When building a new home, the first steps are the most important.

At Evoke Living Homes, we have built hundreds of modular homes throughout Western Australia, so we have put together our own guide to help explain what needs to be done when it comes to earthworks and site preparations for your new modular home.

Based on your location, Evoke Living Homes can also complete your site preparation for you – including soil classification, site inspection and your site survey or re-peg - so you know you will have reliable advice from your trusted builder.

Now, let’s get straight to it! There are three main aspects of Site Preparation that need to be taken care of in order to ensure a stable foundation for your new home...

Soil Classification

For this aspect, you will need a geotechnical engineer to analyse the soil at your property. After analysing a sample of the ground, a specialist will be able to tell you what kind of foundation you need for the house (slab or stump), the suggested depth of foundation as well as outline potential issues that you might encounter in the coming years such as underground waters.

After you get a complete analysis of the soil you can start the site works. The site works usually include:

• Site scrape – removing the organic matter from the land
• Removal of the surplus soil
• Compacting the soil – preparation of the sand pad. Usually, the depth of the sand is given by the geotechnical expert and depends on the site.
  
  

Site Survey

Surveying the land on which you will build the house is crucial. This investigation is carried out by a land surveyor that will ensure the property borders are accurate. The land surveyors use purpose-built that measure the vertical and horizontal plans to a high degree of accuracy in order to establish the boundaries of your property so there are no questions when it comes to building regulations or insurance.

Site Inspection

When constructing a new home, there are inspections carried out at different stages of construction to ensure compliance with the Building Code of Australia and other local regulations that may be in place. These inspections are carried out by building inspectors who are independent of the builders in order to avoid any conflict of interest.

Inspections that may be required on your property (depending on specific location) include: 

• Compaction Inspection/Certificate: This is carried out by a geotechnical engineer, to ensure the house slab is compacted to the engineers' specifications and requirements.
• Slab inspection: Usually including floor level checks and termite treatment. This inspection is conducted once the slab is delivered to our construction facility.
• Framing inspection: After the concrete slab has been delivered to our facility, a specialist will determine if the dimensions and placements of the frame conform to the plans.
• Waterproofing and plumbing inspection: This is a very important inspection. The specialist will check out if there’s any risk of water infiltration in the new home and if the pipes and plumbing were completed correctly.
• Final inspection: Conclusive review of all previous inspections to ensure the structure is safe. 

Get In Touch

The experienced team at Evoke Living Homes loves talking all things country building so please get in touch, and we’ll be happy to discuss your personal circumstances or answer any questions you have regarding a new modular home!