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Besides possibly pre-qualification procedures for financing your project, site selection is the first step toward building your new home. It is one of the most important steps and one that you should not take lightly. It requires considerable time and research to make an educated choice that will not create many regrets later. Site selection is one of those steps that can not be changed later and will affect every step of the building process.

Steps to Site Selection

Although site selection is one of the more challenging chores associated with home building, it must be tackled. There are several steps to the site selection process:

• The most obvious and fun aspect is finding a lot that suits your needs.
• Soil testing
• Identifying environmental concerns
• Determining how utilities will be accessed from the site

Finding a Lot that Suits your Needs

You must find an available site that is in a location that you like and in which you will enjoy living for a considerable amount of time. It’s a good idea to talk to your potential neighbors, and ask around to find out if there are any problems to speak of in the vicinity. It must be appealing to your eyes and large enough to meet your needs. Investigate to find out if it has the potential for any future upgrades or amenities that you may desire.

Soil Testing

Soil testing is incredibly important for many reasons. First of all, you must determine its composition and ability to support the structure. You must establish the absorption and drainage rate of the soil. The absorption rate will indicate how well the soil will handle septic and water. One such test is the perc test and it will help determine where a septic field would have to be placed on the property. This is another reason that these steps should be performed before a site if purchased if at all possible.

It is important to identify the water table to determine where foundational footings and basement slabs should be placed. The water table includes the surface separating the upper layer of non-saturated soil and the lower layer of saturated soil. Engineers or site planners must test the mottling or color of the soil in the pit for this purpose. It is also pertinent to determine the soil type as sand and gravel drain much better than clay or silts.

Identifying Environmental Concerns

This is one area that many potential home builders really don’t see as vital, but overlooking it could be disastrous. With all the pollution around today, it pays to take a little time to be sure that your potential site isn’t on or near any kind of contamination site or other environmental hazard. Finding out after purchase can mean either a ton of money to rectify or a complete inability to build on the site.

Determining How Utilities will be accessed from the Site

Because accessing utilities from your site can prove very costly, it is necessary to check into how close the nearest utility connections are. Generally speaking, the further you have to run lines to tie into existing utilities, the more money it will cost you.

Site selection is not as simple as finding a nice looking lot for sale. Take your time and do your research. It is not a good place to find error later as it can be costly and devastating to the project overall.