Would you risk buying a lot for a house that was a sediment pond?

[jeffrey]

Would you build a house with a slab foundation on top of a lot that used to be a silt pond, also known as a sediment pond, for the development? It lot is now filled-in and the builder says that since it is an "engineered" lot it is probably safer than a regular lot due to knowing what's underneath the soil. The county mandates these on large projects and they are filled-in and compacted layer by layer after their use is no longer needed.

The lot is center in this picture with the line of gravel running across the bottom. Fortunately the Bing map is old and this is the "Before" state. The "After" state looks like a normal lot.
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=px...ing Leaf Dr NW, Concord, NC 28027&form=LMLTCC

 

[Dr. Zaus]

sounds legit to me

 

[Jumpem]

I would much rather live on one of the dead end culdesacs. Much much less traffic, and safer for kids.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Depending on what the sediments are (hazardous chemicals, explosive? etc) if it's not a hazard I'd probably do it. Just make sure to go an extra mile when sealing the basement wall.

 

[sixone]

What kind of guarantee does the builder provide on the slab? If he'll guarantee it for twenty years, you might be okay.

I wouldn't take that lot, though. You'll have half the neighborhood driving by to get to a main road, which will make it tough to get in and out of your driveway, plus traffic noise. And you're on a curve, which means you might have cars in your yard if you have bad weather or some dumbass drunk driver.

 

[K1052]

That developer was a big LOTR fan.

And no....would not buy.

 

[Ronstang]

Check to see what the fill material was. A silt pond is very compacted and actually very stable. If the fill was something like the red dirt that is high in iron you probably have a much better foundation than just picking a pieced of land out of the wild.

 

[DCal430]

Was this some kind of Superfund Site?

 

[Ronstang]

Was this some kind of Superfund Site?

Do you even know what a Superfund Site is? Or are you just repeating something someone has told you about like you actually understand what you are talking about? What the OP is talking about is probably a water collection pond used to temporarily store run off water during a heavy rain so it does not overtax the normal sewer drain off system. These are the new norm in new developments. Like I said earlier this lot is probably better than virgin ground.

 

[iGas]

I would much rather live on one of the dead end culdesacs. Much much less traffic, and safer for kids.

I concur.

It is perfectly safe to have a house over top of an old sediment pond, however I wouldn't buy that lot, because it look like it is at a 3 way junction.

 

[DCal430]

Do you even know what a Superfund Site is? Or are you just repeating something someone has told you about like you actually understand what you are talking about? What the OP is talking about is probably a water collection pond used to temporarily store run off water during a heavy rain so it does not overtax the normal sewer drain off system. These are the new norm in new developments. Like I said earlier this lot is probably better than virgin ground.

I know what a Superfund site is, what I didn't know was a sediment pond was, thought maybe it was a ditch were they dumped toxic waste.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

double checked.

100% legit.

 

[Ronstang]

I concur.

It is perfectly safe to have a house over top of an old sediment pond, however I wouldn't buy that lot, because it look like it is at a 3 way junction.

Actually I would prefer a lot like that. I currently live on a cul-de-sac that I cannot wait to get away from. Parents these days are stupid and it is always full of kids screaming and they leave their toys everywhere....even at night. It is an obstacle course I am tired of negotiating. The kids are stupid and just stare at you sitting there blocking your way. I will NEVER live ina cul-de-sac ever again. I like my cars way too much.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Actually I would prefer a lot like that. I currently live on a cul-de-sac that I cannot wait to get away from. Parents these days are stupid and it is always full of kids screaming and they leave their toys everywhere....even at night. It is an obstacle course I am tired of negotiating. The kids are stupid and just stare at you sitting there blocking your way. I will NEVER live ina cul-de-sac ever again. I like my cars way too much.

Yea...

no.

 

[FoBoT]

there are so many properties available right now, it is a buyer's market, why bother?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I just noticed something interesting with that bing maps, if you zoom out there's a bunch of houses there already. Guess the different zoom levels were not taken at same time. I also can't believe the high res of bing maps especially noticable if you stay zoomed in and move over a few screens to the right where you see houses. MS has better satellites than Google apparently. I can make out the tires on vehicles and stuff and almost make out the individual shingles on the houses. Not bad.

