What to Expect from a Site Evaluation

August 24th, 2021 | by Tim Rawlings

After you’ve chosen a builder that you feel confident working with, a site evaluation is the next step. Each piece of land has its own nuances, and a site evaluation will determine the final price of your home as it will give your builder a complete picture of the job ahead. You might not know what to expect from a site evaluation, this is the most important part of the home building process, but it’s more simple than you might think.

During the site evaluation, a representative of the builder will come out to your land and look over the potential building site with you, discussing your wants and needs so they can completely figure out the cost of getting the land ready for the house and you can move forward to contract.

Step 1. Mapping

The first thing on your representative’s to-do list is determining the preparation necessary for the land before construction can begin. This includes ensuring large construction vehicles will be able to access the building site. The best place for a temporary driveway and culvert to aid construction will also be mapped out. Next, they’ll consider the necessary prep before foundation can be poured, such as tree removal and leveling.

Step 2. Calculating

By the time you’re looking at your land with a representative, you likely already have a good idea of where you want your home to go, or you’ve at least narrowed down your options to 2-3 potential building sites. Your land preparation specialist will calculate its slope or “grade.” This step allows for experts to plan for the foundation’s construction and necessary drainage accommodations.

Getting Ready for Your Site Evaluation

The site evaluation marks the first big milestone in your journey to build a new home on your land, which is why it’s necessary to do some prep work before the specialist comes out, so you can make the most of the day and get on the path to the next step in the home building process.

Being prepared is simple.

  • View your land ahead of the evaluation and narrowing your options down to 2-3 potential building sites so the specialist knows where to focus. The biggest thing that can impact price is the slope of the lot, so when looking at house placement, the flatter the better.
  • Think about how much land you want cleared, if you want underground or overhead power, and what you want your finished driveway material to be.
  • Prepare any questions you have in advance, preferably in writing, so you can ask them and make note of the answers with ease, speeding along the process, which makes the site evaluation more accurate.

With these few basic steps, you’ll be well-prepared for your site evaluation and ready to make the most of your time with the evaluation specialist.


For quality home building services all the way from your site evaluation to closing day, call Build On Your Land. Our friendly team has years of experience delivering top-notch homes with intentional customer service.