In DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, everyday people from around the country share their experiences when they contracted and supervised the building of their own homes. In this episode, our do-it-yourselfers fill us in on how they acquired their land and what they did about clearing that land of unwanted trees. To of our contractors actually used the trees they cleared for some of the lumber used in building their home. They give advice about getting a survey done and we learn about the considerations that went into deciding the exact positioning their houses. We hear some of their experiences on getting the excavation done, and hear from one person who did his own excavation -- by hand, with a pick and shovel. We also learn about the foundation work on the houses, and hear about some newer technologies used in house foundations. In this segment, some of our contractors consider how to preserve trees and discuss careful approaches to the clearing of land.
Trees and Clearing of Land
- In most home-building endeavors, the first thing you'll have to deal with is clearing the land. That often means deciding what to do with the existing trees on the land (figure A). Betty King and John Spracklen wanted to ensure that they had established trees around their home that they could enjoy, providing color and a natural woodland feel.
- Skip Weahunt points out that many species of trees in particular areas are protected by environmental laws. Native oak trees in much of California, for instance, are endangered or protected, so an arborist certification and a review of building plans are required before building can commence.
- Al Sain desired to build on a densely wooded lot (figure B) for his 2000-square-foot home just north of Pittsburgh, but that meant a good deal of extra work -- removing dead trees, underbrush, dead branches, etc.
- The fact that Al is an engineer offered him several advantages in being his own contractor. He had access to computer programs that assist in planning the layout and building of homes. Before he began building, he actually did a tree survey (figure C) to help him decide what trees would stay, and which would need to be cut. He was then able to produce a schematic diagram that showed the locations of all the large trees on the property, and with the aid of his PC, positioned the blueprint for the house within the schematic to determine the ideal placement of the house (figure D). In this way, he could plan the positioning of the house around the desirable trees, and minimize the amount of tree removal.
- The result was a house that is comfortably nestled among large, healthy trees (figure E). Not all home-builders may be able to take advantage of this level of planning and technology, but Al advises that the more systematic planning and organization of this type that can be done, the smoother the overall contracting project is likely to be.
- The tree survey also helped Al meet one of his broad goals in building his home -- that of being as environmentally as he could, and minimizing destruction or damage to the land and resources. In fact, the few large trees that he had to cut down were put to good use. A band-saw was actually brought onto the property (figure F) to cut and mill the large oak trees into usable 1-inch lumber (figure G) that was incorporate into the home's construction. So Al's efforts allowed him to cut down as few trees as possible, and to mill the ones he did cut down into lumber -- lessening the amount of building materials he would need to purchase.
- Similarly Fred Samuels used wood from trees cut on his property to use in the construction of his home in Rockwood, TN. The white pine, white oak and red oak removed from the property was milled into lumber that was used to build walls and stairs inside the home (figure H).
In the segment that follows, the contractors talk about deciding on how to position the house on the property.
RESOURCES :
Landscaping: Planning, Planting, Building (Better Homes and Gardens Step-by-Step Series)
Model: 0696025582
Meredith Books Corp.
Website: www.meredith.com
The Brand-New House Book: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Designing...
Model: 0609805835
Author: Katherine Salant
Full title: The Brand-New House Book: Everything You Need to Know About Planning, Designing, and Building a Custom, Semi-Custom, or Production-Built House
Three Rivers Press
The Well-Built House
Model: 0395629519
Author: James Locke
Mariner Books
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