to do with "land planning"- like a master planned community. There is even software programs that will compute roads, and lots based on input numbers, lot sizes, and topo.
Yeah Chet, I need to buy you a drink or something to mellow out a bit. Let's get right down to it, there is no "perfect" siting on any property, only siting that best suit the needs of the user. Even "Falling Water" has siting issues.
This. Definitely. Architects know little about property development. An engineer will know about thinks like drainage, grading, site access, utilities, house orientation, sanitary sewage disposal and water, all things that you need to look at when buying a property. An architect just designs the house itself. Find a good LOCAL surveyor/engineer. You can likely get names from your local building or engineering department. Jay
Hell a good GC worth his salt can find the best building site. Nothing like experience to be the guide...
Based on experience, he will be able to address the majority of the issues raised in this entire post....exposure (Southern, western, for ex.), views (well, duh), topography (again, duh), perk (test holes usually), Feng Shui, driveway (again duh), and privacy (trees, neighbors, etc.). It is not all that complicated.....common sense...you would not put the house down in a valley with no views, water cascading into the site, etc. unless these things were somehow important to you.
Once you have your plans sorted out--relative to the site and your architect can help....the GC can also help to fill in the holes based on his "on the ground" (excuse the pun) experience.
It is an evolutionary process. Not revolutionary. Visit the site at different times of the year to see where the sun/wind/snow comes from....and different times of the day to see how the light/traffic/neighbors behave. Stake it out. Bring a chair and sit a spell. See how it feels.
The cost factor alone would probably put it out of reach -- even most tightly run zoning department is not going to expect the same kind of traffic analysis and land impact studies from a single home builder that they require of a developer throwing together thirty+ low income town homes...
The suggestion that any such firm would really address the OP's primary aesthetic / value-preserving question is not realistic, land use planning is concerned with mass development. Truth be told, the whole idea of some guy building a "one off" house from mail order plans is almost certainly contrary to all the disciplines of planning, zoning, engineering, -- the success of all really is dependent of a comprehensive "system approach" that is counter to some guy "doing it all on my own"...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is at least some logic in this...
I do thank you for the "bizarre analogy" notice though. I do try to make some of them colorful to lighten things up a little bit.
