To prepare land for building a home, first confirm the lot can be built on, then do the ground work in this order: access, clearing, stripping the topsoil, cutting and compacting the house pad, and drainage. The order matters, because each step is built on the one before it.
This guide walks through each step in plain terms. It is written for owners in Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina, where we work, but the order is the same almost anywhere.
M&S Land Management does the ground work part of this: building site preparation by one crew, from the first tree to a pad the foundation crew can start on.
Before any machine arrives
Start with paper, not dirt. Have the boundaries surveyed and marked, so nothing is cleared that is not yours. Find out where the house can legally sit. Setbacks, easements and any stream or floodplain limits come from the county or town planning office.
If the lot will use a septic system, the county environmental health office has to evaluate the soil and issue a septic permit. In North Carolina that comes before the building permit. The septic area then has to be kept clear of heavy traffic and grading. Check with your county, because this fixes where the house, the drive and the drain field can go.
Step 1: Access
The driveway comes first, not last. Every trade that follows has to reach the site, and the heaviest of them is a loaded concrete truck. A site that truck cannot reach is not a prepared site.
So a based access drive goes in early. It can be topped with finish stone once the heavy trucks are done. See gravel driveways for how a drive is built on a slope.
Step 2: Clearing
Clear only what needs clearing. Where the house, the drive and the utilities go, trees, stumps and root mat all have to come out. That is land clearing. The rest of the lot can often be opened up by forestry mulching or left as it is.
Decide which trees stay before the machine starts, and mark them. A tree you wanted to keep cannot be put back.
Step 3: Strip the topsoil
Topsoil is full of roots and organic matter. It is good for a lawn and bad under a foundation. It is stripped from the building area and stockpiled, so it can be spread again when the house is finished.
Step 4: Cut and compact the house pad
The pad is the level area the house sits on. On sloping ground it is made by cutting into the bank and filling the low side. Cut ground is firm. Fill is only as good as its compaction, so it is placed in layers and each layer is compacted.
The pad is set to the elevation the plans call for. See house pad construction.
Step 5: Handle the water
Water from the ground above has to be turned away before it reaches the pad. Ditch lines, culverts and drains go in before anything is poured. See drainage and erosion control.
Bare ground also has to be kept from washing while the site is open. North Carolina requires an approved erosion control plan once a project disturbs an acre or more, and some counties apply their own rules. Check with the county before clearing starts.
How to prepare land in the mountains and in the Upstate
Around Asheville most lots are on a slope. The cut, the bank and the water coming off the hill are the main work, and a cut bank may need a retaining wall.
In the Upstate, around Greenville and Spartanburg, the ground is flatter red clay. The main issues there are soft ground under loaded trucks and water that sits instead of running off. See site preparation in Spartanburg.
Underground lines
Public utilities are located through 811 before any digging, and there is a notice period, so allow for it. Private lines such as septic, wells and irrigation do not show on a standard locate. They are the owner's to point out.
Who does what
The surveyor, the permits, the septic system and the foundation belong to others. The access, the clearing, the pad and the drainage are the site contractor's part, and they go best when one crew does all four. Most of our site work is coordinated with a builder's schedule. Ask for a free on-site estimate.
Quick Answers
What is the first step in preparing land to build a house?
Confirm the lot can be built on. Have the boundaries surveyed, check setbacks with the planning office and, if the lot needs septic, get the county's septic permit. The ground work then starts with the access drive.
Should the driveway go in before or after the house?
Before. Every trade has to reach the site, including loaded concrete trucks. A based access drive goes in early and can be topped with finish stone when the build is done.
Do I have to clear the whole lot to build?
No. Stumps and root mat have to come out where the house, the drive and the utilities go. The rest of the lot can often be mulched or left as it is.
Can you work with my builder?
Yes. Most of our site work is coordinated with a builder's schedule, and getting the access in early is what saves the builder the most time.
Related
- Building Site Preparation
- House Pad Construction
- Land Clearing
- Site Preparation in Spartanburg, SC
- Guide: what a gravel driveway costs in Western North Carolina
- All service areas
See our building site preparation service or call (828) 540-6856.