Commencing a construction project is an exciting endeavor, but careful site preparation is essential before the first brick is laid or the foundation is poured. A well-prepared site guarantees a seamless construction process, reduces delays, and improves worker safety. Whether you’re building a big commercial complex or a tiny residential house, the preparations made ahead of time can have a big impact on the project’s final outcome.
Undertaking a comprehensive site survey is one of the first steps in site preparation. This entails evaluating the terrain, the state of the soil, and any potential barriers. Early identification of these variables enables project managers to create a thorough plan that takes advantage of the site’s advantages while addressing any obstacles. To further prevent legal issues later on, obtaining the required permits and following local zoning laws and regulations are crucial.
Cleaning up the area is another essential duty. This procedure entails clearing away any existing buildings, plants, or debris that could obstruct construction work. To clear the site effectively, specialized machinery and equipment might be needed, depending on the size of the project. Maintaining a clean and safe working environment as well as adhering to environmental regulations both depend on the proper disposal of waste materials.
One of the most important aspects of site preparation is setting up temporary utilities and facilities. These could include makeshift workspaces, restrooms, storage spaces, and energy and water access. By putting up these facilities, you can make sure that the construction site runs smoothly right away and that the workers have the tools they need to do their jobs well. Furthermore, putting safety precautions in place like fencing off the area and posting signs helps shield the general public and employees from potential dangers.
Construction projects can begin successfully by carefully planning and carrying out these preparatory steps, which will set the stage for a successful build. In addition to improving the effectiveness and safety of the building process, proper site preparation also helps to prevent expensive delays and setbacks. In the end, spending the necessary time to properly prepare the site is an essential investment in the success of the project as a whole.
- Why is this process important??
- What standards, SP and SNiP are regulated??
- Construction site for a private house
- Organizational and technical measures
- Installation of temporary protective fencing
- The arrangement of the territory
- Work on the clearing of the site
- Soil development
- Departure and arrival of vehicles
- Spaces for storing building materials
- Engineering stage
- Electrical connection
- Water supply, sewerage
- Other communications
- Construction of temporary premises
- Foundation marking and zh
- Differences in work for different objects
- Main difficulties and mistakes
- Video on the topic
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- CONSTRUCTION SITE PREPARATION
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Why is this process important??
Due to the high level of risk associated with the construction site, it is necessary to have qualified engineering training and logistical support before beginning work.
The purpose of this is to establish efficient and safe conditions for the construction process.
The term "engineering preparation" typically refers to a group of tasks including building a geodetic foundation, clearing and arranging land, and draining shallow external and bottom waters. In order to provide engineering support for a construction site, utility networks and temporary structures must be installed.
Crucial! The list of necessary tasks and the ways in which they are carried out depend on a variety of factors, including the local climate, natural resources, the nature of the building site, and the nature of the objects being constructed—whether they be new or expansions or reconstructions of pre-existing structures.
What standards, SP and SNiP are regulated??
The foundational documents are the 2010 publication of Code of Rules No. 48.13330 regarding construction organization and Code of Rules 47.13330 regarding engineering surveys. Several other significant regulatory documents also govern the organizational portion of the construction process:
- SNiP 10-01-94;
- SNiP 11-01-95;
- SNiP 22-01-95;
- SNiP 2.01.15-90;
- SNiP 2.06.15-85;
- SNiP 2.04.02-84;
- GOST 27751-88;
- GOST 21.101-93;
- GOST 24846-81.
They list the necessary actions that the developer must take in order to plan the construction process:
- obtaining a construction permit;
- obtaining easements – rights of limited use of neighboring land plots during the construction process;
- attracting contractors;
- preparation of design and construction documentation and examination;
- organization of designer"s supervision;
- creating safe conditions during construction.
Construction site for a private house
Organizational and technical measures constitute the first phase, in which all required documentation is created in order to start working. Following the clearing of the area, the foundation and site are geodetic broken up.
