How To Build A House: Getting The Contractors Lined Up Ep 12

Summary

In this video, Roman Lucha provides step-by-step guidance on the initial stages of building a house. He emphasizes the importance of securing building permits, contacting an excavator and forming company, and working with a surveyor to mark excavation points. Lucha also stresses the need for builder’s risk insurance before any digging starts. Additionally, he explains the roles of the gas and hydro companies in determining utility placements. This video is a practical guide for anyone preparing to break ground on a construction project.

Takeaways

• 📜 Secure all necessary building permits from the city before proceeding.
• 📞 Call the excavator and forming company to schedule them once you have the permits.
• 📏 Before excavation, have a surveyor do an outside pinning of the excavation site to mark where the basement will be dug.
• 📐 The surveyor will mark the corners of the plot and the height of the footing for the excavator to follow.
• 🚜 Once the excavation is complete, call the surveyor again to do an inside pinning to mark the placement of the basement walls.
• 🏗️ The inside pinning ensures the concrete forming company knows exactly where to place walls and footings, and checks the elevation.
• 🔒 Before excavation, notify your insurance company and secure a builder’s risk insurance package for liability and coverage during construction.
• 💧 The builder’s risk insurance should cover damages like theft, fire, flooding, and accidents.
• 💡 Contact the gas and hydro companies for layout planning, determining where the utilities and meters will be placed on the property.
• 🏡 For cost efficiency, consider placing the hydro meter on the house side instead of the garage side.

Q & A

What should be done after obtaining the building permits from the city?

After obtaining the building permits, you need to call your excavator and forming company to get them lined up. Also, contact your surveyor to do an outside pinning of the excavation.

What is the purpose of outside pinning in the construction process?

Outside pinning involves the surveyor placing stakes at the corners of the site and marking the elevation. This shows the excavator where to dig the basement and ensures that the excavation aligns with the plot plan.

Why is it important to mark the elevation for the excavator?

Marking the elevation ensures that the excavator knows how deep to dig for the basement, following the precise measurements in the plot plan.

What should be done once the excavator has dug the basement?

After the basement is dug, you need to call the surveyor again to perform inside pinning. This helps the concrete forming company know exactly where to place the walls and footings.

What does inside pinning involve?

Inside pinning is when the surveyor places pins in the corners of the basement to guide the concrete forming company in placing the walls and footings accurately.

Why does the surveyor need to double-check the basement's elevation?

The surveyor double-checks the basement’s elevation to ensure it conforms to the plot plan, ensuring the heights and dimensions are correct.

When should the insurance company be contacted, and why?

Before excavation begins, the insurance company should be contacted to set up a builder's risk insurance policy. This covers damages, liabilities, theft, fire, and flood risks during construction.

What does builder's risk insurance typically cover?

Builder's risk insurance covers damage, liability, theft, fire, and flood risks that might occur during the construction process.

What role do the gas and hydro companies play in the construction process?

The gas and hydro companies come to the site to do a layout, showing where the gas lines and electrical meters will be placed. You can often decide which side of the house these will go on.

Why is it preferable to place the meters on the house side rather than the garage side?

It is generally more cost-effective to place the meters on the house side rather than the garage side, as placing them on the garage side may incur additional costs.

Outlines

00:00

🚜 Getting Building Permits and Initial Steps

Roman Lucha introduces the video by explaining that they've acquired building permits from the city, allowing them to proceed with construction. The next step is to call the excavator and forming company, but before that, it's crucial to contact the surveyor to perform an outside pinning. The surveyor will use the plot plan submitted with the permit to mark the corners of the site and indicate the correct elevation for the basement excavation.

🕳️ Surveyor's Role in Basement Excavation

The surveyor's markers, including stakes, guide the excavator on where to dig the basement and at what depth. These markers include elevation lines to ensure the excavation is at the right height for the building's footings. Before the excavator starts, the surveyor must complete this critical task.

🏠 Inside Pinning for Basement Walls

Once the excavator completes the basement digging, the surveyor returns to perform inside pinning. This involves placing markers inside the basement corners to help the concrete forming company align the basement walls accurately. The surveyor double-checks the elevation to ensure it matches the plot plan's specifications, ensuring precision before proceeding to the next steps.

🔍 Final Survey for Elevation and Grading

Roman notes that after the house is built, the surveyor will return again for a final survey to confirm the grading of the property. This ensures the house's elevation and ground levels comply with the plot plan. This step will occur later in the building process and is not yet required.

📑 Builder's Risk Insurance

Before starting excavation, it's crucial to inform the insurance company about the construction. The insurance provider will offer a special 'builder's risk' insurance package, which covers damages, liabilities, theft, fire, and flood. It's important to have this coverage in place before the excavator arrives on site to protect the project.

⚡ Utility Layout and Connections

Roman advises contacting the gas and hydro companies to schedule a layout for utility installations. The gas company will indicate which side of the house the gas line will run on, and the hydro company will provide guidance on meter placement. It's typically cheaper to have the utilities on the house side rather than the garage side, so this step is crucial for cost-saving.

Keywords

💡Building Permit

A building permit is an official approval from the city that allows a person or company to begin construction. In the video, the speaker mentions that they have picked up their building permits, which indicates that all necessary clearances have been given for the project to start. This is a crucial step before any excavation or construction can take place.

💡Excavator

An excavator is heavy machinery used to dig into the ground, usually for the purpose of creating foundations. The speaker emphasizes the importance of calling the excavator after receiving the building permit and having the site marked by the surveyor. The excavator will dig the basement based on the stakes and elevations marked by the surveyor.

