Designing Your Perfect House by William J. Hirsch Jr

Author:William J. Hirsch Jr. [William J. Hirsch Jr.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-9798820-0-5
Publisher: dalsimer press
Published: 2017-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Reading a Site Plan

A site plan is a drawing that shows the physical and legal aspects of a given piece of land. It’s up to the architect, landscape architect, and engineer to create a site plan for you, but you, as the client, should make sure you understand it.

The site plan will show many of the things we have previously discussed. There will be property lines that define the perimeter or limits of the site. Again, in most of the United States, your property stops short of the curb. The site plan will show where your property stops and the public right of way begins. The site plan is a graphic representation of the property. Your deed is a written representation of the property.

Setback requirements for the side, front, and rear yards will be shown as well as any easements. The site plan should also show the topography. Topography is the lay or slope of the land. It is shown with “contour lines” that represent the elevation of the land above sea level. Contour lines are often delineated in one-foot, five-foot, or ten-foot increments. If you have a contour line that is labeled as 100’, that means if you were to walk along the property following that line, you would be constantly at an elevation of 100’ above sea level. If you were to walk to another portion of the property that was delineated by the 90’ contour, you would have descended ten feet. One way to get a feel for the slope is simply to look at how close the contour lines are to each other. The closer they are, the steeper the slope.

A site plan may also denote any surface features, tree locations, and existing buildings or other constructions. I always recommend that a proper survey be done by a professional surveyor to be sure you have accurate information about the site to work from. This is critical to avoiding unpleasant surprises later on.

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