Site work, where the ground gets a vote.
Before anything is built, the ground is read, cleared, graded and drained. Surprises here cost more than anywhere else in the project.
- The soils report decides what the foundation has to be. Read it before you fall for a floor plan.
- Water is the real subject: where roof and yard water goes is settled here, not later.
- What you cannot see in the ground (rock, old fill, buried lines) is the biggest swing in cost.
- CutSoil dug away on the uphill side. The dashed line is the original ground.
- Compacted padSoil laid in layers and tested, so the house sits on firm ground.
- FillSoil added on the downhill side, held back by a wall.
- Retaining wallHolds the pad edge. It needs drainage behind it.
- Water leaves the houseGrading sends rain away from the walls, not toward them.
In the order it happens.
- High
- Heavy
- Medium
Survey stakes, fencing and erosion control go up first. Straw rolls or fabric fences keep soil out of the street and creek.
Heavy equipment arrives. Expect trucks, noise from early morning, and dust that is watered down.
The building pad is cut, filled and compacted in layers. A soils engineer tests it.
Trenches follow for drains and utilities, then the site is rough-graded and left shaped to shed water.
The techniques that matter.
- A geotechnical (soils) report is done before design is final, so the foundation fits the ground.
- Erosion and sediment control goes in before the first scoop of soil, not after the first storm.
- Buried lines are marked before digging (call 811), and kept trees are fenced at the branch tips.
- Compaction is tested and recorded, not assumed.
Where this trade earns its fee.
- Unknowns: rock, old fill or a buried tank turn a fixed price into an added cost.
- Hillside lots: retaining walls, limited truck access and rainy-season limits on when you may grade.
- Drainage that works on the drawing but not in a real storm.
Decide this before the trade starts.
These are the choices that decide whether the finished house matches the one in your head. Changing them later costs time and money.
- Where the house sits and its floor level, because that sets every cut, fill and wall.
- Driveway slope and where cars turn around.
- Which trees and views are non-negotiable.
- Where water goes when it rains hard, including the neighbors’ side.
- What does the soils report say, and who confirms compaction?
- What happens to the price if we hit rock or old fill?
- Where does roof and yard water go in a heavy storm?
- Site work
- Foundations
- Framing
- Roofing
- Windows and exterior
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- HVAC
- Insulation
- Drywall and plaster
- Tile
- Cabinetry
- Floors and paint
General guidance, not a specification. Your drawings, your engineer and your building inspector govern every job. See the whole process · Trade secrets home
Want this explained on your own house?
Email the address. A written reading of the parcel is free, in two business days.
- Same dayMatt confirms he has it, and flags anything obvious that is missing.
- Within two business daysA written reading of your parcel: jurisdiction, review bodies, constraints, an order of cost and the permit path.
- Then nothing, unless you askNo follow-up sequence, no call from anyone else. The assessment is yours to keep, and to take anywhere.