Site Analysis

Your home doesn’t stand alone, it’s built on your site and your site has lots of qualities and attributes that need to be considered during your design process. Getting to know your site by doing a site analysis will improve your home design whether you’re considering a new build or a remodel, whether you’re looking for a site or already have one, whether it’s obvious where your home will be on your site or there’s some flexibility.

Doing a thorough site analysis is key to the success of your home design.

If you hire a design professional, they should carry out a site analysis and as such, it’s reasonable to ask to see or hear the output of their site analysis.

And as House Plans Helper is for homeowners who want to get more involved in their home design, naturally I encourage you all to carry out your own site analysis.

Some parts of site analysis are exciting, you’re finding out about all the parts of your site that are going to add to your design - sunny spots and good views. Other aspects of site analysis can feel tedious, as if you’re just putting together a list of constraints that limit design possibilities right from the start.

I encourage you to look at all the opportunities and constraints with an open mind. A list of constraints can often be an inspiration in the design process. After all, the whole point of design is to maximize opportunities and solve problems.

A cautionary tale

I have come across homeowners who, having worked on a design without a thorough site analysis, found that there were regulations or physical constraints that they didn’t know about which prevented them from building the home they had hoped for.

This, naturally has an impact on your budget and timeline. You have to spend more time and money going back through the design process.

What’s often overlooked is the emotional toll this takes. What I see is that as homeowners work on their design, they start to imagine their life in their new home. In their dreams they’ve already moved in. This means that they are very anchored on their design and starting over is a real emotional wrench.

Rules & Regulations

Zoning regulations and land use restrictions can pose a significant challenge for the design of your new home. These rules govern the permissible land uses, building heights, setbacks, and other crucial parameters.

It's also a good time to find out about any permits that you'll need.

There may be some legal issues that have an impact on what or where you can build.

And if your home is older or in an old neighborhood, there may be some rules in place to preserve the heritage of your home and the appearance of the neighborhood.

Facts & Figures

This part of site analysis is all about collecting together some facts and figures on your site. All of which are crucial inputs into your design.

You’ll need to do a site plan and a home survey if your site has an existing home. Your architect or design professional can do this for you, but I also make some suggestions if you want to do a site plan of your own.

It’s important to capture some imagery of your site, your current home, the surroundings and your neighborhood.

You’ll also need to find out what utilities are available to your site.

Mother Nature

All things to do with the environment play a part in your site analysis.

Orientation towards the sun is a vital part of your site analysis. It influences everything from how comfortable your home will feel to how much energy it uses.

Your climate plays a huge role in how you’ll build your home. Finding out about your climate will help you find out and decide on construction methods and materials, and design features or rules that need to be included to make your new home accommodate your climate and work with the weather rather than against it.

Sometimes Mother Nature can throw a curve ball – or a natural disaster. Finding out about the probability of a natural disaster occurring, and how to design for it if one hits means you’ll sleep easier in your new home.

Your site analysis is also an opportunity to find out about your soil conditions so that you can be sure you’ll be building on a solid foundation.

Neighborhood Considerations

The dynamics of the local community and neighborhood are things you'll also be exploring as part of your site analysis process. This includes understanding practical matters about your neighborhood such as noise and trash collection as well as the more social oriented aspects such as the cultural context, community preferences, and potential conflicts.