Your ad can replace the one shown here from just £8.99 / month. – Click here for more info.
The Essential Guide » Finding & Buying Land / Property » What Are the Potential Problems With Building Plots
This section has not yet received its final editing or checking. It is included here as it may give the reader some useful advice – even in this format.
The text will shortly be checked and edited and will then be presented in its final format
Potential problems with your Building Plot
( including existing services).
Introduction:
Every single site is different. Every site brings with it a new set of problems and complications which have to be taken into account either before you start, or during the time that you are working. Any problems you can find at “the earliest” stages of a project can save you a lot of work, time and money later on.
Earlier in the guide there is a section called “What do we look for when buying land?”. That page deals with some of the matters which you should consider, and it should be read in conjunction with this page.
This page appears her, later in the guide, simply because of the way it is set up to cover the project from “Day 1” of having the idea, through to hanging curtains. It should, however be read in conjunction with the page titled “What do we look for when buying land?”.
This section will concentrate on the “physical” problems you may encounter on any site. Some of them are minor, but some of them are REAL SHOW STOPPERS!
Potential problems:
1) Poor access (“onto site”, “within the site” and “locally”):
When we go out looking at potential plots on which to build a new “Dream Home”, we tend to think look at JUST the plot itself. We don’t (unless previous experience has taught us otherwise) tend to look further afield.
In fact the “off site” factors can be just as important as the “on site” ones.
Local access:
That “countryside” plot, by the river can be very enticing. BUT, how wide were the roads getting to it? Were they twisty and narrow? – Did your car struggle round any of the corners? – If you struggled, then just imagine how a “40 footer” would cope”! – How would you get your roof trusses to site? If you can’t use roof trusses your roof costs increase dramatically before you even start to design anything! How will you get large concrete wagons, brick and block deliveries, precast floor beams, etc. – If you can’t get large delivery wagons to the site you can probably add a good few thousand pounds to the cost of the building before you start. AND you restrict the design of your new home to be constructed using the limited types of components which can actually be delivered to the site.
Access onto site:
Along the same lines as the previous paragraph, even if the larger vehicles can get to the site ok, can they get INTO the site just as easily? – A plot on a bend or on a narrow section of the road can restrict your deliveries of some of the larger items. If the wagons can’t turn onto the site to off load their deliveries, your costs leap up! – Think about it. Your front garden may be 80’ long, from the boundary to the new house. If you delivery wagon has to pull up alongside your front boundary and drop the load there, maybe just inside your fencing, you will have to carry every item from there to its point of use. This can be round the rear of the property.
If you will need 20,000 bricks and 300 blocks to build a house, and you can get 30 bricks or 10 blocks into a barrow, you will need to make about 670 trips with the bricks and 300 trips with the blocks. OVER 1000 trips! If half of the materials need to go around the back you may take 5 or 6 minutes to load, travel, unload and return, which, with breaks gives you about 15 trips per hour or nearly 70 hours work. – That’s not far off “2 man weeks”, and that’s ONLY THE BRICKS AND BLOCKS!
Access within the site:
Along the same lines, access and manoeuvrability within the site are also important. If, for example a site slopes away from the road, wagons may need to be able to turn around within the site on a reasonably flat surface before exiting. If the site is narrow this may not be possible. Consider how the size of the site and all the access conditions could potentially cause problems before you start.
If you don’t take account of all of the access factors to and around a site, and consider their implications throughout the whole of the project, you will risk adding literally thousands of pounds to the cost of your project, and weeks of extra time and effort.
2) Sloping sites:
Sloping sites can affect the project from day one through to well after it has been completed.
