Low lots

   In pretty much any home building situation, one of the major potential issues will be with water and drainage. This is often not thought of or discussed because it’s really not all that fun to talk about. “Who cares? As long as I don’t have water running in the front door, everything’s fine.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

   Any home you build is going to have the first living area floor (or slab) ideally well above the road elevation. Not a bit below, not even level. You want it up! Now we’re not talking about putting your home on stilts 15 feet in the air. If your lot is low or level, it can be raised by bringing in fill material to raise the elevation of your building area, by adding some height to your foundation or a combination of both.

   A good, very rough, way to visualize this is stand on any street and look at the front doors of the nearby homes up and down the street. Use the bottom of the front door as a reference point to get a feel for if it’s level with or above or below your feet. If it’s level or below your feet, then water has at least a good chance of running toward the house. If it’s noticeably higher than your feet, then water should run away. This is obviously a very simple explanation but the point is to get you to think about it. You’ll want to have an elevation survey and a drainage plan before you buy land. 

   Determining if buying a low lot is worth the hassle will typically come down to a dollar amount. If a comparable lot in that area costs $100,000 (for easy math), let’s say that the low lot costs $90,000. If the cost to fill in that lot to an acceptable level is only $5,000 (for labor and material) then you can gain a savings of $5,000. For a little hassle and time, you may make out pretty well. You’ll want to talk with a builder or site prep contractor to determine the best type of fill material and it’s price per yard to use for your particular area. 

   Two things to keep in mind with a low lot that needs fill are the trees and landscaping. With a lot that requires a large amount of fill, the trees on that lot may need to be removed or may die off sooner than normal. This something to consult an tree specialist or landscape professional on. You may have the option to put in tree wells to hold the fill material back from the truck of the trees. The example in the picture above shows a tree well of maybe 10 or 12 inches deep. Keep in mind that if you’re going to need to bring in 3 or 4 feet of fill then the tree wells could be 3 or 4 feet deep.