Element land planning . engineering . architecture . beyond

Shovel Ready…How a Theory Becomes Practice – “Green Building Standard” Series – Part 3.

In the last two weeks we established where to build a sustainable home and how to make sure the siting correlates to that sustainability. This week we move into the next phase: planning for site construction. If you have ever built a house you have undoubtedly learned this next point – but if you have not yet experienced a new home building process or even a major remodel there, is something that you need to know. Builders and their Subcontractors don’t always follow the plans. That may sound like a slight to a Builder – but it isn’t. Well, not completely.

The industry standard for Residential Construction is a bit looser than one might expect. In Residential Design and Building, one finds themselves at the crossroads of certain types of Builders and certain types of Designers. There are the “this is the way I have built a house for the last 15 years – blue prints are for Permit” all the way to “if it isn’t on the plan set, it doesn’t happen.” Likewise, you have designers that do this type of design work on the side to those stereotypical “I must know where every switch and outlet are placed or I will not release my drawings” people. As you can see there is a chance there could be conflict between bow-ties and blue jeans. In the realm of sustainable design, constraints on both must be in place and the aforementioned team must be formed. The Designer/Architect and the Builder must be in communication throughout the entire process for the home so that the end result equals the original vision.

In order for the siting and site conservation and enhancement to be properly executed, a site drawing should be produced. This drawing may be assembled by a Civil Engineer, Landscape Architect, Surveyor, or the Designer/Architect. This drawing will locate the house vertically and horizontally. More importantly, this document will show what we call the “limits of disturbance.” Mentally, I passed those a long time ago but when it comes to site design – these are very important.

The Limits of Disturbance will set the boundaries outside of which no work will take place. This is how tree groves, wetlands, and natural features are preserved and not harmed. In the field these areas need to be noted physically. Typically, silt fence or “snow” fence is used. Silt fence is a black membrane stretched between stakes and snow fence is that attractive safety orange plastic fencing. There is a great alternative that we highly suggest. Filtrexx makes a filter sock that after its use as a barrier and sediment control device, you cut it open and spread out the compost held within. This is a great opportunity to minimize waste and kick start the new vegetation.

Within the Limits, various precautionary measures should take place in order to maintain the intent of a sustainable lot. The topsoil should be stripped and stockpiled for later use. It should be noted that when the topsoil is spread out on the finished site that organic enhancement (compost, ground up drywall, etc) should be added to the soil and worked prior to spreading the soil. With these practices, grasses will take root better, grow stronger and require less water. An area for staging and for transporting materials should be established. Over the six to eight months that it takes to construct a home, the ground can become very compact because of the materials, trucks, and people that are going to cross over it. Setting aside an area such as the future driveway will help eliminate the need to rework these areas. If there are trees to be saved within the Limits, those should be flagged and a small barrier set up around them so that they are not “nicked” by a back hoe. (A note on tree protection: the tree’s roots actually spread away from the trunk a distance equal to the tree’s drip line or canopy edge.) Additionally, we like to dig two shallow pits: one for the painter who cleans out his tools in vegetation that takes 3 years to wear off and one for the concrete guy that cleans out his tools and creates an impenetrable surface where grass is supposed to be.

A sustainable home takes supervision to be properly executed. The above process is something that the Project Designer and Project Superintendent need to discuss prior to the start of construction so that everyone is aware of what the desired outcome is to be. It is a conversation that we wish would happen on every project – big, small, new, remodel, etc. When all stakeholders are a part of the decision making process, the job goes smoother, faster and at the end of the day, everyone is satisfied and is still speaking.