The land has opinions
Your site is the piece of land you build on and everything about it: where the sun falls, where the wind comes from, which way water runs.
A good plan works with the site. A plan that ignores it fights the land every day, often for decades.
This lesson covers six things to read: sun, wind, slope, water, soil and access. Ideally, you watch them through a full year before you build anything permanent.
Sun
In the US, the sun crosses the southern sky. In winter it rises in the southeast, stays low and sets in the southwest. In summer it rises in the northeast, climbs high and sets in the northwest.
- A clear view to the south gives winter sun for the house, solar panels and garden.
- Trees, hills and buildings to the south cast long shadows in winter, when the sun is low.
- Low winter sun and high summer sun are what make roof overhangs work (lesson 10).
Walk the site at different times of day. Note where shadows fall, and imagine them much longer in December.
Wind and slope
Wind carries heat away from a house and can damage roofs and panels. Learn where winter storms usually come from. In much of the US, cold winter winds come from the north and west, but local hills and valleys can change that.
- A windbreak is a row of trees, shrubs or a building that slows the wind. It protects the house and garden on its downwind side.
Slope is how steeply the ground rises or falls.
- Water runs downhill, and so does cold air on still nights.
- A gentle slope that faces south is often warm and drains well.
- Steep slopes cost more to build on and can erode or slide.
Text description
A section through a hillside, north on the left and south on the right, not to scale. A house sits on a gentle south-facing slope, with a windbreak of trees on its north side slowing the cold winter wind from the north and west. Low winter sun shines in from the south. On still nights, cold air drains down the slope and pools in a hollow at the bottom, where a hedge holds it in place. This is a frost pocket. Rain also runs downhill toward the hollow.
Water
Read where water comes from, where it goes and where it sits.
- Flooding: check whether any part of the land is in a mapped flood zone. FEMA publishes flood maps by address. Do not put the house in a flood-prone spot.
- Drainage: look for wet ground, standing puddles after rain, and plants that like wet feet. These spots are poor for a house or a septic field.
- Sources: a well, a spring, a creek or rain off a roof. Each has its own rules and risks, covered in Track 3.
Visit after a heavy rain. You will learn more in one wet day than in a month of dry ones.
Soil and access
Soil decides what grows, how the ground drains and what a foundation or septic system needs.
- The NRCS Web Soil Survey maps soil types for most of the US. It gives a first idea of drainage and depth to rock or water.
- A map is only a start. On-site tests by a professional decide whether a septic system can work, and what a foundation needs.
Access is how people, trucks and emergency vehicles reach you.
- A well-drilling rig, a concrete truck and a fire truck all need a firm, wide road.
- Snow, mud and steep grades can cut you off for days.
- Long driveways cost a lot to build and to maintain.
Diagnose it: the frosted garden
“The garden at the bottom of the hill gets hit by frost weeks earlier than the rest of the land.”
Clues
- The garden sits in a low hollow below a long slope.
What is the most likely cause?
Placing things on the site
Once you have read the site, you can start placing the big pieces. There is rarely a perfect spot, so you trade one thing against another.
Text description
A plan view of a piece of land, north at the top. A road runs along the north edge, and a driveway curves down to the house. The house sits in the middle, its long side facing south, with a small garden just south of it. A windbreak of trees runs along the north and west sides of the house, against winter wind from the north and west. Two arcs show the sun's path: the summer sun rises in the northeast, passes high and to the south, and sets in the northwest; the winter sun rises in the southeast, stays low in the southern sky and sets in the southwest. Arrows show the land sloping downhill to the south. Rain runs downhill to a creek along the south edge, where the ground is low and wet, with a flood risk. A key lists sunlight, wind, water and slope arrows.
Wells and septic systems also have to stay set distances from each other, from the house and from property lines. Those distances are set by your state or county, not by preference.
Check
You have two spots for the house. Spot 1 is a low, flat area by the creek. Spot 2 is a gentle south-facing slope higher up. Which is usually the better starting point?
Summary
- Read six things: sun, wind, slope, water, soil and access.
- In the US, winter sun is low in the southern sky. Keep that view clear.
- Cold air and water both flow downhill. Low spots can be frost pockets and flood zones.
- Soil maps are a start. On-site tests by a professional decide septic and foundation needs.
- Watch the site through a full year if you can.
Next, you will decide what to build first and how to live through year one.
Go deeper: make a simple site map
Sketch the land from above on paper. Mark north, the slope with arrows pointing downhill, wet spots, big trees, the road and any existing well or septic. Add the sun’s path for summer and winter as two arcs. Over a year, add notes: where snow drifts, where puddles form, where frost hits first. This map becomes part of your homestead brief in lesson 6.