When clearing an area, it is important to replant vegetation with as little loss as possible, remove the fertile layer of soil, remove unnecessary objects, drain both above-ground and underground water, lay temporary utility networks, and finally lay out the construction site.
Take note! Fertile soil is taken out of the construction site and moved to locations that have been specifically chosen for its future use.
Also, by erecting drainage ditches and embanking the construction site’s boundaries, the area needs to be sealed off from the inflow of "foreign" surface waters.
Organizational and technical measures
The developer needs to obtain a building permit, which is a document certifying the owner’s right to develop the site, before beginning any preparation, construction, or installation work on the land plot.
This kind of document is issued at the plot location by the municipality’s administration.
In certain circumstances, such as when the site is situated in a nature conservation area, authorization from the local authorities will be necessary. The developer needs to provide the following paperwork to the appropriate authority in order to get a building permit:
- An application completed on a form that can be downloaded from the State Services website is submitted to the municipality authority or through the MFC.
- Documents of title for the land plot, for example, an extract from the Unified State Register or a certificate of ownership.
- Urban planning plan of the allotment, for a period of no later than 3 years. It must be obtained through the MFC.
- Land plot diagram indicating the site where the house is planned to be built, all nearby utility networks and transport interchanges.
- For multi-apartment housing construction, an indispensable condition is coordination of the project with regulatory organizations.
- The decision in the local administration must be made within 10 calendar days.
Crucial! The developer has ten years from the time the decision is made to lay the foundation to when the completed building is put into use. The owner will have to apply for a building permit once more if he misses this deadline.
The developer may file a formal appeal of the actions of officials in court if he receives a written denial from the Moscow Region administration to issue the necessary permit.
Installation of temporary protective fencing
On a piece of land, all areas that could be dangerous for construction must be fenced off. The current GOST No. 23407, which was published in 1978 and was last updated on January 1, 2021, codifies this standard.
Installing information boards with the purpose of the object, the developer’s and contractor’s contact information, the contact information of the person in charge of the construction project, a map of the construction site, and the start and finish dates of the project are required before entering the site.
The developer may be required by the Ministry of Defense to provide trash cans and extra points specifically designated for washing car wheels at the site’s exits from the construction area.
If the developer needs to use areas that are not part of the construction site for a temporary period of time, an additional agreement with the territory’s owner or local government authority must specify how those areas will be cleaned, secured, and operated.
Here is more information about temporary fences for building sites.
The arrangement of the territory
This phase involves the preparation of the soil, clearing the area, and organizing it in preparation for building. Trees need to be dug up and everything that isn’t part of the new construction plan needs to be taken apart during the clearing process.
In order to develop soil, its fertile layer must be removed and exported to a designated platform. Pits and trenches must also be created, and soil excavators must load the loaded dirt into dump trucks.
Work on the clearing of the site
In this phase of the pre-planning process, the following tasks are completed:
- Dismantling or transfer of engineering networks to the POS by project.
- Dismantling of buildings and structures.
- Transfer of green spaces, demolition and stump of stumps.
- Removing boulders.
- Removing a layer of fertile soil.
- Transfer of the prepared site for construction work to the contractor.
Soil development
- Before developing the soil, a route is first outlined, in which a pioneer trench is allocated to a mark that will ensure the correct collection of soil by an excavator.
- From the “0” mark, a ramp of no more than 15% is arranged for the removal of soil by dump trucks. Each machine is loaded with 6 m 3 of soil. The number of vehicles needed to transport soil is determined by calculation for a specific construction site, taking into account actual construction conditions and the length of soil transportation.
- Next, you need to use bulldozers to level the soil in layers of 0.4 m, this is done in 2 passes along 1 track.
- After this, an initial rough layout is carried out, and then the final layout.
Take note! Layer by layer, the soil is compacted. If a layer is wet—as can be ascertained in a lab—it has to be dried until the ideal humidity is reached. However, laboratory calculations indicate that dry soil is moistened.
