Strip topsoil before build?

J

Johny D

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I will be building on a 3/4 acre site, its a sloped site sith good soil. I am cosidering stripping back a layer of topsoil from the complete site and making heaps of it to ensure I will have unspoilt topsoil to complete the landscaping etc in a couple of years. Is this advisable or is it sufficient just to strip back necessary ammount and wire off the rest of the site? I have seen many sites where the whole site becomes damaged over the course of the build from machines, laying drainage etc.
 
hi - I'd say definitely strip back your topsoil. I'd advise you do this from the entire front of the site back to a point a fair way back from the rear of the house where nobody with a machine has any business going.

Also I'd advise making it impossible for anybody except you to get to it to stop it going walkies, people "borrowing" the odd lorryload etc. You'll find it doesn't go anywhere near as far as you'd think when you're putting it back.

The subsoil is useless so get rid of it as you dig it.

Good luck
SSE
 
Thanks SSE,

How much of the soil would you say is topsoil, 4 inches? 8inches?
 
Remember that soil "bulks up" when it is excavated so that you will actually "have more" soil than when you originally started! There is a cost associated with excavation, I see no need to strip the entire site, it only promotes weed growth, strip away the area concerned with the immediate build, footpaths and roads. This is the convention....
 
There is no need to strip topsoil from areas that won't be touched during construction. Depth depends on the site, usually average 300mm, your groundworker will know. We've just stripped area's up to 700mm so can vary significantly.

Don't allow any stripped topsoil to be stockpiled any higher than 1.5m as it will kill the bottom layers over a reletively short period.

GarBow
 
Thanks GarBow, but the comment about stokcpiling higher than 1.5M killing the bottom layers sounds a little iffy to me. Its earth, topsoil so very high in organic matter and nutrients but I can't understand why stacking higher than 1.5M would be an issue. Compaction shouldn't cause any harm to the soil, considering that it will eventually be moved.
 
Johny D said:
Its earth, topsoil so very high in organic matter and nutrients but I can't understand why stacking higher than 1.5M would be an issue. Compaction shouldn't cause any harm to the soil, considering that it will eventually be moved.
Click to expand...

Presumably the compaction will kill some of the organic matter and nutrients.
 
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