Buying land with a wooded area in Cumming can come with lots of benefits, most notably proximity to nature and additional privacy. On top of this, there is the sense that you are away from everything, even when you are not.
But then you actually try to plan where the house will be built. Where should the driveway be located? What is the best place for the the septic field? Or how will the water behave on the ground when we get a heavy North Georgia storm?
This is the part of building on land like this that nobody really romanticizes. It is all about making the right decisions to avoid a long string of expensive surprises.
Start with what you are actually building
Before anyone touches a tree, you want to be clear about what your goals are. For instance, are you looking to build a full time home or a weekend cabin? Is this more of a future investment where you might build later, or maybe you need to include a long gravel drive that needs to handle a truck coming in and out regularly?
Planning out the building area like this is not just about picking a pretty clearing. It is also about understanding how much functional space you need for the house, parking, turnaround space, outdoor living room, utilities, and whatever else you think you might want later on.
In Cumming and the greater Forsyth County area in Georgia, wooded lots like these can look flat from the road and still have enough slopes to change the way you will go about building on them. So the earlier that you define what use you want to make of the space the easier it will be to spot the problems, or at least start planning around them.
Walk the property like a builder, not like a buyer
A good way to start this process is to walk around the property in the way that a builder would, i.e. in such as way that you are looking for slopes, drainage sites, car access, and clues to the soil and how it might behave when you start building.
You should also stay alert at this stage for the stuff you can’t see yet, like where heavy equipment could realistically move without tearing the site up or where you might need a temporary entrance for construction work. Pay attention to natural low spots on the land, old creek beds, wet weather drainage channels, and even places where leaves have piled up in a line. The latter are little tell-tale signs about how water flows around that might influence your drainage plans.
Also, note where trees that are growing well are standing. Healthy growth sometimes points to the soil being better and the drainage in that area being optimum. Conversely, thin areas and stunted trees are trying to tell you something different.
Zoning and the invisible lines that control how you build
A lot of the planning process on land like this is about establishing property lines, road right of way, easements, buffers, and sometimes the HOA rules if the land is within a community. If you have a survey or recorded lot info, get it out. Otherwise you are trying to plan in the dark.
Easements are a major issue. They do not always mean that you cannot build on the site, but they do sometimes mean that you cannot build exactly what you want and where you want to. You definitely do not want to spend money clearing an area only to find out that you cannot place a structure there.
This is where working with an experienced grading and land clearance contractor really helps and potentially saves you a lot of money. They know what will typically pass inspection and what tends to turn into a redesign job.
Pick the driveway route first
People usually start planning work with the house, but on wooded land like this driveway access is actually what needs to come first, as it will often decide the house location.
You need a route that can be built on and which will drain correctly, one that is not so steep that it becomes a problem every time it rains. You also need a place where trucks can get in and out during construction without getting stuck.
In Cumming, there is often a lot of clay soils that hold excess water. A driveway might look fine as a dirt track on this soil and yet quickly become a problem when heavy equipment starts running on it and pressing the soil down in ways that means it cannot absorb water well in future.
A practical thing to do is to identify two or three potential routes for the driveway, then evaluate each of them to assess things like the slopes, the turning radius, sight distance from the road, and where the water runoff will go. When a good driveway location has been located, the best place for the house usually becomes obvious right afterwards.
Think in layers: Clearing work, grading the land, and finishing landscaping are not all the same thing
This is where a lot of budgets for land work get blown. Clearing is one cost, roughly grading the land is another, while finishing the grading and final landscaping are more jobs again. They are connected, but they are not identical by any stretch of the imagination.
On wooded property you want to be strategic about what you are going to clear. Sometimes you are clearing for the home site, the septic area or the driveway. Other times you clear more because you need sunlight or extra space.
Whatever the need, you want room to move water away from the structures and to shape the slopes to stabilize the site without constant maintenance. A contractor that does clearing, grading and landscaping work as a package can plan these layers of work together and end up saving you both money and time.
Soil and septic issue
If your property needs a septic tank or system put in, then the build area plan should also respect that from the first day of work. Carry out a feasibility study early on to see how it might impact on the work or make it more expensive.
You want to reserve good land for the drainage field and also avoid using heavy equipment on top of the best soil zones once they are identified, because if the soil becomes compacted, this can hurt the performance of the drainage area later.
Even if you are not ready to install a septic system yet, planning for it impacts on where you clear, where you stage the construction materials and equipment, and where you let the machinery operate. This is just one of those simply decisions in which a little foresight can ensure that the project runs a lot smoother later on.
Plan drainage before you plan a nice view
Water movement is not always visible on a wooded lot. Leaves and roots can slow things down, and everything looks as though it is okay, but once you clear and disturb the soil, water will move around much faster on it as it finds the new low spot you accidentally created. Then it starts to sit there in a pool right where you hoped to put in a patio.
Therefore, when you plan a place to build on, you are really planning where the water will flow after construction starts. In North Georgia heavy rain is common and clay soil can make surface flow more intense. A smart building plan accordingly uses natural contours where possible to keep the water flow stable.
