Stan Jones and Rob Thallon
Over 325 details for builders and designers
From one end of the property line to the other, Graphic
Guide to Site Construction provides you with the essential
details on a vast array of residential site construction projects --
from basic walkways to driveways, retaining walls, septic systems,
decks, terraces and exterior lighting, and more.
Graphic Guide to Site Construction is the third installment
in the very successful Graphic Guide series by architect and
professor Rob Thallon. As with all Graphic Guides, Site
Construction provides clear and authoritative information
through more than 350 illustrations. For Site Construction,
Thallon has teamed up with colleague Stan Jones, a landscape
architect, to demystify the systems and features common to
residential sites.
You’ll find all the details you need in these major categories:
- grading and drainage
- retaining walls
- septic systems
- irrigation
- paving
- fences, decks, and outbuildings
- outdoor fireplaces, and barbecues
- pools, ponds, spas and waterfalls
About the authors
Rob Thallon is a practicing architect who, for more than 20
years, has collaborated with landscape architects to design and
construct residential gardens. He has written numerous articles and
books on residential construction including
Graphic Guide to Frame Construction
and Graphic Guide to Interior
Details. He is an associate professor of architecture at the
University of Oregon, where he teaches courses in design and
construction.
Stan Jones has over 20 years of experience in landscape
design and construction. He currently teaches design and landscape
technologies in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the
University of Oregon, where he coordinates an ongoing series of
hands-on, design-build projects that examine the nature of materials
and the realities of construction and design.
Introduction:
Every year, more than a million new
residences are constructed in North America, and with them comes the
development of yards and gardens that allow the occupants of these
new dwellings to move their daily lives outside. In addition to new
gardens, hundreds of thousands of existing gardens are improved and
remodeled each year.
A well-planned and well-constructed yard extends the living space of
a house in innumerable ways. In southern climates, where the weather
is agreeable more often than not, the convenience of usable outdoor
spaces in the form of porches, terraces, and lawns is taken for
granted. And in northern climates, where enjoyable weather is less
frequent, the use of outdoor spaces is more precious and their
importance elevated. Even when the site is used for neither social
activities nor play, there are usually a number of exterior items to
be designed and built that make a residence complete.
The development of a yard is not a simple thing. Even the most basic
outdoor space with a deck, a fence, and a lawn require knowledge of
materials, structure, drainage, soils, planting, and detailing for
the weather. And more developed gardens that contain lighting,
pathways, retaining walls, irrigation, and other complex components
require deeper knowledge. Most people are not familiar enough with
these systems to start building them without some research. So it
occurred to us that this basic information, collected into one
volume, would be a useful tool for builders, designers, homeowners,
and students alike.
This volume complements two other Graphic Guides --
Graphic Guide to Frame Construction,
a reference for the construction of wood frame buildings; and
Graphic Guide to Interior
Details, a reference for finishing the interior of these
(and other) buildings. This Graphic Guide provides the necessary
tools to complete the site construction so that, with all three
guides, details are provided for an entire residential building
project.
The scope of the book
Unlike the other Graphic Guides, the scope of this book is limited
to residential projects. This was necessary because sitework changes
dramatically when it moves from the domestic to the public scale.
But within that single limitation, the intention in selecting the
material for this guide was to include information typical to all
sites. Thus, this volume will serve as a reference for all
residential-scale projects in North America, including both new
construction and remodeling. It covers all aspects of site
development up until the time that plants go in the ground.
The reason that plants are excluded has to do with the complexity of
the subject. There are so many different climatic zones and so many
plant species, each with unique requirements, that even a condensed
guide to planting scarcely can be forced into one volume. Add to
that the idiosyncratic nature of people's relationship to plants,
and the task becomes even more formidable. But the groundwork of
site construction -- the grading, drainage, utilities, paving, and
elements such as fences and decks that form the practical and
spatial framework for the planting--is more or less universal.
Principles and details employed in New Orleans will translate
directly (except for frostline) to Minneapolis.
Although all topics are covered, not all are treated with the same
level of detail. The intent is to provide details for the
construction of elements that contractors or homeowners are likely
to build themselves, but only an overview of elements usually
subcontracted to a specialist. Thus, the construction of fences and
walkways are covered in detail, while the design and construction of
septic systems and swimming pools are explained only conceptually.
In all cases, references for further research are cited.
Focus on sustainability
Although the details in this book have been selected primarily on
the basis of their widespread use, there also has been an attempt to
include procedures and details that contribute to environmental
responsibility. Partly, this involves selecting practices for their
efficiency of material use, their low-energy use, their use of
renewable and recyclable resources, and their nontoxic components.
And partly, it involves the inclusion of practices and materials
that are durable to avoid the consumption of resources (both
environmental and economic) required by frequent rebuilding.
Sustainability, however, is a complex concept that involves judgment
and the balancing of numerous factors for an elusive long-term goal.
For example, is it better to use preservative-treated wood for
increased longevity or untreated wood for decreased toxicity? This
type of question can best be answered on a project-by-project basis
because it is subject to a variety of site-specific variables such
as annual rainfall and intended use. We have attempted to include
practices and details that should be considered when weighing these
variables.
On codes
Every effort has been made to ensure that the statements and details
included in this book conform to building codes. Codes vary,
however, so local codes and building departments always should be
consulted to verify compliance.
How the book works
The book's six chapters follow the approximate order of
construction, starting with site grading and working up to the
finished landscape -- ready for planting. Most chapters cover more
than one major subject and are divided into subsections, also
roughly ordered according to the sequence of construction. Chapter
titles and major subsections are called out at the top of each page
for easy reference.
The pages are numbered at the top outside corner, and all the
drawings are lettered. With this system, all the drawings may be
cross-referenced. The callout "see 119B," for example, refers to
drawing B on page 119. (See the example on facing page.) Drawings
may be referenced from the text or from other drawings.
Any notes included in a detail are intended to describe its most
important features. By describing the relationship of one element to
another, the notes sometimes go a little further than merely naming
the feature. Material symbols are described on page 195.
Abbreviations are spelled out on page 197.
A final note
Our intention in writing this book has been to assist designers and
builders who are attempting to make practical and beautiful outdoor
spaces that endure. With the drawings and text, we have tried to
describe the relationship among all the common components of such
spaces. Alternative approaches to popular practices have been
included as well.
We have relied primarily on our own experiences but have also drawn
significantly on the accounts of others. In order to build upon this
endeavor, we encourage you, the reader, to inform us of your own
observations and/or to make critical comments.
Excerpt:
Graphic Guide to Site
Construction:
Grading and Drainage Principles
Guidelines for preventing erosion
and directing water away from the house
by Rob Thallon and Stan Jones
The development of a yard is
not a simple thing. Even the most basic outdoor space with
a deck, a fence, and a lawn require knowledge of
materials, structure, drainage, soils, planting, and
detailing for the weather. And more developed gardens that
contain lighting, pathways, retaining walls, irrigation,
and other complex components require deeper knowledge.
Whenever the shape of the land is altered, the movement of
water is altered as well. Therefore, thinking about how
water moves in and through a site prior to construction is
critical in determining how the site plan is going to
create new drainage patterns. In this excerpt from their
book, Graphic Guide to Site Construction,
authors Rob Thallon and Stan Jones outline the principles
involved in erecting preventive erosion-control measures
prior to construction, draining water away from the house,
preserving existing grades around trees you wish to save
and more.
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