Important Site Practices for Additions
Keeping your site organized and tidy is very important. Materials should be properly stored so that they won’t get damaged by inclement weather. A job site should be cleaned up at the end of each day. Messy job sites are an eyesore to your neighbors and are unsafe.
Job Site and Landscaping
Remember, your yard is a micro-system, and damaging one tree could disrupt the stability of what you have nurtured over the years. Protect native soil by removing it carefully and storing it until renovations are complete – the will save you the cost of buying new soil later. To re-landscape disturbed areas, use native plants that require minimal water or fertilizers.
Avoid digging utilities in root zones, or try hand-digging utilities to protect existing vegetation. Try to limit traffic in general, because cars and trucks tend to contaminate indoor air quality and compact soil to a point where existing planting roots are damaged irreversibly.
See Chapter 6, Room Additions in the book Green Remodeling for more details.
Site Practices for Additions Checklist
- Preserve existing mature trees whenever possible
- Protect the top three inches of top soil and reuse it for planting
- Clean up (or instruct your contractor) at the end of each day
- Keep materials out of the weather and safe from kids and pets