{"id":2971,"date":"2022-12-16T14:59:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T19:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.demarrengineering.com\/?p=2971"},"modified":"2023-05-22T15:51:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T19:51:45","slug":"how-big-of-a-house-can-i-build-in-arlington-county-va","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.demarrengineering.com\/how-big-of-a-house-can-i-build-in-arlington-county-va\/","title":{"rendered":"How Big of a House Can I Build in Arlington County, VA?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Building a new house in Arlington County, Virginia can be one of the more difficult areas to build in the Northern Virginia region. Trying to maximize your lot coverage on a typical Arlington lot can be extremely challenging due to a number of constraints such as lot setbacks, maximum lot coverage allowed by zoning codes, tree preservation, and stormwater management requirements.<\/p>\n
One of the first steps in the process is selecting the house footprint size you want and fitting that footprint within your lot setbacks. After we finish our Topographic Survey<\/a>, and we receive the Architectural files from your Architect or Builder, we will work on the initial Site Layout.<\/p>\n Below is an example of a preliminary lot layout fit within the setbacks on an Arlington lot. This typical 60-ft wide x 100-ft deep lot in a R-6 District has a Front Yard and Rear Yard Setback of 25-ft each. Then one Side Yard Setback needs to be 10-ft and the other 8-ft. That leaves the buildable area envelope of 42-ft x 50 ft, with a maximum house dimension of 41-ft x 47-ft that will barely fit within those dimensions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n During this preliminary Site Layout phase, we will take the Architectural files given to us and trace in the building footprint on our Site Plan with the Existing Conditions from the Topographic Survey shown in the background. Once we trace in the building footprint, our Civil Engineers will evaluate how the proposed building footprint fits within your lot setbacks and provide feedback. We evaluate for compliance with the <\/span>Arlington County Residential Setback requirements<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n With typical lot sizes in Arlington being around 60-ft x 100-ft, fitting a new 41-ft wide x 47-ft deep house can be a challenge. We have to factor in every inch including the thickness of siding and final trim that sticks out beyond the foundation walls. If your Civil Engineer doesn\u2019t factor in the thickness of siding, and just draws in the foundation walls on the permit drawings, it can cause problems at the end of the project when you are ready to receive the final occupancy permit to move in. We generally like to design a house to be at least 6-12\u201d away from any building setbacks to account for final trim, any deviations during construction from the concrete and framing crews, as well as other factors of error that may come into play.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n