Vital aspects of a house on a hill
When building in a hilly place, you need to build a house with changing levels as indicated in the plan above. Photos by Ismail Kezaala
What you need to know:
These, include, the cost involved in building on a hilly site, the use of beams, extra work in stepping up the foundation, retaining walls, drop manholes, cut and fill.
There are some technical stages that have to be followed if you are to build a house on the hill that will stand the test of time.
Building on a hill is a challenge and a gift at the same time, it is a challenge because it is expensive and it is a gift because when the house is complete, it gives you a proper view of all houses below.
However, for you to enjoy the fruits of your labour, some technical attention needs to be paid during the construction process.
These, include, the cost involved in building on a hilly site, the use of beams, extra work in stepping up the foundation, retaining walls, drop manholes, cut and fill.
These will significantly have an effect on the total cost of the project.
Cut and fill
Cutting away soil from one place, and filling it in another to obtain a desired level is commonly done on sloping sites. This is among the most economical ways of dealing with levels.
Retaining walls
Any walls that are built on site for purposes of holding back soil are called retaining walls. And they are expensive to construct, therefore, figuring out simpler options of retaining soil will save you money.
Instead of building one high retaining wall, it’s cheaper and visually more attractive to construct a series of lower retaining walls.
Another alternative is using interlocking concrete blocks that are subsequently filled with soil and planted.
Level changes
The most cost effective way of building in a hilly area is by having a split level floor plan.However, this involves a series of stairs/steps between levels. It should be noted that multiple floor levels are not convenient for the elderly, disabled or young children. However, on a positive note, change in floor level can be used as an informal way of defining different areas within an open plan space as an alternative of using partition walls.
Drop manholes
This is where you build a manhole at every change of level. This allows the easy transportation of sewerage.
Beams
These help in distributing weight on a building and for a house on a hilly place the beam has to be deeper for the house to be long lasting.