 

[jeffrey]

I just noticed something interesting with that bing maps, if you zoom out there's a bunch of houses there already. Guess the different zoom levels were not taken at same time. I also can't believe the high res of bing maps especially noticable if you stay zoomed in and move over a few screens to the right where you see houses. MS has better satellites than Google apparently. I can make out the tires on vehicles and stuff and almost make out the individual shingles on the houses. Not bad.

Yes, I agree. Bing maps are great for zooming in, zooming out, and rotating without having to install the Google Earth plug-in. For comparison, here is what the lot looks like on google maps. This is a more up to date look, but still old compared to what the lot looks like now that it is fully prepped.


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=falli...cord,+Cabarrus,+North+Carolina+28027&t=h&z=20

 

[jeffrey]

double checked.

100% legit.

Thanks for the response DixyCrat! Would you care to share if you work in a related field, or how you double-checked?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yes, I agree. Bing maps are great for zooming in, zooming out, and rotating without having to install the Google Earth plug-in. For comparison, here is what the lot looks like on google maps. This is a more up to date look, but still old compared to what the lot looks like now that it is fully prepped.


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=falli...cord,+Cabarrus,+North+Carolina+28027&t=h&z=20

Actually that looks decently high res too. Guess some areas are zoomed in much more than others. Anywhere in my area it's hard to tell a house from a tree.

 

[jeffrey]

What kind of guarantee does the builder provide on the slab? If he'll guarantee it for twenty years, you might be okay.

I wouldn't take that lot, though. You'll have half the neighborhood driving by to get to a main road, which will make it tough to get in and out of your driveway, plus traffic noise. And you're on a curve, which means you might have cars in your yard if you have bad weather or some dumbass drunk driver.

Hello sixone, the builder offers a 2-10 warranty. From a little googling, this warranty product has pretty bad reviews.

2yr systems warranty - 10yr structual warranty
1yr workmanship warranty

The 1yr worksmanship warranty for foundation and concrete states:
"For protection against defects in concrete surfaces, warranty includes concrete basement and foundation walls, basement and attached garage floors, slab-on-grade floors with finish flooring, stoops and steps, and interior concrete work."

The 10yr structual warranty for footing and foundation systems states:
"The 10-year Structual Warranty provides 10 years of structual defect coverage beginning on the earlier of move in or closing day. Structual defects are defined as physical damage to a home's designated load-bearing elements caused by failure that affects their load-bearing function to the extent that the home becomes unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise unlivable."

 

[skyking]

jeffery, if I did not construct and compact the fill, I would not build on it myself. Having built a few fills in my time, I have seen way too many shortcuts and shoddy inspections.
Fobot said it best, why bother? look for some native ground you can build on.

 

[bonkers325]

What kind of fill and how compact is it? 95%? 98%? If it isn't compacted enough you may get long term settlement.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Thanks for the response DixyCrat! Would you care to share if you work in a related field, or how you double-checked?

Double sarcasm all the way across the sky! What does it mean?


Sorry:

I was just trying to be funny. A little googling shows 1) there is no wikipedia entry on this technique (not a popular thing then eh?) 2) every forum that talks about it is full of horror stories of developers full of lies 3) The most popular hit for the question is a cadre of inspectors that go out and make sure you aren't about to fall into a quick-sand pit while your house splits in half...

Unless there's a reason this is THE lot, it doesn't seem worth paying (two-three) someone(s) to make sure the guy isn't a liar (ps, he's trying to sell you something, this makes him a liar).

It looks like sky king is in the personal-known on this

 

[DrPizza]

Would you build a house with a slab foundation on top of a lot that used to be a silt pond, also known as a sediment pond, for the development?

No and yes.

No, because I would *not* build a house with a slab foundation. If I were to build a house, it would have a full basement. But, yes, if I had no choice BUT to have a slab foundation and there was no feasible way that I could have a basement, then I wouldn't be afraid of that lot, though it certainly wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[Specop 007]

One thing that would concern me is the possibility of heavy rains causing a big pond in your yard. Generally you put a collection pond in a low spot. Which means the filled in pond is still in a low spot.