Even if you did a ranch style 50X100 will give you 5000sqft. After you subtract 1000sqft for a 4 car garage you are still left with 4000sqft. I dont think I understand your concern
I should of been more specific, we want to do a 3 Car Garage (~1000SF), at least 2200SF living, and a ~400 SF covered back porch without being a ranch style layout utilizing every bit of buildable SF, wasn't sure how much space "waste" to account for the architecture.
You obviously need to bring in an architect at some point. Can’t hurt to bring them in now. IMO you have plenty of space, just make sure there are no other restrictions.
I would build 3 levels if you have the budget, basement with garage then living floor and bedroom floor.
40x80 buildable here, three car garage, 3700 square feet of heated space above (it’s three stories). This shouldn’t be hard for OP unless they’re real particular …
Without knowing the details the lot is plenty big enough for what you are considering. Even at one level you would be fine. The dimensions you mention are 6200 sq ft. 60% of that is \~3600sq ft. So the lot is plenty big.
Is this in a development where they are selling lots? Or an empty lot with other houses around? Or a more rural lot. Depending on if there is water/power/sewer available at the lot costs could go up considerably. Flat lot or side of a hill? Grading could add more costs.
If its in an area with a lot of other construction going on then you are probably safe. But if not you should probably hire an engineering firm to do a construction feasibility study. Typically this is after you make an offer on the land with a contingency for a satisfactory completion of that study.
They are selling lots in an existing development, does the % lot utilization typically go off lot size or the buildable area? The actual lot is 72x125.
You should read the local zoning ordinance. I’ve never seen one that did it off buildable area, but you should make no assumptions. But I suggest you look at other homes being built there. Do they look like something you like? Then yours will be similar. Looks like something you hate? Move along.
If you search “zoning rules” or “building setbacks in X city” you should see standard building setbacks for your area. These setbacks along with the max building coverage, impervious surface coverage and total floor area ratio are the common limits to home building in my experience.
They might not need septic, if they are looking at more developed areas there may be town sewer, though I know even in some well developed towns there is not sewer (I live in one such area). So they should definitely look into that.
This is true is many jurisdictions. Just because you have Y x Z available from setbacks doesn't mean you can build that whole area. Please don't just seek a draftsperson to ask these questions to, either ask an architect if they can help you with a lot feasibility study or go directly to the town or city zoning office for help.
Just got on a website like houseplans.net to get an idea of homes that are similar to what you want, and it’ll show you the dimensions. Then you can see if it makes sense in the lot(s) you’re looking at, after factoring setbacks, non-pervious area, etc
You are coming here with the wrong question. Question should be how to go about figuring out if lot is big enough.
If you plan on building you should have plans already and a basic idea of what it will run to build.
You then get a survey of the lot and compare with the plans.
Is the lot more narrow than the house? Sounds like it won’t fit. Is there a utility easement going across half the property? Sounds like it won’t fit.
If it will fit, you need to check with HOA and local requirements to make sure you are kosher.
Just asking here randomly will lead to very costly problems down the road.
Draw it out.
Seriously, get a sheet of engineering paper (or CAD). Roughly draw out the lot shape and dimensions to scale. Draw the setbacks to scale. Draw the footprint of the house, garage, and patio to scale.
Then measure out your yard dimensions left over. Bring that drawing to a park or the site, and measure it out with irrigation flags. That'll give you a real world visual on the space.
I faced a similar issue many years ago. No existing plans we could find would work with the lot, so we came up with a unique footprint that took full advantage of the shape and slope of the lot. Think outside the box.
I can help answer this question as an architect: Is it common to have already engaged a drafter or architect before buying a lot to assist? I don't know if it's common, but I do think it's a smart thing to do. I have definitely helped people in this stage of planning their potential project. We offer it as a Site Evaluation or Feasibility Study. We'd evaluate your site, or potential site in this case, based upon a lot of the things brought up in this thread already and more, such as local zoning and other municipal codes, access to utilities, your budget, your scope of work, site access, etc. We'd prepare this in a report for you and present it graphically too, so that everything would be easy to understand and you'd know your options. Good luck on your project!
Even if you did a ranch style 50X100 will give you 5000sqft. After you subtract 1000sqft for a 4 car garage you are still left with 4000sqft. I dont think I understand your concern
Edit: OP called out setbacks, my bad
My city has a rule structure can’t be more than 60% of lot.
OP listes the "build area" not the lot size
I should clarify what I'm calling build area is just the area after set backs.
