Finished Floor Elevation Recomendation

[lzhang84]

Hi, I am new to this and need help determining what the finished floor elevation for this particular site and layout should be. Lot 2 is where the house will be built. My first inclination is to go with a 394' elevation since that is the elevation the driveway will come in at. But that will result in a higher retaining wall on the south side of the property where there is a steep slope. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated

-Larry

 

[chicopee]

About a drainage ditch, if permitted, at the base of the retaining wall. For many years I have told friends that when buying a house make sure that storm water will flow away for the house, however, in your case the high ground on the plan southeast side will drain storm water towards the house.

 

[cvg]

couple thoughts

balance the earthwork. you don't want to haul in fill or haul out waste material. that will also reduce the height of any wall
keep your finished floor at least 12 to 14 inches above the road elevation and surrounding ground if possible, that will help with controlling drainage

 

[EdStainless]

Are there local requirements for floor elevation?
Here there are regulations for both how high the garage floor and house floor must be above street level.

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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[civilman72]

Too many factors to consider to give you good direction. Earthwork should be a consideration, and will likely mean you want to keep the home as low as possible, but that could also be a detriment to view corridors (if they exist). You could lower the garage and use a trench grate to keep water away from the garage, and then step main level up from there. Then again, considering the size of this house, I'm not sure your client cares about saving money on earthwork...

 

[lzhang84]

Thanks for the input all. The challenge is that the house will be 3 stories with 9' ceilings and local codes have a building height restriction of 35'. So trying to balance being able to get 9' ceilings on all 3 floors while managing drainage via floor elevation. I think I will go with 395' elevation for the FFE and do 9' on only 2 floors might be a good balance.

 

[bimr]

You want the finished floor elevation such that the overflow level of the plumbing fixtures is above the elevation of the rim of the sewer manhole in the street.

If basement elevations are below the sewer manhole rim, you would want to specify an overhead drainage system.