As you know, the ideal place for the construction of a building is a flat, even area or a place with a slight slope. But what if you got a picturesque site with a significant slope? The easiest option is to make the features of the relief an advantage, not a disadvantage.
Building designs on sloping sites are different from conventional buildings. And if before it was necessary to develop each building in individually, now appeared turnkey solutions and recommendations, following which, you will cope even with such difficult work.
In the photo - even a small slope significantly affects the design of the house
You should know that the steepness of the slope is not measured in degrees, but in percentages. That is, the level difference in a section of 100 meters, which is 30 meters, is a slope of 30%.
And finally, depending on the relief, several main types of terrain can be distinguished:
If you have firmly decided that you will build a house on a site with difficult terrain, we advise you to consider several important points:
Due to all of the above factors, it is safe to say that the project of a house with a basement on a slope is the best option. The difference, as a result of which the price also decreases. The pit comes out much smaller, because only part of the floor is underground.
Advice!
Do not listen to those who claim that ground floor almost doubles the cost of the project.
Properly calculated designs will slightly increase overall costs.
Consider several options that can serve as a kind of instruction for those who are going to build a building on a slope. Based on these examples, you can make your own version that will best meet your needs.
Such houses can often be found in northern Europe, they have a number of features:
As you can see from the plan, the floor is quite large, and you can easily place both a garage with a boiler room and a gym with a sauna on it. At your disposal are very large areas that can be used at your discretion - you can relax with friends, or you can make a workshop.
Everything here is imbued with the spirit of practicality and functionality - the entrance to the house passes through a cozy covered terrace. The axial room is a spacious hall from which you can enter the kitchen combined with a living room of a very interesting configuration, on the other side there are two bedrooms and a bathroom.
This level is small and very cozy - in such a bedroom you can relax from the hustle and bustle under the sound of rain, the bathroom increases convenience, because you do not have to go downstairs.
For those who do not need a second level and like one-story buildings, we suggest considering the second option. And if you have to dig a deep pit on a flat area, then the basement on the slope is much easier to make - only part of the level deepens.
Sometimes it seems that life circumstances are not in your favor, and building a house on difficult terrain seems like an impossible task. But as the practice of site users shows, there is a way out of any situation, the main thing is not to give up and plan everything correctly!
How to build a house on a cliff
The history of the construction of a building on a high slope teaches us that houses on the slopes can rightfully be called a dream home. But first, a little background from a forum member with a nickname 4u4undr from Moscow.
“We have been looking for a property for two years. First, in the villages, naively believing that the land there is cheaper. But I did not want to buy a plot for 2 million for 15 acres, having communications along the border, at all.
When buying a plot, remember that the term "border communications" does not mean at all that they pass near your site. Sometimes - this may mean the presence of a gas pipe several tens or even hundreds of meters from your site. And summing up the light and gas can cost a very significant amount.
Eventually 4u4undr Bought 15 acres of land. Despite the fact that the height difference was 11 meters, the future developer was bribed by a great view of the forest below and the opportunity to build a house on a slope on the site. But as it turns out, this is just the beginning of the story...
4u4undr:
– Shortly after the purchase, the bell rang, and I learned that due to difficulties with the terrain and the ravine located below, it was impossible to bring a road to our site.
It is important to remember that buying a plot on a slope for building a house is a responsible decision, because before carrying out complex landscape work, it is necessary to conduct a soil study. And if the ground "not settled yet" and its movements are possible, this greatly complicates the construction of the buildingrequires measures to be taken to strengthen the slope.
After it became clear that there would be no access road to the first section, 4u4undr decided to compromise and buy at a discount the second plot, bordering the first and which has an access road leading on top.
These hillside plots were the cheapest in the village. Almost one and a half times cheaper than flat areas. Although now I understand why. If there was no access through the top, I would probably go broke on solving problems with the rise building materials to the pit. Moreover, you can’t put a crane on a high slope.
Read our article about the features of the development of the so-called site .
After completing all required documents for the purchase of plots with a total area of 30 acres, our forum member first of all purchased a rotational laser level, and, as it turned out later, he did not lose at all.
4u4undr:
- Immediately after the purchase of the level, it was tested in operation. In four hours, I alone made a complete topographical survey of the area with a grid of 5 meters. With these terrain sketches, I began to work in Google sketchup. I made a 3D relief of the site, and then I began to try on different configurations of the site of the house on it.
The task was to ensure that the building did not completely go into the slope, and that the excavation work was balanced.
On FORUMHOUSE you can find out the entire sequence of actions when .
