Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
to maneuver a small trailer, or to get a pickup truck in
(a real one, not a toy)?
Is there good, porous soil for sewage drainage and
filtration? The lime-rock ledges of the Ozarks and
parts of Tennessee and Kentucky and part of the
Shenandoah Valley are terrible for effluent filtration.
So you'd have to make plans and budget for a more
efficient sewage system.
Does the land slope too much? I've built five-foot
stone walls on the downhill side to perch a 16-foot-
square cabin on, but I didn't like it. We built seven feet
up on the west slope of Greene Mountain in Albe-
marle County, but I wouldn't want to go any higher.
You wouldn't either.
The best way to handle a steep house site is to build
a higher downhill foundation, instead of cutting down
into the uphill side. You get mud, clay, and erosion by
digging and leveling. We did both because we had a
flagstone floor and had to level. It was a cut-and-fill
operation, done by hand, but it took years to heal the
scars. You can build a retaining wall of stone uphill to
hold that dirt in place.
How about shade in summer and exposure to the
wind in winter? A ridgetop will give you power for a
windmill on your well and maybe a nice view, but it
will frost you out, too, in winter. Being too close to a
creek or wash can leave you soaked, or leave you with
your foundation washed away. Watch for loose rock up
steep mountainsides, too.
And access is also important. We finally gave up try-
ing to drive the last few yards to our Missouri log
house and built a stone retaining wall up the slope. We
filled in a turnaround area above, with steps down. It
wasn't too far to walk with groceries or babes in arms,
and those last vertical feet had been hard on clutches
and tires. Besides, we'd rather have the mossy rocks
and plants than a vehicle and muddy ruts all around
the door.
Try not to destroy the landscape with the road to your site. Above all,
the road should look as if it belongs where it is. Visualize the approach
to your house; you will make that approach many times. This driveway
required only minor brush clearing.
land. These are your plans. With care, a dozer can be
made to work for you. If you must level, do so spar-
ingly, remembering that torn soil washes away badly.
Use silt fences to help keep runoff in place.
My most frustrating experience was near Ponca,
Arkansas, when I'd located a delightful site to nestle a
cabin for friends in a grove of five beeches up a slope
from the Buffalo River (before it was made into a
national park). The dozer operator was good, follow-
ing my route up a natural bench, hiding the road
neatly all the first day of work. But I was held up the
next morning. When I arrived, I discovered he'd gone
on up to level the site first, before finishing the road.
Site Preparation
Whatever you do, don't turn loose a bulldozer opera-
tor to build you a road and level your site without your
supervision. Be there every minute, and yell loud. I've
operated dozers, and can't explain the power thing,
but it's there, and it's hell on trees and earth. It's your
