1.2 Site Preparation

• Factors to consider when selecting a building site
• Terms in site preparation: site selection, site clearing, site levelling
• Safety measures in site preparation
• Site clearing, stripping the topsoil, and levelling a site

• explain the factors to consider when selecting a site for a given building
• describe the safety measures to observe in site preparation
• clear a site for construction using appropriate hand tools
• strip off the topsoil of a building site
• illustrate methods of levelling a site for building construction
• appreciate the importance of proper site selection and preparation before construction

“Why are site preliminaries important in building construction?”

“Why is it important to observe safety when preparing a building site?”

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1. Site selection and preparation
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The factors to consider when selecting a building site, the three stages of preparing it (clearing, stripping the topsoil and levelling), the hand tools used, and the safety measures to observe.
2. Choosing a building site
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The factors to consider when selecting a site, read against the building code, land papers and a Kenyan plot walk.
3. Soil on a building site
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Why the soil must be firm, Kenyan problem soils, and how a trial pit helps you decide before you buy or dig foundations.
4. Topography and drainage
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The lie of the land and how water leaves it: why fairly level, well-drained ground is chosen, and why hollows and steep slopes fail.
5. Access, services, size and cost
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Roads, water, electricity and waste; enough space and setbacks; cost, security and neighbours as the last selection checks.
6. Site selection, clearing and levelling
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The three syllabus terms defined and put in order, with stripping the topsoil as the step between clearing and levelling.
7. Safety in site preparation
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Why site work is dangerous, the PPE and rules to observe, and how responsibility for tools protects everyone on the plot.
8. Clearing a building site
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How to clear vegetation and rubbish with slasher, panga, axe, rake and wheelbarrow, in a safe order, inside a marked boundary.
9. Stripping the topsoil
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Why the living top layer is removed, how to strip it with jembe and spade, and why the heap is kept for gardens rather than dumped.
10. Levelling a building site
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Cut and fill, pegs and a builder line, the spirit level and the water level, and why filled ground must be compacted.
11. Preparing a plot: practical
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    A full sequence on a marked school plot: PPE, mark, clear, strip, level, check, and care of tools and the topsoil heap.
12. Why site preliminaries matter
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    The first inquiry answered in full: choosing and preparing the site is the foundation of everything after, with a good-site versus bad-site contrast.