You are asked to perform a form survey, the forms are set 5' from the property line, right on a 5' side lot building line. You show 5' so it passes inspection.
You are called about 3 months later to perform an asbuilt survey, the foundation is poured right on the building line, and the siding and 3/4" trim board, and 16" soffit and facia are over the building line. Where do you dimension to? The siding corner trim? 4.9' ?
It depends.
Most towns in my area have definitions of what constitutes a "building", and then definitions for "front yard, side yard and rear yard setback". Pretty clearly indicating the corner boards for the points to be measured to.
At least on town has "interpreted" their definition to include the roof overhang. Though not exactly spelling out if that includes the drip edge or gutters.
I try to spell out on my as-built certifications what points were measured to. Foundation corners, corner boards, overhanging facia and rake boards...
We have conversations with the owner, builder and/or architect about this, and about the wisdom of a "0" tolerance on the setback dimension.
Then the "building height" calculation comes up. "existing ground before construction" - how long before construction??ÿ
I was in production housing for the past 35 years. Overhang is usually municipality specific and can vary wildly. Setbacks are a pain. 99% of our projects have zero setback tolerance. Ie: 40' wide foundation on a 50' wide lot with 5' setbacks.
When the builder gets finished with whatever elevation the buyer selected there are all kinds of encroachments due the kind of surface treatment applied to the unfinished surface of the structure. Brick, stucco, styrofoam, etc. Thus when the structure is finished some sides "encroach" by 0.1' - 0.4', so I include this statement on my survey drawing:?ÿ
"Building tie dimensions shown hereon are measured to the unfinished exterior surface of the structure."
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I have asked many a designer and builder what they intend when they show a new structure exactly on a setback line. I am met with a blank stare every single time.
There are some houses with incredibly wide overhangs.?ÿ Add a gutter.?ÿ Put two of these houses next to each other with the foundation at zero relative to the setback line.?ÿ Suddenly, the sunlight never has a chance to hit the ground between these houses.?ÿ A fire in one structure practically guarantees a fire in the other.?ÿ Fire isolation was the primary factor in establishing building setbacks in the first place.
It's good to know the regs where you're working.?ÿ Some towns are pretty stringent, everything counts.?ÿ Worked some places where you had to as-built the foundation before the builder was allowed to continue.?ÿ Then another as-built was required when construction was done.?ÿ
Other places, no one cared since you're out in the country in the middle of a huge lot.
If 5' is the setback, then the foundations should've been designed and set further back to accommodate the overhanging construction.?ÿ At this point, you shoot the house/building corner and state what it is, 4.9', then.
Generally the concrete foundation is what is intended. Where there is doubt I specifically label that I am dimensioning the foundation line. Many zoning regs make specific provisions for intrusion of facing materials, cantilevers, deck, eaves, etc. based on height above ground and so forth.?ÿ ?ÿAs far as what ground?ÿ elevation is - either the natural ground before any construction activity, or the ultimately finished ground after construction depending on the circumstance.
In other words - read the zoning reg in detail, don't just rely on the setback tables.?ÿ
My County changed from determining the setback from the foundation to the finished siding.?ÿ When we certify the forms, we have to determine what the thickness of the siding will be to complete the certification.?ÿ We always reference the plans used and state the date of the plans.
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I?ÿ measure to the part furthest from the dog.?ÿ
When I stake out for an as built, I stake the setback lines and let the builder take it from there and deal with the Architect as how to make their design fit.
When I do an asbuilt, I locate and show where the outside walls are and show the setback lines.
When it comes to how homes are measured for living space, the Realtors have been changing from how many sqare feet there are as measured of the total in each room of an office building, warehouse or residence to being meaured to the outside building lines. The latter will always be more area and less living space.
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