What we do · Stormwater
The Acreage Nobody Budgets For
Florida requires stormwater to be managed on site, and doing so consumes a genuine share of the land.
The survey, the geotechnical report and what you intend to build. That is enough to tell you what the site work involves.
Retention
In Florida it takes real acreage, before the building
Self-perform
Dewatering and deep foundations in house
Yield
The site work decides how much you can build
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
Retention is designed after the building, and it should not be
A scheme is laid out with the building, the parking and the access, and retention is fitted into what is left. Then the calculations show it does not fit, and the scheme is redrawn — losing yield that a retention-first layout would have kept. The order in which those two are designed changes the answer.
What determines the requirement
- Impervious area, which is the building plus all the paving.
- The water management district's requirements for the location.
- Soil conditions, which govern how quickly water percolates.
- The water table, which limits how deep a pond can go.
- Whether treatment as well as attenuation is required.
How we handle it
- 01Establish the stormwater requirement before the layout is fixed.
- 02Build ponds, structures and conveyance to the approved design.
- 03Coordinate with the water management district's permitting.
- 04Control erosion and turbidity throughout construction.
- 05Certify and hand over the completed system.
Lay out the stormwater before the building. It is the constraint with the least flexibility, and a scheme designed around it keeps more yield than one that squeezes it in afterwards.
Said plainly
Where we stop
On a tight site, the retention requirement may mean the program in the pro forma does not fit. We will establish that during due diligence rather than after the land is bought.
FAQ
Common questions
- How much land does retention take?
- A real share, driven by impervious area and soil conditions. It should be laid out before the building.
- Can retention go underground?
- Sometimes, and it is far more expensive. The water table limits the options.
- Who sets the requirement?
- The water management district for the location, alongside local requirements.
- What if it does not fit?
- The scheme changes. Better established during due diligence than after purchase.
The risks
The Geotechnical Report
A few thousand dollars of borings routinely prevents hundreds of thousands in change orders, and it is still the thing owners economize on.
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The Water Table
Florida's water table is close to the surface, and on coastal sites it moves with the tide.
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Unsuitable Material
Organic soils, uncontrolled fill and material that will not support the works. It has to come out, and something has to go back in.
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Permitting
Horizontal work touches more agencies than the building does, and the approvals frequently run in sequence.
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What the Survey Missed
A topographic survey shows the surface. What is underneath is the source of most site work surprises.
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More what we do
Clearing & Demolition
The first package on any site, and the one that reveals what the survey did not show.
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Mass Grading & Earthwork
Shaping the site to the design grades, where the cost is decided by whether the earthwork balances.
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Utilities
Water, sewer, electric, gas and telecommunications, and whether the capacity you need exists at the boundary.
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Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.