What you Need to Know About Building on a Slope
Panorama Portarlington features elevated and sloping home sites, some offering stunning views and the opportunity to build an architecturally striking and unique home.
To help you understand what’s involved when it comes to building on a slope, as well as maximise your home’s design, we’ve gathered valuable insights from local sloping block experts, Pivot Homes.
What is a sloping site?
As you’ve probably already guessed, the term sloping site, or sloping block, relates to a piece of land with varying elevation levels. The block of land can be on an incline, decline or cross fall, where it slopes sideways. Ultimately, it isn’t flat like your standard building site.
Building on a slope comes with a range of benefits and complexities that we advise researching before getting started.
What are the benefits of building on a sloping site?
Panoramic views
Perhaps the biggest benefit of building on an elevated, sloping site is the stunning views your home’s design can maximise and enjoy. Many of the home sites at Panorama Portarlington offer sweeping outlooks of the bay, Melbourne city skyline and the You Yangs, thanks to their elevated positioning.
Plenty of natural light
A home positioned on a slope is often perfectly placed to enjoy maximised natural light, especially within its most elevated zones. This opens up the opportunity to include large feature windows to allow the sunlight to pour in or invest in solar panels to make the most out of the roof-hitting rays.
Unique and creative home designs
Building on a slope allows you to select a design with some incredibly unique features that will make your home a real talking point. Elevated ceilings and split-level living areas can make your home feel extra spacious, and light filled. There’s also the potential for beautiful landscaping opportunities, with layered gardens or even a sunken spa.
Is it more expensive to build on a sloping site?
The short answer is yes. Generally speaking there are additional costs involved when you build on a sloping block compared to a flat site.
When looking at land prices, a sloping site may seem more affordable in comparison to many flat allotments in the same location. But there are additional site and construction tasks that your builder must complete to ensure your home is built to the highest standard, and of course, these all come at an extra cost.
What is the cost of building on a slope?
According to Pivot Homes, “it can be very difficult to estimate the exact cost of building on a sloping site, as it is extremely site-dependent. As a rule, the steeper the site, the more expensive the project will be. If your site has over a 2m fall, costs will tend to increase due to the additional labour, foundations, retaining walls etc required to construct. Typically, building on a sloping site will add an additional cost of approximately $20,000 – $50,000 compared to a flat block.”
If you’d like a more precise estimate of your building costs, Pivot Homes has a Customer Home Building Costing Tool that you can use. Simply complete the form and click submit.
What can impact the site costs of building on a sloping site?
The experts at Pivot Homes explain that there are common factors that might add to the cost of building on a sloping site. These can include:
· Intensive excavation and soil removal
· Challenging structural engineering
· Foundation leveling
· Accessibility issues
· Retaining walls
· Additional structural steel and materials
· Drainage and sewage difficulties
· Landscape challenges
· Soil retention
· Architectural and design fees
· Limited number of specialist builders available
Why you need a sloping site analysis
The team at Pivot Homes recommends having a site analysis completed before beginning the design process of your home. “If you don’t…you could be faced with a multitude of issues from natural hazards such as flooding, to greatly increased construction costs as you progress.”
A site analysis will identify any potential costly issues that might need to be taken into consideration going forward. There are several aspects that a site analysis of a sloping block will examine and identify, including the degree and direction of the slope, the natural aspects of the land, including potential views, drainage corridors, potential slippage, access and more.
Your site analysis should identify:
· Severity and direction of the slope
· Topography and contour surveys
· Ground conditions
· Climate and vegetation
· Access
· Drainage corridors
Consulting a building specialist like Pivot Homes before you purchase a block of land is incredibly important to help you understand the unique characteristics of the site and best location for the construction of your new home.
What are the design methods for building on a slope?
According to Pivot Homes, there are a number of design approaches to building on a sloping block which are dependent on whether the home is situated on an incline or decline.
When it comes to the foundations, you can choose from a single concrete slab, a slab combined with a timber sub-floor, or a split-slab.
Here are some of the most common design methods for homes built on a slope:
Cut and fill
This involves levelling out the land by cutting away some of the earth on the high side and moving it to the low side. This means that the house can be designed as though it were on a level surface.
Retaining walls
If you use the cut and fill method, it is likely that you will need to construct retaining walls. These are generally made of steel beams cast into concrete footings and are very important for containing erosion and for adequate site drainage.
Stilts
Homes on particularly steep slopes can be built-up on piers or columns, meaning that there is minimum disturbance to the ground, and the building’s footprint will be smaller. This method can negate the need for expensive foundations. Height restrictions above natural ground level will need to be considered in closer detail.
Split-level
These work excellently for sloping sites because they work with the lay of the land rather than against it. You can have various living and entertaining areas on different levels that make the most of your surrounding views. These designs can be also cost-effective.
You can take a look at some beautiful sloping block designs by Pivot Homes here.
Advice from the experts
Pivot Homes has been the premier sloping block builder in Geelong and Torquay for over 30 years, and so have extensive experience designing and building custom homes that reduce the high levels of excavation and retaining walls required and maximise your home’s views and overall comfort.
Their advice –
“The skill of the designer is one of the most important keys to success when building on a sloping block. When it comes to the design of your new home, you should look for a team that understands how to design on sloping blocks of land.
The team should be able to advise you on how to reduce the costs of excavation and retaining walls required, whilst allowing you to maximise those views.
Not every home builder is experienced or even understands building on sloping sites, so be sure to find someone with a track record of success in this specific area.”
Want more information about sloping blocks?
Here are some useful resources and articles to help you feel fully informed about building on a sloping block:
What to Know Before Buying Sloping Land – Pivot Homes
Building On a Sloping Block: Analysis & Cost – Pivot Homes
How Much Does a Custom Home Cost? – Pivot Homes
Building a House on a Sloping Block – Toto Properties
A Guide to Building a Split-level Home on a Sloping Block – Metricon
Working all the angles: Creative Solutions for Building on Sloping Blocks – Daily Telegraph
How to Make a Sloping Block Work for You – realestate.com.au
