Hello everyone, this is my first topic here:
We are planning to start building our house this year with a general contractor. The position of the building on the plot is fixed, and we are currently waiting for the building permit / planning permission.
Our plot is approximately 20m by 41m (66 feet by 135 feet) in size, located in a gap between buildings. The shorter side faces the street. The land slopes downward by 3m (10 feet) over the 41m (135 feet) length towards the back, with the steepest slope in the middle of the plot. The neighbors on the left and right have filled their land, which can be seen clearly by the height of the neighbor’s wall on the left side of the photo. The neighbor to the left has built a basement into the slope, the neighbor to the right has not.
According to the soil report, about 50cm (20 inches) of topsoil needs to be removed. Beneath that, the soil is stable. Frost protection material will be used to fill up to the average street level, so that the finished floor level will be about 20cm (8 inches) above the street. Due to the slope in the middle part, the backfill behind the house will be approximately 1.8m (6 feet) above the current ground level. According to the soil report, the fill should be either sloped back at a 45° angle or retained with a retaining wall.
In the rear area of the plot, we want to create vegetable beds and a wildflower meadow. We already established and harvested a small potato patch last year to pass the waiting time.
What do you think would be the most sensible and cost-effective solution in this situation?
I am looking forward to your suggestions and ideas!
We are planning to start building our house this year with a general contractor. The position of the building on the plot is fixed, and we are currently waiting for the building permit / planning permission.
Our plot is approximately 20m by 41m (66 feet by 135 feet) in size, located in a gap between buildings. The shorter side faces the street. The land slopes downward by 3m (10 feet) over the 41m (135 feet) length towards the back, with the steepest slope in the middle of the plot. The neighbors on the left and right have filled their land, which can be seen clearly by the height of the neighbor’s wall on the left side of the photo. The neighbor to the left has built a basement into the slope, the neighbor to the right has not.
According to the soil report, about 50cm (20 inches) of topsoil needs to be removed. Beneath that, the soil is stable. Frost protection material will be used to fill up to the average street level, so that the finished floor level will be about 20cm (8 inches) above the street. Due to the slope in the middle part, the backfill behind the house will be approximately 1.8m (6 feet) above the current ground level. According to the soil report, the fill should be either sloped back at a 45° angle or retained with a retaining wall.
In the rear area of the plot, we want to create vegetable beds and a wildflower meadow. We already established and harvested a small potato patch last year to pass the waiting time.
What do you think would be the most sensible and cost-effective solution in this situation?
- Slope everything back, add stairs and a natural stone wall later
- Build stairs and a wall directly on the right side, slope back the rest
- If building a wall: formwork blocks would be much cheaper than L-shaped blocks; regarding the earth pressure, a structural engineer would probably need to be consulted.
I am looking forward to your suggestions and ideas!
S
Sunshine3877 Feb 2023 16:21I don’t understand one thing here. Why didn’t they simply build a basement and a ground floor on a steeply sloped plot like this (not as gentle as suggested in the title)? On average, that would have been much cheaper for you than all this filling and leveling. Admittedly, a bungalow with a basement doesn’t look very impressive, but the basement rooms on the slope side could have been used for your technical equipment and utility room, with a terrace facing south, and the bedrooms on the ground floor.
H
hanghaus20237 Feb 2023 16:32Sunshine387 schrieb:
I don’t understand one thing here. Why didn’t you simply build a basement and a ground floor on such a steeply sloped plot (not gentle as suggested in the title)? That would generally be much cheaper on average than all the current fill work. Admittedly, a bungalow with a basement may not look very impressive, but the basement rooms on the slope side could have housed your technical and utility spaces, with a terrace on the south side, and the bedrooms on the ground floor. Because 5.5% really is just a gentle slope. This can be managed well with minimal earthworks. See my proposal in post #24.
S
Sunshine3877 Feb 2023 16:50Well. I would have built on the plot. And raised the house, or rather the ground floor with the bedrooms, by 1m (3 feet) and created a nice living area in the basement with a level terrace facing the garden. But everyone has their own approach.
E
Eifelbau20237 Feb 2023 16:55WilderSueden schrieb:
I didn’t mean just a single channel, which can easily overflow or get clogged with debris during heavy rain. I meant a proper cross slope. Our house is also below street level, and neighboring properties are higher. The plan is to really direct water all the way around the house if necessary. There will still be a channel at the front door as a safety measure, but the whole system is designed to work even without that channel.The client just mentioned that the neighbors, whose front door is also slightly below street level, had to use sandbags during heavy rain to divert water coming from the cross street past their house. That exact “flow” would affect us as well.
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
If you construct the driveway to the garage following the terrain slope (5.5%), you could build the house and garage about 75 cm (30 inches) lower. That would simplify the landscaping considerably. Just keep in mind you need to roughly complete the exterior grounds beforehand, because you won’t be able to get a digger around the house afterward.
Why did you black out the elevation levels at the boundaries?
Lowering the carport would still be possible, but I wouldn’t risk lowering the entire house because of the neighbor’s sandbag issue. Due to the street slope, the water flow that the neighbors managed to hold back during the last heavy rain would pass by our place next time; then I’d prefer to be a few centimeters above street level 😀. But yes, the terrain must be fully shaped before construction begins. I blacked out the elevation levels for clarity; I attached the current levels again.
Sunshine387 schrieb:
Well, I would have built directly on the plot. I would have set the house—specifically the ground floor with the bedrooms—1 meter (3 feet) higher, and created a nice living area in the basement with a level terrace facing the garden. But everyone has their own approach.Same problem— the basement would be too low because of water coming from above. The neighbors have a basement entrance from the garden side, but there are steps down there... and water accumulates at that spot. Otherwise, a bungalow with a basement would have been an option.
I would have built more into the slope as well. The original poster decided against it.
However, since a lot of the work is planned as self-build, with a slightly more skillful layout than the one proposed, it can become really nice and even affordable.
By the way, the plot of land is completely flat compared to our plot.
However, since a lot of the work is planned as self-build, with a slightly more skillful layout than the one proposed, it can become really nice and even affordable.
By the way, the plot of land is completely flat compared to our plot.
H
hanghaus20237 Feb 2023 16:59Sunshine387 schrieb:
And the house, or rather the ground floor with the bedrooms, was raised by 1m (3.3 feet), and I created a nice living area in the basement with a level terrace leading to the garden. But everyone does as they see fit. That doesn’t work with this plot. You only have about 0.825m (2.7 feet) height difference in the house area (15m * 5.5%). However, your idea requires 3m (9.8 feet).
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