ing specifications. Valuable top soils, those richer in organic matter, should be saved and reincorporated in finishgrading procedures such as landscaping, not discarded or mixed with fill materials. Sound complicated? It’s really not. Once familiarity increases, facts begin to connect. One inexpensive tool for bringing information together is digital mapping. Mapping is to land planning what blue prints are to building. A good mapping procedure incorporates multiple layers of data, from property boundaries and topographical contours to timber profiles and soil conditions. Well-prepared mapping sequences allow developers, contractors and homeowners alike to site homes, plan roads, organize timber harvests and restore pastures and wetlands with less on-site data collection and guesswork.
Less is more Another helpful strategy regarding excavation is to do less of it. This notion is analogous to Amory Lovins idea of “negawatts,” or keeping track of energy not used as a benchmark. This means that home sites and plans are selected based on how little excavating is required. We should follow the example of Frank Lloyd Wright and integrate living space into existing land features. Before the advent of hydraulically driven equipment, this was largely how properties were developed. It now makes more sense than ever, both environmentally and financially, to return to this commonsense aesthetic. Restrict grading activities to immediate building or road footprints. Grading outside these areas markedly increases environmental and financial costs, and works against many homeowners’ desire to have lush, natural spaces. There are better options for creating recreational space and viewscapes, such as forestry mulching. Forestry mulching recycles unwanted biomass (i.e., trees, shrubs and vines) into mulch on site. Mulching can be very specific, leaving desirable native trees and other flora undisturbed. It can create a portion of the finished landscaping even as construction is under way. Mulching vastly reduces erosion control costs,
burning and hauling charges, soil compaction and fertility issues, and furnishes clean, tractable footing for building activities. Finally, and most importantly, discuss excavation with your contractor or developer before you build or buy. I guarantee site prep and driveway construction are no small portion of a new home’s total cost. It has been my experience that while folks deliberate endlessly over paint colors and bathroom fixtures, they disregard major site preparation and access issues under the assumption that the contractor knows best. Unfortunately, many contractors are relying upon the skill of their subcontracted graders and engineers. If your builder is subcontracting the excavation, get references and photographs of the subcontractor’s previous work and call those references, including older ones. Mistakes, especially cracking, shifting and slope collapses, take years to materialize. Visit your excavator’s previous driveway jobs.
A few dos and don’ts
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For those who want to build sustainably, extend your understanding and planning beyond building itself. • Think first about the land you are looking to buy or build upon. • Don’t buy property with physical access issues. • Take what is offered by your property in terms of contours, drainage, vegetation and soils. • Consider digitally mapping your acreage if the terrain is not providing clear choices. • Shrink your excavation footprint by employing forestry mulching for the creation of recreational space and viewscapes. These are common-sense steps toward cost savings and good stewardship. Educate yourself about excavation practices. Sustainability is as much about following well-established protocols to avoid waste and damage as it is about innovation. Do it right, do it once. Frank Vogler is vice president of V&V Land Management and Resource Recovery llc. He lives in Del Rio, Tenn., with his family, where they are restoring their 300-acre farm to productivity.
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