Hello and thank you for reading my post!
We are now at the beginning of our planning process. The house design is already somewhat advanced, and we are currently gathering quotes for earthworks and landscaping.
About our plot: It is more than 2000 sqm (21,500 sq ft) in size and is located on a slope. The slope itself has an elevation difference of about 19 meters (62 feet) from the road to the forest path above the property. In the middle of the plot, there are already some terraces and a small existing building. This building is currently only accessible via a footpath and a few stairs.
The house will be positioned roughly in the center of the slope, at about 9 to 9.5 meters (30 to 31 feet) above street level.
During the house planning, our architect also included a driveway to the new building. However, at its steepest section, the driveway would have a 25% gradient.
Driving a car up it seems possible, but walking up might be difficult, right?
We also wonder about the driveway surface. Gravel with grid reinforcement might be challenging on a 25% slope, and even paving would likely need to be fully mortar-set. Snow and ice could cause additional issues.
The driveway is currently planned as follows:
Section – Gradient – Elevation (above sea level)
So the driveway is currently 49 meters (161 feet) long with an average linear gradient of 19.4%.
The current plan (simplified) is attached. It shows two versions, but neither changes the slope significantly.
I have been trying for days to figure out how to route the driveway differently to reduce the steepness. If the start of the driveway is placed lower on the plot, more soil would have to be excavated, and the garden area would become smaller.
If the driveway is positioned higher up, closer to the road (no longer parallel to it), it would become longer, but significant fill and retaining measures would be needed there.
Maybe it would be enough to make the curves tighter and allow the driveway to rise more quickly? Or would that again cause problems for vehicle access?
The garage/carport could also be positioned somewhat lower, but it must be inside the building area (indicated by the dotted line). That would make access to the construction site or later deliveries to the house more difficult. In the future, climbing stairs will also be challenging for us as we get older if the driveway has more steps.
Does anyone have any good ideas or suggestions on what we could do?
We are now at the beginning of our planning process. The house design is already somewhat advanced, and we are currently gathering quotes for earthworks and landscaping.
About our plot: It is more than 2000 sqm (21,500 sq ft) in size and is located on a slope. The slope itself has an elevation difference of about 19 meters (62 feet) from the road to the forest path above the property. In the middle of the plot, there are already some terraces and a small existing building. This building is currently only accessible via a footpath and a few stairs.
The house will be positioned roughly in the center of the slope, at about 9 to 9.5 meters (30 to 31 feet) above street level.
During the house planning, our architect also included a driveway to the new building. However, at its steepest section, the driveway would have a 25% gradient.
Driving a car up it seems possible, but walking up might be difficult, right?
We also wonder about the driveway surface. Gravel with grid reinforcement might be challenging on a 25% slope, and even paving would likely need to be fully mortar-set. Snow and ice could cause additional issues.
The driveway is currently planned as follows:
Section – Gradient – Elevation (above sea level)
- 0 m – 0% – 295 m (967 ft)
- 5 m – 10% – 295.5 m (969 ft)
- 10 m – 20% – 297.5 m (976 ft)
- 10 m – 25% – 300 m (984 ft)
- 10 m – 25% – 302.5 m (993 ft)
- 5 m – 20% – 303.5 m (996 ft)
- 3 m – 10% – 303.8 m (997 ft)
- 6 m – 10% – 304.4 m (999 ft)
So the driveway is currently 49 meters (161 feet) long with an average linear gradient of 19.4%.
The current plan (simplified) is attached. It shows two versions, but neither changes the slope significantly.
I have been trying for days to figure out how to route the driveway differently to reduce the steepness. If the start of the driveway is placed lower on the plot, more soil would have to be excavated, and the garden area would become smaller.
If the driveway is positioned higher up, closer to the road (no longer parallel to it), it would become longer, but significant fill and retaining measures would be needed there.
Maybe it would be enough to make the curves tighter and allow the driveway to rise more quickly? Or would that again cause problems for vehicle access?
The garage/carport could also be positioned somewhat lower, but it must be inside the building area (indicated by the dotted line). That would make access to the construction site or later deliveries to the house more difficult. In the future, climbing stairs will also be challenging for us as we get older if the driveway has more steps.
Does anyone have any good ideas or suggestions on what we could do?
S
sichtbeton8216 Oct 2020 13:59Attached is an image for clarification. Gray represents the access path and parking space. Blue shows the basement in an L-shape. Red outlines the ground floor and first floor.
Thank you very much for the responses!
The house sounds interesting, but it probably wasn’t exactly inexpensive.
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to add another story below the house; otherwise, that would definitely be an option. But maybe we can do a staggered design, like in Escroda’s suggestion. There wouldn’t be any objections to that.
We will show the plans to the landscape gardener and architect to get their opinions! I will keep you updated.
sichtbeton82 schrieb:
Attached is a picture for clarification. Gray represents the access path and parking space. Blue is the basement in an L-shape. Red outlines the ground floor and upper floor.
The house sounds interesting, but it probably wasn’t exactly inexpensive.
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to add another story below the house; otherwise, that would definitely be an option. But maybe we can do a staggered design, like in Escroda’s suggestion. There wouldn’t be any objections to that.
We will show the plans to the landscape gardener and architect to get their opinions! I will keep you updated.