Hello House Building Forum Members!
I am planning to buy a building plot, but it needs to be filled and leveled to street level. At the moment, I am wondering if the costs for filling might be so high that I decide not to sign the purchase contract. With a price of 44€/m2 (about 4 USD/sq ft) for the plot, the price is quite attractive. The house (a bungalow with a footprint of 15 x 16 m (49 x 52 ft) without a basement), the area in front of the house measuring 5 x 15 m (16 x 49 ft) up to the street boundary, as well as the driveway (6 m wide, 25 m long (20 ft by 82 ft)) and the garage (6 x 10 m (20 x 33 ft)) need to be filled so that a height difference of about 1 m (3 ft) on average is leveled out. We are currently estimating around 600–700 m3 (about 785–915 yd3) of material. In my opinion, the garden can have a slight slope and will only have a 30 cm (12 inch) topsoil layer. What type of material would you recommend? Is it necessary to use Z0 soil across the entire site, or are there cheaper alternatives that provide acceptable quality? I plan to have the earthworks for the house done by the house builder to avoid future disputes with the contractor along the lines of "these cracks are caused by poor fill under the house, so we are not responsible." Does anyone know how much additional volume I should consider for compaction? Without expert knowledge, I have simply added 100 m3 (130 yd3) for this.
Looking forward to your feedback! Attached is a photo of the current state on the right side of the plot. The neighbor has already had their land fully filled. The driveway will run right along the property boundary on the right, and the house will be set back 5 m (16 ft) from the street.
PS: The city has just developed this and another nearby building area, so the location is very good. However, it is uncertain when the next development will take place; this might be worth considering regarding the additional costs. I am still waiting for quotes from companies, inquiries have already been sent out. I will report back.
Best regards
PeterS90
I am planning to buy a building plot, but it needs to be filled and leveled to street level. At the moment, I am wondering if the costs for filling might be so high that I decide not to sign the purchase contract. With a price of 44€/m2 (about 4 USD/sq ft) for the plot, the price is quite attractive. The house (a bungalow with a footprint of 15 x 16 m (49 x 52 ft) without a basement), the area in front of the house measuring 5 x 15 m (16 x 49 ft) up to the street boundary, as well as the driveway (6 m wide, 25 m long (20 ft by 82 ft)) and the garage (6 x 10 m (20 x 33 ft)) need to be filled so that a height difference of about 1 m (3 ft) on average is leveled out. We are currently estimating around 600–700 m3 (about 785–915 yd3) of material. In my opinion, the garden can have a slight slope and will only have a 30 cm (12 inch) topsoil layer. What type of material would you recommend? Is it necessary to use Z0 soil across the entire site, or are there cheaper alternatives that provide acceptable quality? I plan to have the earthworks for the house done by the house builder to avoid future disputes with the contractor along the lines of "these cracks are caused by poor fill under the house, so we are not responsible." Does anyone know how much additional volume I should consider for compaction? Without expert knowledge, I have simply added 100 m3 (130 yd3) for this.
Looking forward to your feedback! Attached is a photo of the current state on the right side of the plot. The neighbor has already had their land fully filled. The driveway will run right along the property boundary on the right, and the house will be set back 5 m (16 ft) from the street.
PS: The city has just developed this and another nearby building area, so the location is very good. However, it is uncertain when the next development will take place; this might be worth considering regarding the additional costs. I am still waiting for quotes from companies, inquiries have already been sent out. I will report back.
Best regards
PeterS90
Take a look at this thread https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/Reihenendhaus-mit-gue-in-Eigenregie-bauen.31198/ and consider the possibility that your immediate neighbors may have a different approach to land filling than you. In general, be aware that land filling is not just a matter of cost; the development plan might also set height restrictions (eaves height, ridge height, and of course the amount of terrain alteration itself) in such a way that the height after filling would be less favorable than keeping the current situation (as far as that is possible—you probably don’t want to need a 4x4 vehicle just to get from the street to your property).
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Thank you for your quick response, 11ant. I just quickly read through the first half of the thread you recommended—what an intense situation.
Our development plan has few restrictions, so we shouldn’t have any issues regarding the height of the plot or the house.
Keeping the current height is not an option for us, as we won’t be building a basement (too close to the river).
Filling up to match the neighbor’s height would probably look best visually.
Our development plan has few restrictions, so we shouldn’t have any issues regarding the height of the plot or the house.
Keeping the current height is not an option for us, as we won’t be building a basement (too close to the river).
Filling up to match the neighbor’s height would probably look best visually.
PeterS90 schrieb:
In our case, the development plan has few restrictions, meaning we don’t expect any issues regarding the height of the plot or the house.Is that a confirmed positive finding, or do you simply not know of any negative issues? This does not necessarily have to be stated in the development plan but might be covered in the regional building regulations, specifying from which extent an alteration of the terrain already counts as a (permit-required) construction. Eaves height and ridge height are usually regulated in the development plan, with very different reference levels. In my opinion, the most favorable reference is an absolute height value above sea level; this is easiest to understand and plan for. However, for example, the street height in front of the middle of the plot could also serve as a reference level. Another absolute reference can be advantageous but is often more difficult to interpret if the heights are related to each other—for instance, the eaves height relative to the ground floor level, which in turn is set within a certain range above or below the street height.https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
H
hausbauer9 Dec 2019 18:54At least the setback distances continue to be measured according to the natural ground level. Unless the development plan requires embankment, which does not appear to be the case here.
So, I thoroughly read through the state building code and construction regulations, and there are no issues concerning distances or similar requirements. The entire building area is level with the street; only 3-4 plots at the edge are lower and were not filled in by the city. The city itself suggested that we fill them in, but they seem to want to save costs themselves.
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