Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
We camped on our present house site in the fall of
1978 during a 6,000-mile odyssey in our Land Rover.
A mountain rise to the north, and we noticed the wind
went over our heads while the sun bathed the south-
west slope. We pitched our tent where our living room
is now, and spent some time getting to know the place.
It has not disappointed us.
Building Sites
Look for good building sites, or maybe a restorable
building on that good site. A good site will have some
of these features:
• exposure to the sun along the house's long
dimension
• accessibility sufficient for a short or minimal
maintenance driveway
• site not too steep, so hillside will not have to be
carved out and soil held with retaining walls
• soil among rocks
• view, if possible
• shelter from prevailing winter winds
• water available, even if deep drilling is necessary
• soil that will allow septic percolation
A family I know is moving from an enchanting six
acres and fine hand-built house after six years of fight-
ing their north slope, with its lingering snow, steep
road, and icy blasts all winter. I like a south-facing,
sheltered site, maybe just down from the brow of a hill.
I used to snort at the building guides that said build
on flat ground. No way was I about to locate on a level
just to save a few dollars on foundation costs. But
washed-out driveways in constant need of repair and
maintenance go along with a slope. This also means
general erosion, the necessity of climbing to or from
the house to your car, and some other ongoing prob-
lems (a high foundation can mean freezing pipes
under there).
So maybe you don't want a flat site, but one that's
within reason. Rainwater used to cascade down the
steep hill onto our Missouri house and surf up against
the logs, to come in, along with mud and sand —
despite our caulking. To stop this, we filled, stone
walled, and rerouted the drive up above, which was an
ongoing chore of some two to three years.
We held this Missouri hillside in place with the stone retaining wall
and steps. Erosion is always an issue on a steep site.
A well-built retaining wall should slope into the hill it's supporting.