Implications of a sloping site can be:
a) Increased design costs: The design may need to extend to a full extra floor, and have to take account of many factors which don’t occur on level sites (your designers will be able to advise you on your individual projects).
b) Piling and / or reinforced foundations: (which may also require the concrete to be pumped). If, due to the slope of the site find that you need to install piles under the structure, you are bringing in a complete extra section to the work. The foundations can’t usually start until the piles have been installed. This can add extra work “pre contract” and can add 3 – 4 weeks to the construction period as well as thousands of pounds to the price of the job.
c) “Cut and Fill”: IF you need to cut into a bank to construct the new house, you will need to dispose of the “spoil” that comes out of the bank, either around the site, or by removing it from site. It is sometimes possible to use the spoil to bring up levels around the site to form a more level garden area, but if there is any that needs removing you need to bear in mind that the cost of exporting waste “spoil” is high. Well over £100 per load. You also need to be aware that whenever you excavate ground , it undergoes a change of “mass”. As the excavator loosens the ground it goes through a process called “bulking”, which basically means that it just about doubles in mass. Therefore, if you are measuring up how much spoil you think you need to take away from site, whatever “net” figure you measure, double it for the actual amount in Cubic meters.
Also bear in mind that if your spread out the excavated materials over the site, that over the next months and years it will “settle” and its level could drop by a number of inches. It may be a good idea to spread it a little thicker than you may think is needed.
d) Retaining walls may not only be needed as part of the structure, but they may also be needed for the landscaping of the remainder of the plot. A steep or substantial drop in site levels from front to back can require retaining walls to be constructed. Not only where the house will sit, but across other areas of the site too.
These retaining walls can easily add hundreds or even thousands of pounds to the design costs, plus they can add a great deal of time and expense to various areas of the project. Also bear in mind that, on sloping sites it is often not JUST a retaining wall which needs to be installed. There is also the matter of installing land drainage behind the wall itself which will transfer the water running down the site and hitting the wall, to a drainage system, usually at the lower level. On top of that, if the retaining wall forms a part of the structure there is the matter of “tanking” (waterproofing) the new structure to stop the ingress of water into the new building
e) Access problems to parts of the site: The inclusion of a retaining wall may create permanent access problems to one or more sections of your site. This may necessitate the need to install steps or ramps to one or both sides of the new house. If you need to carry out maintenance in the future it can also cause problems throughout the life of the building.
f) Longer Construction time and higher costs per sq ft: Due to the design and construction complications and implications which the slope of the site brings to the project.
3) Overhead cables:
You may have heard the “health” rumours about living near overhead cables, and the fact that many experts believe that some of the very large, high voltage cables could cause health problems (including cancer). Whether or not you believe those claims to be true you should bear them in mind as they can affect the future sale value of your property. If further proof is found at any time in the future, then the values of properties in the vicinity of these cables could drop like a stone.
Also, there are practical implications of some of the smaller overhead cables. You may have to get them moved before you can start work if they come too close to your proposed building. This may involve them being taken below ground. You would normally be expected to pay the cost of such works. I once looked at a plot with 2 power cables running overhead which would need dropping underground and running around the border of the site. The price for the plot was £35,000 and the cost to move the cables was £35,000!
Whilst you build, if there are cables within the vicinity of your working area, you will have to take into account “Health and Safety” implications with respect to protecting the cables themselves, and the people and plant working near to them. This will form part of your CDM (Construction ( Design and Management) plan.
4) Existing underground services:
Plots in built up areas can be host to a labyrinth of underground services. Some of these will be moveable (at cost), some won’t. Their existence can be, in the worst circumstances, something which can mean that the site cannot be built on. You should make every effort to find out at the earliest possible stage, what services run under a plot that you are interested in. As you move to the purchase phase your legal team should ensure that there is nothing about existing services which is legally or practically going to stop you from building, but the earlier you find out yourselves, the less time you will waste on plots which won’t be suitable for what you want.
Contact all the service authorities for the individual services, including Gas, Electricity, Water, Drainage and Telecom. The “Dial before you dig” services should be able to help you to locate any services under a plot. Also ask the selling Agent if they know of anything which could cause you problems. The seller will often be aware of what’s there and will know that they will be found out eventually if they keep problems quiet, so may let you have full details without any problem.