💡Surveyor

A surveyor is a professional who measures and marks the land for construction. In this context, the surveyor uses the plot plan to place stakes and mark the elevation lines that guide the excavator where to dig. The surveyor’s role is crucial in ensuring that the digging is done accurately and according to the plan.

💡Plot Plan

A plot plan is a detailed drawing that shows the boundaries and measurements of a piece of land. It’s submitted with the building permit and used by the surveyor to place markers for excavation. The plot plan is essential in ensuring that the construction aligns with city regulations and is correctly positioned on the land.

💡Pinning

Pinning refers to the process of placing stakes or pins on the construction site to mark key locations like the corners of the excavation. The video explains that the surveyor first conducts an outside pinning to mark where the excavator should dig, and then an inside pinning to guide the concrete forming company on where to place the walls.

💡Elevation

Elevation refers to the height above or below a fixed point, often sea level. In the video, the surveyor marks elevation lines to show how deep the excavator needs to dig for the basement and how high the underside of the footing should be. Accurate elevation is important for ensuring the stability and drainage of the foundation.

💡Concrete Forming

Concrete forming involves creating a mold or framework that holds concrete in place as it hardens. The speaker mentions calling the concrete forming company after the excavation is complete. The forming process ensures that the walls and footings are poured in the correct locations and with the proper dimensions.

💡Builder's Risk Insurance

Builder's Risk Insurance is a specialized form of insurance that covers construction projects. It protects against risks like damage to the property, theft, or accidents during construction. The speaker advises securing builder’s risk insurance before excavation begins to cover potential liabilities, emphasizing the importance of proactive risk management.

💡Gas Layout

A gas layout refers to the placement of gas lines and meters for the property. The gas company is called to determine where the gas lines will go and which side of the house the gas meter should be placed on. This is an important step in ensuring the safe and efficient installation of utilities during construction.

💡Hydro Layout

Hydro layout refers to the placement of electrical lines and meters. Similar to the gas layout, the hydro company provides information on where to place the electricity meters. The speaker advises considering the side of the house versus the garage side for placing these meters, as the costs can vary depending on their location.

Highlights

Picked up building permits and received all necessary city clearances to start construction.

Before starting, the surveyor must perform an outside pinning of the excavation using the plot plan to guide the excavator.

The stakes set by the surveyor mark the boundaries for digging the basement and show the height for the underside of the footing.

Surveyor marks a cut line for the excavator, indicating how deep to dig, such as two and a half meters.

Once the excavator digs the basement, the surveyor returns to perform an inside pinning to guide the concrete forming company.

The inside pinning precisely marks the placement of the house walls and footings for the concrete company.

The surveyor also double-checks the basement elevation to ensure it aligns with the plot plan.

After the house is built, a final survey and grading check is needed.

Before excavation, notify the insurance company to secure builder's risk insurance covering liability, theft, fire, and flood.

Builder’s risk insurance must be in place before the excavator arrives.

Coordinate with the gas company for a layout of where the gas line will enter the house.

Coordinate with the hydro (electric) company for a layout to determine the meter placement, which can be on either side of the house.

If possible, choose the house side for the electric meter layout to save on costs, as the garage side can be more expensive.

Ensure all preliminary steps, such as surveys, insurance, and utility layouts, are completed before moving to the next stage of construction.

Transcripts

hi roman lucha here on how to build a

health series okay so we just came back

from the city and we picked up our

building permits all right so we've got

all clearances from the city to go ahead

and build

so at this time you want to call your

excavator and your forming company and

get them lined up now before you do

anything you have to call your surveyor

again and tell him to do an outside

pinning of the excavation what that is

is he'll take your plot plan that you

that you've

uh submitted with your permit and from

the plot plan he will go to the site and

he will put stakes in the corners and

also showing elevation for the excavator

okay now the stakes are there to show

the excavator where to dig the basement

okay on the lot and also the height of

the underside of the footing so he'll

mark a line it'll give you an elevation

and it'll

give a cut line on there to tell the

excavator from this line dig down

two and a half meters or whatever is

marked on that so it's very important

before your excavator starts you call

the surveyor to do an outside excavation

of the penny now once the excavator

shows up and digs the basement okay you

have to call the surveyor again and to

call and call him and do an inside

pinning of the basement what that means

is he'll come into the basement and

you'll put pins in the corners of the

house

to show the concrete forming company

exactly where the walls are to be placed

okay and that's very precise it'll tell

the concrete company and the foreman

company to show them exactly where to

put the walls and the footings okay and

they'll also double check the cut what

that what i mean by that is they'll

double check the elevation of the

basement to make sure that it conforms

to the plot plan because on your plot

plan it shows you all the elevations

and all the the height so he'll double

check all that and then later on when

the house is up you need to call him to

do a final survey of the property and to

check the grading but that's at another

stage

but that's what we need to do right now

also before you dig very important you

need to call your insurance company now

your insurance company um you have to

tell them what you're doing and what

you're proposing and they'll put a

package that's called the builder's risk

okay they'll put a separate insured

insurance

on your bill okay

it'll cover any damage that could happen

any liability insurance any theft

insurance any fire insurance

and any flood insurance that's usually a

separate thing but

make sure you get your builders risk put

on before the excavator shows up okay

and that's that's

that's what you have to do at this

moment now you can also go ahead and

call the gas company and to do a layout

now and they'll come and do a layout and

show you

what side of the house the gas is going

to go on

if you go on either side you can tell

them what side you want to put it on and

also the hydro company they'll also give

you the layout and they'll they will

tell you what side the meters to go on

in most cases if you can go on either

side then you usually want to get it on

the house side because it costs a little

bit more if you go on the garage side so

that's what you have to do now see you

at the next stage