Audel Carpenter's and Builder's Layout, Foundation, and Framing
Chapter One
Locating a Building
The term layout means the process used to locate and fix the reference
lines that define the position of the foundation and outside
walls of a building.
Selection of Site
Staking out (sometimes called a preliminary layout) is
important. The exact location of the building has to be properly selected. It
may be wise to dig a number of small, deep holes at various points.
The holes should extend to a depth a little below the bottom of the
basement.
If the holes extend down to its level, the groundwater (which is
sometimes present near the surface of the earth) will appear in the
bottom of the holes. This water will nearly always stand at the same
level in all the holes.
If possible, a house site should be located so that the bottom of
the basement is above the level of the groundwater. This may mean
locating the building at some elevated part of the lot or reducing
the depth of excavation. The availability of storm and sanitary sewers
(and their depth) should have been previously investigated. The
distance of the building from the curb is usually stipulated in city
building ... read full excerpt from Audel Carpenter's and Builder's Layout, Foundation, and Framing, All New 7th Edition ebook
