Landscaping of a Single-Family House and Its Impact on the Technical and Economic Characteristics of the Overall Investment

Before preparing the necessary documentation for obtaining a building permit, it is necessary to know what the tasks of the investor and the designer are.

Solution and Method

Before preparing the necessary documentation for obtaining a building permit, it is necessary to know what the tasks of the investor and the designer are. The investor must obtain location information and a certificate of intended use at the municipal administration, a plot display at the geodetic administration and a geodetic survey of the intended construction area. The investor must be the owner of the plot on which construction will take place, or must have building rights.

The investor finds a designer with whom they conclude a design contract, and together they determine deadlines, payment for services and the anticipated scope of services. Services may also include obtaining consents and preparing the application for issuing a building permit and other necessary matters in arranging the obtaining of a building permit. In this case, it is necessary to prepare a power of attorney, which the investor must sign.

The tasks of the designer are the preparation of project documentation and technical advice on the intended construction. The designer must take into account the spatial act for the area in which we wish to build. The designer first prepares documentation for the investor for obtaining a building permit, taking into account all legal provisions and restrictions that apply to the construction area.

A building permit is obtained on the basis of an application for obtaining a building permit, to which we attach two copies of the project for obtaining a building permit with consents, a certificate of payment of the municipal contribution, an additional copy of the main file and a digital record of the main file, and in the case of reconstruction, superstructure or extension of an existing residential house, also the building permit for the existing building. The selected designer also prepares the project for execution. The project for obtaining a building permit and the project for execution are the fundamental documentation with which the investor approaches potential contractors and on the basis of which contractors prepare tender estimates.

Every residential building with its surroundings should provide us with a certain visual appearance that makes us feel good. The correct choice of materials with a long lifespan and professional execution that takes into account functionality and colour coordination are important. The biggest mistake occurs during excavation if we do not ensure sufficient depth or if the gravel backfill is insufficiently compacted.

Therefore, it is very important to compact it with a mechanical or manual roller that compacts the gravel to the desired load-bearing capacity. It is also good to moisten the gravel before compaction. When constructing a fence around a residential house, the most important part is the execution of strip or point foundations of sufficient depth to carry out excavation below the frost zone.

A mistake often occurs during excavation, where we work independently and manually carry out excavation of insufficient depth. This is most noticeable with existing fences alongside which there is a storm water ditch, where the entire fence tilts towards the ditch. If the fence is masonry, the concrete can also crack.

Mistakes are most noticeable over a longer period of time. With masonry fences, it is very important that before executing the first line of blocks, we carry out waterproofing with a coating on which blocks are subsequently laid with prior application of frost-resistant adhesive. This prevents moisture from rising into the blocks.

The designer's estimate for a ground-floor residential house in the case of the diploma thesis amounts to €167,700.00, whilst the price of landscaping amounts to €17,407.62 excluding VAT (Appendix 9). The ratio between the above-mentioned investment in the residential house and landscaping is 10.38%, which is within the range of 6 to 12% and in accordance with the established hypothesis, which is thereby accepted. The ratio surprised me, as it represents quite a high percentage, especially if we consider that rainwater drainage was arranged into an existing storm water ditch, so that it was not necessary to construct a soakaway or infiltration field.

It was necessary to arrange an access road of 220 m2, which is the usual size that meets the needs of access to the house, which is set back somewhat into the interior of the plot, the needs for setback from the road in accordance with the municipal decree and the needs for a parking space for a car. Execution with one layer of asphalt mixture 6 cm thick seems high-quality and also affordable. The author in the diploma thesis made a plan of the residential house with placement in space and a designer's estimate of the investment. He continued with the ground-floor residential house under consideration and made a landscaping plan with all the necessary drawings for execution and a designer's estimate.

He obtained market prices for individual items from the company Atrij d. o. o. When selecting materials for landscaping, fencing, sewerage and traffic surfaces, he took into account professional, technical and economic aspects and selected appropriate solutions. When arranging the traffic surface at the residential house, the most affordable options are the execution of one layer of asphalt AC11 surf B 70/100 A4 6 cm thick, which is carried out by specialists with a paver machine, and the execution of a fence with mesh panel fencing, in which all profiles are hot-dip galvanised and powder-coated.

Both cases are affordable and also appropriate if we consider the lifespan of the installed materials. I estimate that the value of the investment in the surroundings of the residential house is at least 10% of the value of the investment in the residential house.