After removing the fertile layer of soil 5 cm thick, at the first rain, the entire mass of the earth began to flow down. As measures to strengthen the slope the next way out was found - to reinforce the soil with geotextiles.
Despite the difficulties of building a house on a site with a large elevation difference, it should be remembered that each degree of the southern slope is equivalent to moving the site by 100 km. south.
Hillside house. House projects
After marking the site, a plan for the construction of a building with side dimensions of 17800mm by 12000mm was approved and the designer entered into action.
4u4undr:
– The whole process of designing the house took place remotely using communication through a computer. I can say that this house project is for complex terrain -the best budget option, and the result I am satisfied with is 100%.
Then, with the help of a bulldozer, the excavation of the soil under the foundation pit began. As a result, when the soil was poured into the ravine, under the cliff, another good piece of another 20 m2 was added to the site.
Conclusion - do not rush to take out the excavated soil from the site, especially if there is a ravine nearby. It may well come in handy for landscaping or for backfilling.
How to build a house on a slope: site marking.
4u4undr:
- First, they marked out the site of the house, then retreated 2 meters from each side, and they dug this site. Those. the pit turned out to be 16x23. With a spot at home 12x18.6. The uppermost part of the site falls just on the fence. 1.5 meters retreated from it and dug a foundation pit - the height of the cliff turned out to be 2.7 m. From the back wall of the house to the fence 4 m. According to the project, the roof overhang will be 1 m. From the edge of the roof to the fence 3 m.
From our article you can find out the rules , regulating the location of buildings and the distance from your house to the neighbor's fence when building the site.
Features of building a house on a slope: foundation
Forumhouse users can find out all the details of the construction from the corresponding thread of our forum. Learn how to work with Join the discussion of the device on bulk soil. In our video, a forum participant will clearly tell you about the features of a Bavarian-style chalet house. And after watching another video, you will find out what it is
House project for building on a slope. Material - aerated concrete blocks This house will look good on a site with a difficult terrain. The project provides for the presence of all the necessary components of a full-fledged country house: garage, boiler room, workshop and storeroom. The floors are planned on a multi-level principle.
Project Summary
A tribute to ecology - a project of a house made of timber for plots with a gentle slope. Garage and utility rooms are located in the basement. In a small basement, which occupies part of the area under the house, using the terrain, there is a garage for one car, a boiler room and a workshop. On the ground floor there is a living room, two bedrooms and a kitchen connected by a spacious hall.
Project Summary
The project of a solid house made of logs. The architect provided for two floors, as well as a basement with a garage and utility rooms and a terrace with a canopy. The layout of the first floor includes a combined living-dining room and kitchen, zoned with a fireplace. On the second floor - bedrooms, toilet and Utility room, as well as a hall-balcony overlooking the living room.
Project Summary
Ultramodern house project. The location on the slope will only emphasize its unusualness and beauty. The basis of the architectural style is constructivism. Thoroughly designed layout is made taking into account the most modern trends. An utility block with a garage is located on the ground floor. On the ground floor there is a living room with a fireplace connected to the kitchen-dining room through a wide opening, a bedroom for lingering guests, which can be converted into an office or library. The second floor is reserved for a recreation and sleep area with all necessary amenities.
Project Summary
An excellent country mansion in the best traditions of palace and park ensembles. The elegance of the facades and architectural forms allow you to harmoniously fit the mansion into any surrounding landscape. The internal layout meets the most modern requirements for comfortable housing.
Project Summary
Of course, building houses on slopes is very difficult, but it is worth noting that "uneven" reliefs have some advantages.
The most significant among them is the possibility of saving Money and materials at the expense correct use height difference. For example, some house designs allow you to place most of the outbuildings under the ground floor, which will allow you to do without a huge amount of earthwork. So, what moments are accompanied by the design and construction of a house on a plot on a slope?
Original house built on a slope (Switzerland)
Depending on the nature of the terrain, land can be sloped up to 15 degrees or more. If the slope is small, then there is no negative effect on the layout of the house. Moreover, due to the presence of such a slope, it becomes possible to place additional buildings below the residential building at different elevations, without blocking the view of the site or shading.
If necessary, separate entrances can be arranged to different levels of a residential building, while isolating utility rooms from residential ones, and the daytime zone from the sleeping area.
Project example wooden house on a slight slope If the slope is more than 15 degrees, then you should limit yourself to projects of cottages that are designed specifically for plots on a slope. Such projects, of course, differ in some features in planning. For example, in the basement on a slope, a basement, a garage and a summer kitchen are often placed. According to the architects, thanks to this placement of the kitchen area, it is possible to avoid overheating of the premises in the summer, as well as provide a high-quality view of the territory from the window and good natural lighting of the room.