Unloading soil
They create a vehicle movement plan in order to arrange the work of automotive equipment properly.
Dump trucks must move simultaneously in reverse into the loading and unloading zone, keeping a maximum distance of 50 meters from one another, and they must sound a signal horn during their movement.
An excavator loads dirt into a dump truck from either the side or the back. Soil should not rise above the side when it is loaded into the body; instead, it should be distributed evenly throughout the entire area.
It is not permitted for workers to be in the way of the excavator or the dump truck while they are loading or unloading. Dump truck emptying soil onto an embankment; there is a 2 m minimum gap between the back wheels and the cliff’s edge, and there is a 1 m minimum gap between the dump truck’s wheels and the outer line as it moves along the embankment. When workers are more than 5 meters away from the soil filling line, they may still be able to see the dump truck.
Wheel breakers are required if unloading is going to occur near ravines or other ground slopes; in the event that they are not present, you cannot get any closer to the cliff than one meter.
It is forbidden to move with a raised body, unload the body while moving, or shake a raised body by abruptly stopping. Workers must be on the ground as they use specialized scrapers or shovels with a handle of at least two meters to remove any leftover material from the raised body after the soil has been unloaded.
The maximum lift angle of the body is permitted for each brand of dump truck; for scoop bodies, it is 80 degrees, and for bucket bodies, it is 60 degrees.
Departure and arrival of vehicles
The building of temporary internal roads complies with SP 48.13330’s requirements for arranging free access to buildings that are being built or disassembled, to the crane installation and construction work area, to locations where large units are assembled, and to storage facilities for building materials.
Vital details! The customer’s construction plan is only accepted by the contractor upon the installation of temporary roads, entrances, and exits. Ring roads are constructed as temporary roads. Next to any dead-end section, there are additional turning areas installed.
After the site’s vertical layout is finished and utility networks, drains, and other utilities have been installed, these roads should be placed along the markers of future permanent routes. The entire width of the roads, including the sides, are covered in subterranean networks.
Temporary roads are among the most costly and labor-intensive structures that must be present on a construction site.
Spaces for storing building materials
On-site storage facilities are set up to ensure the continuity of the construction process and the organization of high-quality material and technical supplies.
Its goals include organizing mechanized loading and unloading, storing and accounting for material assets, and accepting building materials based on quality and variety. It also aims to arrange them logically while taking into consideration their individual characteristics.
Depending on the function and volume of storage, warehouses are operated as follows:
- Open, in the form of platforms, for storing materials that are not exposed to atmospheric factors, for example, brick, sand and gravel.
- Semi-closed in the form of canopies, for materials that are not threatened by temperature changes and air humidity, but are afraid of atmospheric moisture in the form of rain and snow, for example, lumber and insulation.
- Closed for storage of building materials that can be completely damaged when exposed to atmospheric factors, for example, cement, lime, lumber, electrical cables.
- Special warehouses or fuel warehouses, which are designed for storing fire, explosive and chemically hazardous substances, for example, fuel and chemical reagents.
Crucial! A minimum aisle width of one meter is required for the storage of building materials, and equipment loading and unloading must be done in accordance with the equipment’s dimensions.
Engineering stage
The construction process should have access to the following utilities during this phase of site preparation: compressed air supply, heating, ventilation, lighting, power, and water supply and drainage. In certain circumstances, the required number of these services may be lowered to four with modest construction volumes and a brief timeframe:
- electricity supply;
- lighting;
- water supply;
- drainage.
The developer drafts specifications with the company that offers the relevant service in order to secure authorization for each kind of resource supply. A design section of the general project for the facility’s construction is developed based on the technical specifications, and it is approved by the supplying organization.
The customer will be granted temporary scheme permission to use utility networks prior to the completed facility being put into service.
Electrical connection
The energy capacity of every device is determined based on the installed power needed for the construction process in order to design a temporary power supply for a construction site.