5) Problematic / contaminated ground:
You can actually pretty much build on anything these days, but if your site is made up of poor or contaminated ground you can end up paying a lot of money over and above the normal build costs to overcome the set of problems which could be presented to you.
Here is a list of a few of the ground conditions which may cause you headaches, time and money. Keep your eyes peeled for them:
a) Poor ground conditions may include land which may have been “filled” at some stage, and which may be producing methane.
b)You could find running sand under where you want to build.
c) The ground may be of a consistency that the banks of your foundation trenches will not stand up for more than a few minutes.
d) There may be differing types of ground which will necessitate different approaches from a foundation point of view.
e) You may have an underground stream close by, or under your building.
f) You may have 5’ of topsoil ( also called “vegetable soil”) which would have to be removed prior to building (you are not allowed to build on topsoil). This could increase the depth of your foundations and increase your costs significantly.
g) There may be a high water table which will mean that you will find water appearing in your foundations as soon as you dig them. You may have to bring in pumps to keep the foundations clear whilst you pour the concrete and build up to the ground floor slab.
h) There could be voids in the ground, especially if it has been “built up” at any stage. In mining areas there could be shallow mineshafts which a deep foundation or drainage run could actually hit (these should really be shown up in your searches whilst you are buying the land, but they are not always).
i) Rock: This can cause a major problem where you need to excavate your foundations into the ground to a minimum depth to satisfy Building Regulations”. If you find that you hit rock just below the surface, or the topsoil, you may have a major headache. Most rock can be removed, but it doing so will normally involve the use of a one or more men on “jackhammers” and / or a larger jackhammer attachment on an excavator which does the same job but a lot quicker. There are some rocks that are going to be very difficult, slow and expensive to remove.
If you can get permission to excavate a few “trial holes” before you make any offers on the land (or maybe after you have made an offer, but before things go to Solicitors), you should be able to check out the nature of the ground, either by using a simple shovel and digging small holes, using an excavator to dig larger holes, or getting a “Ground Investigation” company to take samples from around the site for testing to see how it is made up and whether or not there are likely to be any problems with it. (Note: In fact that last option is not used all that often as a general indicator. It is used more for where you, or the authorities suspect that there COULD be problems on a site, for which a professional report needs to be submitted).
7) TPO’s (tree preservation orders):
There are many trees around the country which have TPO’s on them. If there are any on a site on which you propose to build, you will need to find out what implications their existence will have on your project. You may simply need to design your house so it is far enough away from them so as not to affect them whilst you either build or inhabit the property.
If they are in the general vicinity of the new structure, you may need to protect them whilst you build, by, for example fencing them off so that no materials or plant can come near enough to them to risk damage.
If their roots either come near to your proposed new structure, or near to anything such as a driveway, you may need to take steps to make sure that their roots are not affected by lack of oxygen or other negative factors. This could involve bringing in an “Arboriculturalist / Tree Specialist to draw up a report on each tree with a TPO, stating its condition and what measures need to be taken to protect it during and after the construction of the new house.
8) Neighbouring buildings:
Many plots these days are “infill” plots. This means that they slot in between 2 existing properties. Sometimes these properties are developed and sometimes not. Whichever, you will need to take their existence and proximity into account whilst you plan and build.
From a “Planning Permission” point of view, your property may be restricted to something similar to them in style and size.
If there is a building either close to the boundary, or to which you want to join your new property, you may have to make sure that: a) You don’t cause damage to it. b) You try not to cause inconvenience and disruption to your new neighbour!
Problems which can arise in these circumstances include: Physical damage to the adjoining property by plant or the workforce / settlement caused by your excavations / collapse caused by you removing a supporting wall / excessive noise generated from the new development / boundary disputes / claims on your insurance by your neighbours for anything they think they can claim for!
