Green Landscaping While Under Construction

There are even green concerns that need to be taken into account when you're working on  the construction of a new house. You need to ask yourself how the construction will impact your property, your health, and the environment. There are some issues that you'll need to consider before you break ground—looking at the environmental concerns after you started construction can be too late.

First off you want to limit the vehicle traffic.  The construction trucks that will drive on your soil can damage tree roots and make it difficult for any plants to grow in the area. By clearly marking off were vehicle traffic is allowed, you will limit damage to your property and save future landscaping costs. In other words, being a little echo friendly in the planning stages will save you money and hardship down the road. You can also lessen the damage here by insisting that the heavier vehicles back in and out of your property.  In this way they don't need to turn around and cause more damage.

You also want to mark any features on your site that are considered fragile.  During renovations, construction vehicles often needlessly damage fields, buried utility lines, and of course trees.  By clearly flagging these features, you can again save on the cost of additional landscaping or perhaps even extensive repairs. It's a good idea here to use wooden stakes as well and make circles with paint past the drip lines of important trees.  You can also mark lower branches with orange plastic construction fencing.

Remember that often when you start construction, you exposed some trees in your yard to sunlight for the first time and these can dry out quickly and die.  Here you might want to consider wrapping the trunks of some to limit their exposure to the sun, perhaps even watering others, and even thinning deciduous trees during the winter months to acclimatize them to the sunlight.

There's something else you’ll want to consider when you're planning for new utility lines.  These new lines are traditionally dug with machines, and this machinery can and usually does damage trees and soil eco systems. Although it may take more time and be a lot more labor-intensive, hand digging these utility lines makes a lot more sense from a conservationist standpoint.  As well, whenever possible you want to avoid digging in root zones.

Another consideration is wasted topsoil that a new addition or renovation can cause. Here's a recommendation that will save the topsoil so that you might use it for the future.  To reduce erosion, regrade and plant disturbed areas as soon as possible after the renovations are done. To protect essential soil nutrients and save the cost of buying new soil, it's also a good idea to try and store native topsoil.  When you cannot grade immediately, the soil should be protected with temporary seeding or even straw.

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