When building a custom home, what’s underground is just as important as the walls, windows, and roof materials above.

LAD Construction has build-on-your-lot expertise on all types of properties. We have built many homes on already-improved lots. But more than 65 percent of our work experience comes from building custom homes on undeveloped, raw land that requires tree removal, grading and other preparation.

Most builders outsource the excavation and land preparation part of new home construction. At LAD Construction Company, we dig dirt. Not only do we enjoy being part of your project from beginning to end, we have learned that working from the underground up makes a difference. We have built on all types of lots around the Pittsburgh area, including shallow mined and deep fill lots that require drilling and installation of caissons or spread footers.

When LAD visits your lot, we will ask questions to confirm if any fill was used, if there are protective covenants that could restrict certain features or require you to pay homeowner’s association fees, and if the land has a mining history.

Although the seller of the lot should disclose information regarding fill, mining, wetlands and any condition of the lot that is known, LAD will assist you in suggesting additional information that you should know before purchasing the lot. If you are working with a realtor, he or she should obtain this information for you. If you are not working with a realtor, Patty will be happy to represent you — you can be sure that with her more than two decades as a licensed realtor concentrating in new construction, all of the right questions will be asked and answered before you purchase your lot.

Once you secure the lot and/or put it under agreement, we recommend that you include a contingency that the builder sees the lot and confirms that you can build what you want on it – this will protect your deposit in the event that the lot poses problems or additional costs that you did not anticipate.

You should consider a potential lot carefully, even if it’s in a developed area. Developed lots in a new home community may not present the same unknowns as far as utility lines and other infrastructure requirements are concerned, but there could be considerations involving foundation work,  architectural guidelines and property line restrictions.