You would probably need to start with a soil engineer to test the conditions
and then go to an architect and a structural engineer to determine what
could be built.


wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi there, I saw some other home-building posts in this group, but let
me know if this is off topic.

There's a 3485-sqft piece of land for sale near where I live (Seattle).
I like its location, and water/sewer are available at the street, but
according to the city of Seattle, about half of the lot is declared as
"above 40% grade", so certain permit restrictions apply. From a quick,
uneducated visual inspection of the lot, it looks to me like it is
possible to build a single-family house with a small footprint there -
it's not a cliff face or anything. But I'm no builder. So how do I find
a LOCAL expert in building on steeply graded lots? Is this expert going
to be an engineer, architect, or what? (Even if you're not from
Seattle, maybe you can tell me who to look up in the yellow pages...)

From this expert, I first need to find out whether builders will even
touch the lot. Maybe builders will instantly see that as soon as they
begin excavating there will be a landslide. On the other hand, maybe
the lot is easily regradable. I have no idea.

Second, if builders are willing to work with this lot, I need to know
whether we can convince the city of it. The project will probably
require some special permits regarding regrading, etc. I need to know
how hard it is to get such permits.

Anyone know how to find an expert that can help me with these things?
There must be some around, because Seattle is pretty hilly. Come to
think of it, I've seen houses on lots much steeper than this one, so
it's been done before...

Thanks, and happy building,
Eva