Next, the electrical and lighting equipment power is chosen:
- transformers;
- pumps;
- fans;
- lighting devices.
Construction sites need to have a backup power supply plan that uses transformer substations (TS) of two types: mobile and stationary.
With inventory input boxes that have voltages of 380/220 V and 220/127 V, the electrical power connection can be made via cable, overhead lines, or TP. The construction site’s temporary power supply circuit needs to abide by the guidelines for using electrical installations.
The site must be illuminated at night and in dark rooms along temporary lighting lines in compliance with GOST No. 12.1.046 in order to create conditions for trouble-free operation. The site’s lighting system needs to include security, emergency, evacuation, and operational lighting with a minimum uniformity of 2 lux.
Water supply, sewerage
The temporary fire and domestic water supply system should be used for large construction sites. Typically, a residential tank consists of a drinking tank, a second lift station powered by a series of centrifugal pumps that draw water from a storage tank via makeshift water delivery systems.
Building materials stored on the construction site will determine the size of the fire tank, which needs to be calculated based on potential sources of combustion. For multi-story buildings, the minimum fire tank volume is 53 m3, with a service radius of up to 150 m.
Very useful information! Watercourses and naturally occurring reservoirs that don’t freeze can be used as fire reservoirs.
The water supply organization may authorize a temporary connection to an existing city or district water supply system, if technically feasible. The temporary water supply system on-site is designed to be either circular or dead-end, though it can occasionally be mixed.
The provision of drinking water can be handled as an independent system if necessary.
The amount of water required for drinking, domestic, and technological purposes is determined by the number of construction workers who work one or two shifts a day.
Temporary drainage systems must adhere to SP 32.13330’s regulations and are designed to remove and neutralize storm, residential, and industrial drains.
If there is no central water supply and there are no more than 25 permanent employees, it is permissible to forgo installing on-site sewage networks.
Temporary wastewater disposal systems include central sewer collectors, dry closets, and temporary stationary or mobile treatment facilities with a daily capacity of up to 200 m3.
Other communications
Heating, ventilation, compressed air, acetylene, and oxygen supply for technological needs are all included in this category of engineering support for construction sites.
On construction sites, temporary heating is used to heat objects, warm construction heating cabins, and provide heat for technological processes like heating concrete or thawing soil. Additional networks for ventilation and hot water supply can be installed under this plan.
The amount of heated buildings, the climate in the construction site, and the quantity of hot water service users all play a role in the calculation of heating and hot water loads.
Both mobile boiler houses and central heating networks can serve as sources of temporary heat supply. In addition to hot water and heating sources, there are
- electric, gas (if there is a main gas supply to the site);
- running on diesel fuel (for example, heat generators).
Compressed air is supplied using mobile compressors or specialized cylinders in order to run the perforation tool and supply a concrete solution. Welding requires acetylene and oxygen, which are transported to the job site in mobile acetylene generators and 40-liter steel cylinders.
Mobile oxygen and acetylene stations are used for large-scale construction projects.
Construction of temporary premises
Areas of the construction site designated for areas other than primary buildings and structures are home to temporary structures.
Typically, standard cabins that are prefabricated or mobile are used by builders to establish normal working conditions.
Safety regulations, sanitary and fire codes, and other requirements must be followed during construction.
A minimum of temporary buildings must be present on the construction site. The area designated for cabins must be formed at a rate of six square meters per builder and must meet SP 48.13330’s requirements. A maximum distance of 250 meters, with an effective distance of 100 meters, can be used to remove them from workplaces.
Foundation marking and zh
A geodetic breakdown is carried out for an object that must strictly withstand during construction at the site preparation stage.
- In order to break the construction grid on the site, use the existing geodetic network, determined in polar coordinates. It is applied to the current site with planned points, fixed with signs from concreted scraps of metal rolling and pipes. In cadastral documents, these markings are fixed according to the JPS device, and zero points are placed on the site with leveling.
