Solid Construction & Design contractors specialize in smoothly guiding clients through major custom home building to maximize the enjoyment and functionality of the new living space. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore key aspects you should consider when designing and constructing your dream home, outlined by their professional experience.
What Matters When Choosing Sites?
Once you’ve set aside a budget and decided to build your new home, you must carefully think about the site you’ll invest resources, time, and effort in. Generally, there are nine things you need to consider before making this decision.
1. Location
Choose an ideal site location that satisfies both practical needs and lifestyle desires. Assess the property’s proximity to crucial destinations like schools, hospitals, retail centers, airports, and recreation.
Ensure that the transportation infrastructure is also analyzed, including public transit systems, highway access, and road networks that facilitate smooth commutes.
An accessible and well-connected location improves the quality of life through increased convenience and options. For home buyers, this is the perfect investment that maintains resale value as a location that facilitates easy access to daily destinations along varied routes, offers resilience, and retains attractiveness for future owners as well.
2. Topography
The landscape of the site also should be carefully evaluated. Check if the property is flat or slopes uphill or downhill, and assess the degree of incline. A dramatic slope may impact building plans.
Finally, you must determine if the landscape adds value through appealing scenery. Although a sloped site creates construction challenges, this topography creates aesthetic beauty and increases the privacy of your home through naturally elevated vantage points obscured from neighbors’ viewsheds.
3. Environmental Factors
Choosing the ideal location to build a home requires assessing several environmental factors impacting the integrity and livability of the structure. Thoroughly research the site’s soil composition and load-bearing capacities through geological surveys. This will help you avoid choosing sites with unstable soils prone to shifting and cracking.
In addition, evaluate the local climate, terrain, risk of natural disasters, nearby amenities, and community infrastructure. Opt for a location with amenable soil conditions, topography, and community amenities
This fosters sustainable, eco-friendly living practices while setting up the home for functionality, integrity, and enjoyment for years to come. The ideal site meets both practical and lifestyle considerations.
Consulting with experienced local contractors early on provides valuable perspectives on these factors you should consider in-home designs.
4. Cost
One can’t deny the commanding role that budget plays in realizing the dream of a new home. Beyond just the obvious build expenses, calculating total costs across the lifetime of the home prevents unwelcome surprises.
You need to conduct detailed research on recurring payments in a prospective location, such as utility connection fees, local taxes, HOA dues, and public service assessments.
Review also historical sales data for the neighborhood to confirm stable or growing property values to ensure your investment will accumulate equity over time.
Conducting all this planning for incidentals and overages ensures the project concludes within budget and prevents major financial stressors down the road.
5. Zoning Regulations
It’s essential to research local zoning laws and building codes dictating permissible development parameters for residential sites before purchasing a property. These regulations control population density, placement, dimensions, and activities across various designated tracts of land. By doing so, they can maintain community aesthetics and future growth, and ensure harmonious integration of new construction.
Standard zoning requirements include:
- Mandated minimum front/side setbacks
- Floor area ratios
- Lot coverage percentages
- Driveway widths
- Building heights
- Completed foundation timelines
In stricter neighborhoods, they even have restrictive covenants governing paint colors or exterior materials. Although zoning laws can pose challenging constraints for homebuilders, they safeguard neighborhoods from disruptive development.
Conducting due diligence in the planning phase mitigates zoning compliance issues mid-project that can be very costly. It will also lead to faster and smoother build approvals. Going above board on zoning creates harmony between custom homes and the surrounding community.
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6. Utility Availability
The livability of any home depends on the quality and accessibility of critical utilities and infrastructure within the community. When evaluating building locations, your most important considerations should be reliable access to electricity, clean water, waste disposal, telecommunications, natural gas, and other heating sources.
If possible, opt for sites already connected to established utilities rather than requiring new conduits or piping over long distances.
To understand available connection bandwidths and delivery redundancies in the event of outages, make sure to research which providers service the area of your interest.
7. Security and the Nature of the Neighborhood
When choosing a location to build a custom home, your priority should be selecting a safe and family-friendly neighborhood. Understand the livability and value sustainability of the surrounding community by conducting prudent research. Look into local crime rates, school performance, environmental quality, and access to emergency response.
Moreover, you should investigate potential environmental contaminants like nearby heavy industry or waste facilities by researching pollution emission reports. Soil testing also screens for concerns of lead, arsenic, or vapor intrusions, ensuring healthy surroundings and providing peace of mind.
Finally, for resale value, seek areas with stable homeowner occupancy and low commercial encroachment.
8. Type of Soil
The composition and capacity of the soil hold critical importance for structural integrity, serving as the foundational substrate upon which the entire weight of the home will ultimately rest. As such, thorough geotechnical testing and analysis early in the site selection process is crucial.
Certain soils, such as clays or silts, are prone to shifting and settling under loads, creating cracks in concrete and compromising critical anchor points over time. Loose and sandy soils, on the other hand, lack cohesive stability, providing inadequate footing support unless compacted extensively.
Heavy clay concentrations can expand when wet and contract when dry. This can heavily damage the structural elements of the house. Finally, detecting undesirable properties before construction allows builders to create more reinforced foundations using ideal substrate materials that are either available on-site soil or imported as needed.
Conclusion
Selecting the ideal location for your dream home is a major decision that has lasting implications on lifestyle, finances, and peace of mind. By thoroughly researching all practical and aspirational considerations, from soil stability and zoning regulations to neighborhood amenities and topography, families can identify the perfectly fitted site to call home for years