Make sure that you and your designer have “covered all the bases” when you have adjoining properties which may become problematic. Spending a bit of extra time and money early on to make sure everything is set up correctly can save you A LOT of time and money later. And check that you are covered by your insurance policy for anything which could affect an adjoining property. – Disputes over these sorts of matters can often end up going to court.
9) Theft / Vandalism:
This can happen anywhere and no potential plot is immune from it’s threat. BUT, you need to take the possibility and the likelihood of problems in this regard into account before you decide to go ahead with the project. Vandalism and theft are major headaches and can cost you a lot of time and money. Many occurrences are not of a level at which you would claim on your Site Insurance, but can cost you a number of hundred pounds to put right. In some areas, steel cabins have been known to have been “burned through” to get to the equipment or materials inside. I have personally had the experience of having a delivery made one night of all the kitchen appliances for fixing into a property the following day, which were locked into the house, only to come in the following morning to find that a wagon had backed up into the French doors and smashed them to get to the equipment stored in the house.
If you suspect that a plot could suffer from a vandalism threat, you should take it into account as being “real cost” to the project, and allow at least a couple of thousand pounds, if not more, to cover it. You could alternatively hire a security company to look after the site on either a full time basis, or by “driving y” every hour or so during the night.
If you intend to live on site while you work on the project this can help greatly with vandalism and theft, and if your caravan is at the entrance to the site, with all other boundaries fenced off, this can be an added “disincentive” for anyone to enter the site for “foul means”.
10) Planning Restrictions:
You may like the look of a plot and have a lovely picture in your mind of how your dream home will look on it. - Only to find when you apply for Planning Permission that you can’t build “what you want” or “where you want” on the site. Earlier sections of this guide cover this area in more detail so I suggest that you read some of the pages on the relevant subjects before thinking about buying any plot.
11) “Building lines”.
These are in fact a “Planning Restriction, but I thought it worth mentioning it as an individual item. Many pieces of land, generally in built up areas have “Building Lines”. These are lines, in front of which any new building must not come. If there building line is a long way back on a plot it could make impossible out any thought of creating a substantial dwelling on the land, and would therefore mean that you really need to forget about the plot for your project. These Building Lines” are pretty permanent. In fact I have never heard of a project where a Building Line has been moved to allow development. – The problem the Planning Office would face if they did move these lines, is that if they allow one development to build in front of it, then they would not be able to stop everyone else doing the same.
12) Ransom Strips:
Nasty little critters these! – A ransom strip is usually a small area of land across the access to a plot, which is owned by someone other than the owner of the land. This other owner has the power to stop any development from starting on the land by refusing to give permission for access over the ransom strip. These strips are often only a couple of feet wide, but they can cause major problems. The owners of the strip will have to be approached to ask how much they want, either to sell you the strip, or to allow you access. This can sometimes be a similar sum to the price of the plot itself! – Which can in many cases make the project un-economical.
Where there is a ransom strip involved either a price will have been agreed already or you will have to negotiate one. The seller will be aware that if they ask too much, no one will buy the land (which is sometimes exactly what they want). But, if they are willing to sell, you need to treat them nicely, and try to get them to let you buy, or have access over the land for as low a price as possible.
Don’t take a lease for a number of years or you will stand the chance of devaluing your property when you come to sell it.
13) Restrictions on working hours:
This is self explanatory really. In built up areas you may be restricted from creating working, and / or noise over long hours or at weekends. Bear this in mind when you price and programme the works as it could add weeks to the construction time.
14) Availability of local labour:
You will, in most parts of the UK be able to find general labour for many of the tasks you envisage incorporating into your new project. Bear in mind though, that if you are planning some sort of special feature, that you may need to bring in people from further afield. This could cost you money. This is not a major problem, but if you have a number of such “specialist” parts to the job which, due to the location of your plot, mean you paying high travelling costs or “board and lodging” for tradesmen, the costs can quickly spiral.
« return to guide contents
Your ad can replace the one shown here from just £8.99 / month. – Click here for more info.