An example of a house layout on a slope The relief features largely determine the choice of a house project and the cost of future construction. The relief is determined depending on the slope of the surface, which is calculated as the ratio of the difference in the height of two points of the terrain to the horizontal distance between them, which represents the tangent of the angle of inclination of the line to the terrain. The slope is measured in percentages or fractions. For example, a slope of 10 meters when moving 100 meters diagonally corresponds to a slope of 10% or 0.10 m.
In addition, the magnitude of the slope also affects the relief. If, for example, the slope is not more than 3%, then the site is considered flat; if the value is from 3 to 8%, then the site goes with a small slope; if up to 20% - then medium and more than 20% - steep.
If the site has a small slope, then the construction of the building can be carried out in several ways:
In this video you can see how the house was built, semi-buried into the slope
Everyone who decides to build a house knows that the first step is to choose a site. The nature of the terrain determines the upcoming construction costs and the choice of the project of the future home. The most successful place for the construction of buildings are considered flat areas. Our ancestors also advised not to build in areas open to strong winds, to avoid mountains, lowlands and ravines. But if, nevertheless, you got a site that is far from perfect, then you should not give up - a complex relief can play a good service, it is only important to use it correctly.
The terrain refers to the structure of the surface - mountains, lowlands, hills, valleys, ravines, bulges and depressions, plateaus. The relief is determined by the slope - the fall of the surface, which is calculated by the ratio of the difference in height between two points on the terrain to the distance between these points projected onto the horizontal (see Fig.) or the tangent of the slope of the terrain line to the horizontal plane at a given point. The slope is measured as a percentage. For example, a rise of 15 m per 100 m of horizontal movement corresponds to a slope of 0.15 (15%).
Relief slope scheme
Flat terrain is considered if its slope is not more than 3%, a small terrain slope is from 3 to 8%, an average slope is up to 20%, a steep surface has more than 20% slope. The best in terms of construction are flat or with a minimum (up to 3%) slope towards the south, as well as those that have a minimum slope from the central part down on both sides (Fig.
Schemes of the most successful sites for construction with a minimum slope
Here, construction is as easy as possible: with such a relief on the site, various options for the location of the house and other buildings can be implemented.
Sites with a slope up to 3% can be used for building typical houses. Only small slopes are required to drain water from buildings - they are created by backfilling the soil, when using stones, gravel, cement, a slight slope is created from the house to the surface with a height of approximately 50 cm. The width of the backfill is on average 1-1.5 m wider than foundation.
If the slope is small - up to 7%, then it is suitable for the construction of buildings without basements. True, it is possible that at 5-7% of the slope it will be necessary to add soil from the piedmont part (see Fig.).
A site with a small slope of 5-7% with soil filling in the piedmont part of the slope
If the slope exceeds 8%, surface roughness can be used to build a basement. In such cases, they do not make a flat area, but create a lower floor by cutting out part of the slope array. This option is good for building an underground garage, if an entrance is possible from the side of the slope (see fig.).
A site with a cut-out part of the slope for the construction of an underground part (garage, etc.) with a slope above 8%
When the slope is steep and exceeds 15-20%, should consider developing special project house, using all the possibilities of a steep slope. The inconvenience of a slope can be turned into undeniable advantages if it is used to build a multi-tiered dwelling, which will make it possible to create separate blocks in the building: for example, guest rooms with their own entrance, workshop, summer kitchen, garage, pantry. If you have to build on difficult terrain, you need to turn the site into several leveled, flat surfaces. All buildings are placed on horizontal platforms, and their width determines the size of the buildings.
To do this, terraces are created, which are fixed with retaining walls, and connected by steps. Already with a 12% slope, buildings are best erected on terraces (see fig.).
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A site with a steep slope (more than 15%) equipped with terraces with retaining walls
A house built on terraces can be multi-level, have verandas on different tiers, balconies, patios. On the terraces there are also platforms, paths, recreation areas, gazebos and so on.
In the case of a significant difference in relief, more than 15%, it is recommended to install retaining walls so that the vertical seams in adjacent rows of stones do not match. Retaining walls are made of concrete slabs, boulders, bricks, timber, stones (see Fig.).
Terrace made with retaining walls of boulders with a slope of more than 15%
With a high wall height, the stones are fastened with mortar. The largest stones are located in the bottom row. To increase the strength of the retaining wall, all rows of stones are laid with a slope inward. The slope along the boundaries of the site is also fixed with stones, and best material granite, sandstone, limestone will serve for this.