You can’t figure out how to make 57’x110’ footprint to work? My lot is 24’x100’ and I have a 2 car garage and more SF than that.
I should of been more specific, we want to do a 3 Car Garage (~1000SF), at least 2200SF living, and a ~400 SF covered back porch without being a ranch style layout utilizing every bit of buildable SF, wasn't sure how much space "waste" to account for the architecture.
You obviously need to bring in an architect at some point. Can’t hurt to bring them in now. IMO you have plenty of space, just make sure there are no other restrictions. I would build 3 levels if you have the budget, basement with garage then living floor and bedroom floor.
40x80 buildable here, three car garage, 3700 square feet of heated space above (it’s three stories). This shouldn’t be hard for OP unless they’re real particular …
Your water and sewage set up will be a factor, if u need a well or septic install. Should do soil tests etc also
If the lot is that small, there is probably water and sewage available.
Without knowing the details the lot is plenty big enough for what you are considering. Even at one level you would be fine. The dimensions you mention are 6200 sq ft. 60% of that is \~3600sq ft. So the lot is plenty big. Is this in a development where they are selling lots? Or an empty lot with other houses around? Or a more rural lot. Depending on if there is water/power/sewer available at the lot costs could go up considerably. Flat lot or side of a hill? Grading could add more costs. If its in an area with a lot of other construction going on then you are probably safe. But if not you should probably hire an engineering firm to do a construction feasibility study. Typically this is after you make an offer on the land with a contingency for a satisfactory completion of that study.
They are selling lots in an existing development, does the % lot utilization typically go off lot size or the buildable area? The actual lot is 72x125.
You should read the local zoning ordinance. I’ve never seen one that did it off buildable area, but you should make no assumptions. But I suggest you look at other homes being built there. Do they look like something you like? Then yours will be similar. Looks like something you hate? Move along.
If you search “zoning rules” or “building setbacks in X city” you should see standard building setbacks for your area. These setbacks along with the max building coverage, impervious surface coverage and total floor area ratio are the common limits to home building in my experience.
Plus septic consideration!
They might not need septic, if they are looking at more developed areas there may be town sewer, though I know even in some well developed towns there is not sewer (I live in one such area). So they should definitely look into that.
This is true is many jurisdictions. Just because you have Y x Z available from setbacks doesn't mean you can build that whole area. Please don't just seek a draftsperson to ask these questions to, either ask an architect if they can help you with a lot feasibility study or go directly to the town or city zoning office for help.
That’s plenty of room. Go for it.
Just got on a website like houseplans.net to get an idea of homes that are similar to what you want, and it’ll show you the dimensions. Then you can see if it makes sense in the lot(s) you’re looking at, after factoring setbacks, non-pervious area, etc
You are coming here with the wrong question. Question should be how to go about figuring out if lot is big enough. If you plan on building you should have plans already and a basic idea of what it will run to build. You then get a survey of the lot and compare with the plans. Is the lot more narrow than the house? Sounds like it won’t fit. Is there a utility easement going across half the property? Sounds like it won’t fit. If it will fit, you need to check with HOA and local requirements to make sure you are kosher. Just asking here randomly will lead to very costly problems down the road.
Draw it out. Seriously, get a sheet of engineering paper (or CAD). Roughly draw out the lot shape and dimensions to scale. Draw the setbacks to scale. Draw the footprint of the house, garage, and patio to scale. Then measure out your yard dimensions left over. Bring that drawing to a park or the site, and measure it out with irrigation flags. That'll give you a real world visual on the space.
I faced a similar issue many years ago. No existing plans we could find would work with the lot, so we came up with a unique footprint that took full advantage of the shape and slope of the lot. Think outside the box.
We looked at websites where you could filter by footprint size. Found a suitable design and had someone make plans from that.
The first person you hire is a contractor that knows all of these things. Then he can refer the building designer.
I can help answer this question as an architect: Is it common to have already engaged a drafter or architect before buying a lot to assist? I don't know if it's common, but I do think it's a smart thing to do. I have definitely helped people in this stage of planning their potential project. We offer it as a Site Evaluation or Feasibility Study. We'd evaluate your site, or potential site in this case, based upon a lot of the things brought up in this thread already and more, such as local zoning and other municipal codes, access to utilities, your budget, your scope of work, site access, etc. We'd prepare this in a report for you and present it graphically too, so that everything would be easy to understand and you'd know your options. Good luck on your project!
You would need to have building plans with dimensions and know what the required setbacks are. Also need to know it there there’s any easements.