Grading Close to Lot Line

[jhanson]

I am building a 2000 sq ft shop/studio very close (3-10 feet) to the top lot line to keep it out of floodplain. The heavily wooded 7 acre property has 5% slope down to a creek in rural Texas Hill Country. Neighbor says it is ok if the fill spills onto her ranch but does not want people or equipment working on her side.

I put a 4" pvc pipe just below grade to transport water from downspout.

Concerned about surface water comming down the hill toward the structure. Contructing cinder block wall foundation.

Thinking raise the interior and exterior grade 18" using gravel and then covering with soil.

There is not much room to slope and lots of trees.

Looking for suggestions.

 

[BelspringKen]

Try to get some of it, as much as possible, to drain away from that building.

To keep the equipment off of the neighbors land, get your grading to tie in/end at least 5' or 10' or so inside your lot.

What is the setback for your lot?? I know some of the rural places have very little in the regs, but even where I live I have to stay 10' inside the lot on the sides.

Piping those roof drains is a good idea - make sure you can get that flow away from the building.


There is another thread on a foundation drain that may be useful to you.

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=171016&page=1

 

[YidnaSkidna]

As mentioned in the previous post, your local zoning code will dictate how far your building must be from the lot line. I would not grade on to neighbors property even if allowed. You should maintain at least 1/2-inch/ft. grade away from your building on the uphill side. Grade away from the structure for (at least) 5 ft to intercept runoff coming off the hill. You can cut into the slope, if needed, but I wouldn't exceed 1:4 slope (rise/run) if you plan to mow behing the building.

 

[eric1037]

Assuming the zoning is OK, you could obtain a grading easement. That way it's official.

 

[francesca]

It's really moot that the neighbor says she doesn't mind fill spilling onto her property because uncompacted fill won't help you and she won't let them in to compact it.

You're also obliged under the NPDES program to keep sediment/erosion off her property (and out of creeks), and that's not possible if your fill goes onto her property but you can't work there.

Can your client buy a 10' strip of her property to give you a little more breathing room? If you're struggling to fit a 2,000 sq ft building onto 7 acres you must have a lot of flood plain to deal with. Maybe the neighbor will consider a land swap; if your client gives her twice as much land below the flood plain (can be used for agriculture) as you need above it, she might be very happy.

As for offsite water coming across your property, you can divert it into a swale or pipe to protect your building. You will have to make sure you've got good energy dissipation and erosion prevention at the outlet, however.