Protect the trees you are keeping
Many owners want to keep a lot of the canopy of their trees, which makes sense. Still, trees do not love construction work happening around them. Roots, for instance, extend further than most people think and if a trench is dug too close to the roots or major roots are cut it will stress the tree and it might decline a year later. Then you have to pay to remove a dead tree.
When defining the area to build on decide early on which trees are being kept and create protection zones around them. This zone includes where you park equipment and where you stockpile soil. This is also a reason why forestry mulching can be useful in the early phase. It can open up the lot, improve site access, and give you a better idea of what’s happening on the land without immediately stripping everything back to bare dirt.
Plan for staging areas too
When building work is being undertaken, you will need somewhere to put equipment and material. You will also need room for delivery trucks to enter and turn around. If you do not plan for a staging area like this it will end up in the future yard or right where you wanted to keep a set of trees.
A good building area plan includes an ugly but necessary zone for construction logistics. Then, once the heavy work is done, that area can be regraded, cleaned up and blended into the final layout.
A contractor you can trust for land clearance and grading
Projects that are well carried out usually start with a contractor explaining what they are going to do and what the next steps are, in addition to offering a reasonable quote for the job that does not change midway through the job. In the Greater Atlanta area and North Georgia, GPH Grading is a business that offers an excellent service of this kind.
GPH was founded in 2016 by Graeme, who grew up around forestry and construction equipment and drove his first Bobcat at age five, while the his main assistant brings almost a decade of industry experience too.
They will clear your land and carry out excavations; grading; leveling;, bobcat work; landscaping services; and even forestry mulching at a reasonable rate. The benefit of this holistic methodology is that you are not juggling between three different contractors who all end up blaming each other if something goes wrong.
Adhering to the proper codes and permits
Wooded lots can make people feel like they are out in the country and the normal rules do not apply. But Cumming is not in the middle of nowhere at the same time and inspections to work sites still occur.
Any serious contractor should be licensed and insured, while also following the relevant local, state, and federal regulations along with all the proper zoning ordinances. This will manifest in how the contractor manages soil erosion, stabilizing entrances, and the way that they operate equipment safely.
Safety standards matter even more when you are clearing trees and removing dirt from slopes. One bad decision in these cases can damage a neighbor’s fence or undermine a driveway, so safety standards are vital.
The goal here is simple: do the work well and on time and budget. In turn, contractors like this can build strong relationships and a reputation for being reliable and honest. This is essential when your project involves extensively preparing land and forestry mulching, which can greatly enhance the usability of wooded land by efficiently clearing any unwanted vegetation or small trees while simultaneously preserving the more desirable trees.
How to choose the place you will build on
After surveying your land, choosing the spot to build on usually comes down to a handful of tradeoffs. For instance, do you want the house higher up for the benefit of the view, even if it means more grading work? Maybe you want it situated a bit away from the road to provide more privacy, even if it means that the driveway will need to be longer?
There is often no perfect answer to these questions. But there is usually a best overall approach which balances cost and goals. Once you find that sweet spot everything becomes easier.
Wrapping it up without over-complicating it
Planning out where to build on wooded land in Cumming, Georgia is mostly about evaluating the land before you start changing it. The slopes, water flow, access points and soil all need to be taken into account. Then you develop a plan that works in conjunction with the land instead of fighting against it at every stage.
If you are at the point where you want a decent building plan prepared and a realistic estimate of what it will cost from a land clearing and grading team that listens, call GPH Grading. They have been doing this work across North Georgia and the Greater Atlanta area since 2016. You won’t be disappointed.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What should I consider before building on a wooded lot in Cumming?
Before building establish what your goals are, whether it’s building a full-time home, a weekend cabin, or for some other use. Consider the footprint of the house in the landscape, grading work which might have to be carried out, parking, laying down utilities, and the outdoor living space. Understanding the slope of the land and drainage is crucial to avoid surprises during the construction work.
How do I properly assess a wooded property for its potential as a construction site?
Walk around the property as though you are a builder examining the site to check the slopes; the drainage patterns; the soil quality; and the access points to see if heavy equipment can easily enter during construction. Look out for things like naturally low places and healthy tree growth, as the latter are indicators that there is good drainage and soil conditions here.
Why are zoning and setbacks important when planning my build?
Zoning rules and ensuring that the buildings are setback from the edge of the property are important things to consider when planning where to build, as are HOA restrictions. These define where you can legally build. Invisible lines like these can significantly reduce the amount of usable space you can build on. Reviewing surveys or maps of the land early on can also help avoid any costly mistakes like clearing areas where building will not be permitted.
Why should the location of the driveway be planned before deciding on where the house will be built?
On land with lots of trees, driveway access often dictates where the house will be located because the driveway must be situated in a place with proper drainage and manageable gradients. A well-planned driveway also ensures that construction equipment can access the site without damaging the land or causing issues like soil erosion.
How does planning out the septic system impact on building on wooded lots?
Septic tank feasibility influences where you can place your home since drainage fields require specific soil conditions. Planning where you will place the septic tank early on in the process avoids expensive changes later by reserving suitable soil zones and preventing heavy equipment from compacting the critical areas.