There are two main ways to fit a house into the area, to make it one with the landscape - without changing or with changing the existing relief. If the first option is chosen, the house will organically fit into the surrounding landscape. However, in this case, it will be necessary to adapt its basement and underground part to relief conditions. When choosing the option of building a house on a flat area, the natural relief is disturbed, and planning work and a large amount of earthwork will be required to create harmony on the site.
In relation to the longitudinal axis of the house to horizontal lines slope distinguish between parallel, perpendicular or diagonal placement (see fig.).
The layout of houses in relation to the longitudinal axis of the house to the horizontal lines of the slope:
Scheme of parallel, diagonal and perpendicular arrangement of the house relative to the slope
Note: A residential building and other buildings on the terrain should not obscure the territory, therefore general principle the location of buildings on the terrain can be formulated as follows: buildings should be built on the highest and driest places on the site (see fig.).
The layout of the house at the very top of the slope
With this solution, the foundation is not so susceptible to moisture; easier to carry out earthworks; it is easier to design a basement floor, lay a sewer. When building buildings on a relief, it should be borne in mind that when the house is located at the highest place, all surface water can be effortlessly directed down the slope and used for watering plants. In the event that there are areas located higher up the slope than your house, it is important to ensure that water is drained using pipes or drainage grooves.
Buildings are best oriented to the south. It is good if the facade opens onto an open space, and a beautiful view opens from the windows. In the case when the house has to be installed on steep slope, options are known when it is placed literally in a mountain - the walls of the building are in close contact with the walls of a recess cut in the mountain, and only the facade is open and goes towards the slope (see photo).
A house built in a rock on a relief with a slope of more than 15%
If the house has to be built on a small plot close to a steep slope, then they use all the possibilities - the maximum approximation of one of the walls of the house to the mountain, the use of each flat area, the creation of terraces (see photo).
Other non-standard solutions are also possible: for example, a road along a horizontal terrace leads to the upper floor, which serves as an entrance hall or hall, a garage is located on the lower terrace, and the upper floor, which coincides with the entrance, is residential (see photo).
Non-standard solution for building a house on the slopes
The direction of the slope of the terrain is also important.. More heat is received, of course, southern slopes.It is desirable that the main living quarters be oriented to the south, southeast or east. If you place a house on the southern slope, this will save energy for heating it. The slopes of the southeast and east directions are also favorable for building a house - there is enough heat here (see fig.). These directions are good for placing houses in cold climates. They are also suitable for warm climates, as coolness comes here earlier. If the entrance to the house is located on the south side of the slope, then in winter time there will be less snow here, and in the spring it will melt faster. The winds from the south side are weaker, and the sun will shine on the terrace during the day and illuminate the premises. A house on the southern slope should be located closer to the eastern border of the site (see fig.).
The layout of the house on the southern slope
Unfavorable for the placement of houses are considered north slopes, the only exception is the hot climate. The best place for a house on the northern slope is closer to its western border, in the middle of the slope (see fig.).
The layout of the house on the northern slope
Regardless climatic conditions it is best to avoid building on western slopes, since in the afternoon they always get very hot from the afternoon sun. If the site is located on the eastern or western slopes, then the house is located at the northern border at the highest point, and all outbuildings should be placed below (see fig.).
The layout of the house on the western slope
When placing a house on uneven terrain, it must be taken into account that at night the cold air sinks down, and when an obstacle gets in its way, a so-called “cold pocket” may form, or in another way it is also called a “frost pocket”. If the obstacle in the way of cold air is a house, then the temperature there at night can drop 9 degrees lower than that of the environment (see fig.).
Scheme of the formation of a "frost pocket" when building a house on a slope
If the plans include the creation of a winter garden, then it can be placed on the north side of the house. In this case, in addition to its main function, it will play the role of a kind of thermal buffer, in addition, it will not be necessary to install sun protection devices that protect indoor plants from direct sunlight. It is also good if the open part of the winter garden faces the slope. You can read more about the arrangement of the winter garden in the article.
The layout of the house on the terrain relative to other buildings and objects
All of the above will incur additional costs. But uneven terrain can be a source of inspiration. Proper location of the house and other buildings, taking into account the peculiarities of the area, will make the site unique. Houses built on relief can become real works of architecture.
In addition, there are objective positive aspects of building on an uneven site: slopes contribute to a non-forced, natural outflow of surface water that can be used for irrigation; you can save on earthworks when creating basement and basement floors, as well as a garage. So do not be upset if your site is located on uneven terrain - it is he who can contribute to the creation of a unique house architecture.
