Starting To Build Your New Home

After receiving the final grant of house planning permission and submitting the commencement notice to the build control section of the planning authority, you can then begin to build your new home.

The first job to do is to remove all the plant material and topsoil from the sections of your property that you intend to build on.

As well as the actual house build area, you will need to remove topsoil from the parts of your site that will later support paths, driveways and any other buildings such as garages.

Also you will need to clear away a section of your site that will enable you to store building materials and supplies, as well as allow you to park machinery and vehicles.

If the topsoil is of good quality, it can be replaced later. Bad quality topsoil should be removed or incorporated into the landscaping of the garden surrounding the house.

Obviously before commencing site clearance, you should be sure that there are no pipes, cable or ducts crossing it and you should stop the site clearance if you have any suspicions or discover anything man-made in the working area.

After site clearance, you should spread hardcore in the area where building machinery and cars will be parked and this will help reduce problems with mud and boggy ground.

Once the site clearance is complete, the vital job of setting out can start. This grid line system allows the foundations of your new house to be constructed as accurately as possible. It involves a system of grid lines which indicate the principal exterior dimensions of your house. Surveying equipment can be used to make sure that the lines are absolutely perpendicular to each other and when the correct level of accuracy has been achieved, markers are set up at the end of each grid line.

Many mortgage lenders will insist, since it is crucial that the foundations of your new house are correctly constructed, that a qualified engineer inspects and approves the foundations. The depth of the foundations needed to support the weight of the house will depend on the type of ground below the soil level.

If it is solid shale or rock there would be little point in going too deep but on the other hand if the ground is clay or sand you could be required to dig much deeper down. Also, you will need to check the situation regarding radon gas emissions from the rocks beneath your property.

This article is only intended as a basic general summary and you should always seek professional advice where necessary.