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The allure and splendour of a magnificent waterfront home, overlooking the water from high above and resting on the edge of one of the best views in the world, is a lifetime dream come true for the privileged few. This world-renowned mark of status has been ingrained into our culture throughout history. Ancient cliff side dwellings captivate our minds and ignite our wanderlust; while today’s modern cliff edge homes inspire our imaginations by creating more and more unique architectural designs.

Experience

Today’s modern engineers, architects and builders push the envelope of creativity and ability to build some of the best looking cliff edge homes. While they make it look easy, the many logistics and difficulties of building on a cliff edge site overlooking the waterfront are numbered and many. Without a good builder, architect and engineer, some serious problems could occur. Always use a company that has the experience and knowledge for building cliff edge homes.

Access

But no matter who you hire to do the work, it’s still up to you to make the final decisions that make your home custom and truly yours. Access to the site is the first and foremost priority when working on a difficult site. Which area of the property would you enter from? How steep is your driveway going to be? Where will you set up your parking area? What direction will you orientate your home? These questions are the first crucial step in providing the best access into the site. You and your builder, architect and engineer will be able to come up with the most suitable plan for access to the site.

Access to the site is just the beginning. Materials, machinery, labourers, vehicles, tools and equipment must be stored logically in order to get the job done safely and cost effectively. Logistics play an important role in the development of a limited spaced property. The critical path of development involves knowing where and when all jobsite materials and workers are needed. 

Engineers

When it comes to the actual structure, site placement is crucial to achieving the best views. But placement of the home is always limited to the sites ability to support the structure. This is where the engineers really have to know their stuff. Assessing the soil conditions capability to support the structure is an important step into determining how and where the home can be placed on the property.

Architects

A qualified architect is one that is well versed in the ways of cliff edge design. With enough experience, the architect can design a home around your needs as well as the property's. Working with an architect that’s familiar in cliff edge design can help you get the most out of your difficult site. They can safely design the perfect structure for your waterfront cliff edge property.

Builders

Experience in cliff edge building is a must have when working on any difficult property. A working knowledge of up to date structural assembly is a must have when hiring any building contractor. Doing your own research by contacting references and viewing portfolios of past jobs can ensure you find the best of the best without wasting time, money and safety on tendering an inexperienced waterfront contractor.

Just because the building site is clear and ready to go doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be an easy build. With so many considerations that effect site preparation, demolition and construction, it’s easy to see why many sites can be a problem to build on. Use this guide to help you associate the additional costs, time and problems that may occur when your property is difficult to access for building. This way, you and your builder are on the same page when it comes to building your new home of your dreams.

Sloping Sites

Often the most controversial building site, a sloped site can cause drainage problems, foundational concerns and added materials that significantly increase overall building costs. Drainage is always an issue with sloping properties but can easily be remedied with the installation of an underground drainage system or forming the properties soils to a suitable grade with fill dirt or through excavation. Retaining walls can be added where sloping properties are too great and level land is required.

When sloping lands affect the placement of footers and foundations, stem wall construction, post and beam or split-level design options can offset the structures foundation to meet the requirements of the sloping land. While these construction methods propose alternative methods to constructing on difficult sites, the costs associated with these techniques can increase costs exponentially as the degree and grade of the slope increase.

Sloping properties also cause problems with labour and materials. Cladding, roofing and other exterior based construction projects can have a difficult time setting up scaffold, ladders and work stations to cut and assemble materials on sloping grounds. By increasing costs and challenging tight work schedules, sloping grounds add to the overall cost of the project in this manner as well.

But it’s not just the house that has a problem with sloping building sites—what comes in and out of it can have a tough time with sloped sites too. Electricity and water lines may need extra help getting up, down and across steep slopes, increasing the costs as the grade increases. Septic tanks and sewage lines are particularly susceptible to sloped condition problems and concerns. Some sloping properties may only be able to support a small septic tank, making the amount of bathrooms in the structure very limited.

Small Properties

Restraints from tight property lines between neighbours can be a building site that is difficult at best to work with. Finding good real estate to place materials, workers and the building itself can prove to be challenge even for the most seasoned of builders working on a small lot. Careful planning and proper delegation of authority can all make or break any construction project on a small property within close proximity to its neighbours.

Waste materials can become a big issue on the small lot. With little room for disposal containers, continual dumping of smaller containers requires additional costs per load hauled from the site. Recycling many materials often helps alleviate some of the concerns with too much garbage onsite.

A great way to deal with the many problems a small property can cause is to create an action plan for each phase of construction. Knowing exactly where and when materials are to be delivered during each phase of construction is the key to keeping difficult site problems (and budgets) in check.