- Then proceed to marking the foundation according to the requirement of SP 126.13330. At the same time, performing the axis of the foundation necessary for the installation of formwork and floor slabs “0” of the cycle.
- The first stakes are installed according to the project, along the entire perimeter, the cable or fishing line is pulled.
- The parties are checked for compliance with the project, and then the diagonals are controlled.
- A second cable is installed at the planned width of the foundation, along which the trench will be dug.
- After completion of this process, an Axle Layout Report is drawn up, in which all information and an as-built diagram of the assigned axes must be provided.
Differences in work for different objects
When planning the construction of industrial buildings and private, multi-story houses, the overall staged site preparation is the same, but there may be notable variations in the volume of each required section.
The amount of construction work, the number of workers involved, and the technological differences between residential and industrial construction are the causes of this.
The Construction Organization Project (COP), a necessary organizational and technological document for any construction, includes preparatory work. This document helps to shorten construction times, increase construction quality, and save costs by assessing the extent and adequacy of a given stage of site preparation using cutting-edge, secure technologies.
Crucial! The design organization creates PICs for the whole construction project. It calls for extra precautions to ensure the object’s strength and stability when building complex structures.
Main difficulties and mistakes
Regulations are constantly changing, which can be confusing and lead to many mistakes being made by developers when planning a construction project.
The primary errors that clients make when doing the preliminary work are:
- Permission to begin construction work has not been issued.
- Temporary roads not prepared.
- Disruption of transport operations during unloading and storage of soil.
- There are no fire extinguishing and personal protective equipment.
- Improper storage of construction materials on site.
- Lack of sufficient electricity and water supply.
- Violation of rules for drainage of wastewater and soil water.
- Insufficient volume of temporary buildings and structures.
- No fire tank.
- Incorrect layout of site boundaries and foundation.
Task | Description |
Site Clearing | Remove debris, vegetation, and obstacles to create a clear work area. |
Surveying | Mark the boundaries and levels of the construction site to ensure accurate building placement. |
Utility Connections | Arrange for water, electricity, and other necessary utilities to be available on-site. |
Access Roads | Establish temporary roads for easy movement of construction vehicles and materials. |
Fencing | Install fencing around the site to ensure safety and security. |
Temporary Facilities | Set up temporary offices, restrooms, and storage for construction materials and equipment. |
Environmental Protection | Implement measures to protect the environment, such as erosion control and waste management. |
Setting up a construction site is an essential first step in making sure a building project works. Potential problems can be reduced by taking the time to plan and organize before construction actually starts, ultimately saving time and money. Clearing the area, erecting temporary structures, and establishing open lines of communication between all stakeholders are all part of this preparatory phase.
Resolving safety issues is another aspect of making sure the site is prepared. Protecting employees and the general public starts with putting safety procedures and measures in place. This entails putting up the appropriate fences, signage, and access controls in addition to holding safety meetings and training sessions.
The acquisition of the required licenses and inspections is another crucial component. It is imperative that local laws and standards be followed in order to prevent legal issues and delays in projects. Throughout the preparatory phase, routine inspections guarantee that all activities adhere to the necessary standards.
Logistics planning is another aspect of effective site preparation. This include scheduling the arrival of equipment, arranging the delivery and storage of materials, and making sure there is enough room for all construction-related activities. Effective logistics minimize delays and maintain the project’s timeline.
In conclusion, a smooth construction process is largely dependent on the careful preparation of the construction site. Through early identification and resolution of potential issues, safety oversight, permit acquisition, and logistical planning, project managers can facilitate a smooth and productive build. This methodical approach improves the overall quality and safety of the construction project in addition to increasing productivity.
A smooth and effective building process depends on a construction site being prepared. This include clearing the area, establishing access points, putting in temporary utilities, and making sure safety precautions are taken. At this point, good planning helps to avoid delays, cut expenses, and guarantee the construction team’s productivity. You create a strong foundation for your construction project’s successful completion by paying careful attention to these preparatory steps.