2 - Site Appraisal & Surveying Flashcards
State what is meant by site appraisal.
A site appraisal is a visit to site to gain physical information about the site which is recorded/written down for later use.
e.g. Soil type, pH, aspect, microclimate, drainage, views.
State what is meant by a site survey.
A detailed site investigation where accurate measurements are taken and recorded and from which plans and designs can be drawn.
A risk assessment is carried out, overhead and underground services are mapped out and any features which are to be retained are identified.
State what kind of information is included in a design brief.
The designer and the client meet to determine what the client requires from their garden.
- Style of garden
- Function (what uses it will have)
- Who it’s for (kids, adults, pets)
- Maintenance requirements
- Budget available
- Anything they specifically want in terms of features or planting
- Anything they specifically don’t want.
List and explain factors that should be included in a site appraisal.
Orientation/aspect: Which way the site faces influences light duration and levels, and what plants are used.
Exposure to wind, frost, wind chill and wind tunnels. Presence of shelter or not.
Boundaries Open or closed
Soil Texture, structure, pH, nutrient level. Depth of top soil. Drainage.
Contour Topography. Does it have slopes or level changes?
Services Position/route of electricity cables, gas, sewage, water pipes, etc
Views to keep or screen
Statutory restrictions Any tree preservation orders, conservation area restrictions, etc
Atmospheric conditions Seasonal temperatures, pollution, salt-laden air at coast
Microclimate Extremely localised weather in a protected site. Low lying areas may have frost pockets. Walls/fences have rain shadows
Altitude
Existing trees and shrubs to be retained or removed, depending on size and type
Existing hard landscape features Retained or removed
Doors windows and gates their location and which way hinged.
Explain the equipment needed for a site survey.
- Clipboard, paper, pencil, rubber, scale ruler
- 30m plastic tape measure
- Small metal tape measure
- 100m long ball of string, metal skewers/bamboo canes.
Explain the site survey method called triangulation.
Triangulation is a method of measuring points or objects that are not easy to position accurately by just measuring distance.
- Decide a baseline, such as the front of a house. measure it and write it down. Mark each end of the baseline as A and B.
- Give a letter to the object that has to be measured, e.g. C.
- Measure from A to C then from B to C and write all the measurements down clearly.
- Later, when you’re drawing your scale plan, put your compass on point A and draw an arc of the scaled distance from A to C and then from B to C.
- Where the two arcs intersect is the location of C.
Describe how to take running measurements for a site survey.
- A landscape tape is fixed along a straight line, e.g. a wall of a house. This is called the baseline. 0 on the tape is placed at the start of the line
- 0 on the ground is marked as point A on the sketch. The end of the tape is point B.
- Significant points along the line are identified and measured cumulatively e.g. window frames, doors, corners.
- Measurements are continued along the line until point B is reached and recorded.
- Offsets can be measured from the baseline. Offsets are measurements taken at right angles from a known point on a baseline and can be used to establish the position of features when triangulation isn’t possible (perhaps large features are in the way).
Name some existing garden features that could be retained in a new garden design.
- Pergola
- Patio
- Pond
- Path
- Specimen tree
- Shed
- Hedge.
Describe drawing a scale plan of a site.
- You’ll need your measurements/notes, graph paper, a pencil, rubber, felt tip pen, a scale ruler, compass, set square, and masking tape
- Decide the scale you’re going to use (1:100 for larger gardens and 1:50 for smaller gardens) and write it on the paper
- Mark your baseline
- Accurately draw in the house, boundaries and side entrances
- Using your triangulation measurements, use a compass to locate your fixed features
- Label as succinctly as possible or use a key
- Mark northpoint
- Ink in your site plan
- (Once your site plan is done, overlay tracing paper to create your garden design in pencil.)
Name and describe problems related to how restricted site access may affect a garden design.
- Access may only be possible through the house, restricting access for machinery.
- Access restricted by the width of a side passage, for example, could prevent the passage of large items like hard landscaping materials, features, plants, etc, so these may have to be delivered in small components and assembled, smaller pot sizes may have to be purchased, etc.
Name potential restrictions that could limit work on a garden site.
- Access
- Budget/financial
- Tree preservation order
- Conservation area rules
- Topography
- Weather
- Legal.
