Can moist land be filled in to build a home on?

Question

A piece of property I've found stays sort of wet most of the time. Is it possible for the wet area to be filled in with fill dirt to dry it out and either build a home on or set up a double wide? Will filling it keep it dry indefinately?

Answer 1

I tend to lean towards the answer of " meanolmaw ". She makes sense. I was also thinking of, after you find out what she says, maybe make some sort of an irrigation " a ditch, pipeline" that would send the water away in a lower part of your land. A small bulldozer shouldn't cost so much, then again you need to ask. It seems to be on a sort of a valley, or is it all over your land? If it were an underground stream, the water would not be so close to the surface... other ideas...

Answer 2

They did this in a neighborhood about 6 miles from where I live. Some of the houses (3000 sqft+) are sinking and some are fine.
In most cases the sinking took years to develop...

Now
Everyone is having a hard time trying to sell there homes.
I personally would not build more than a shed on previously wet or filled in land.

Answer 3

first you need to find out WHY it's moist..... it wouldn't be good to build over a running spring or to find that the bedrock makes a 'bowl' right there and holds all the water from around the area when it rains.... look, too, for an underground 'stream', perhaps from an old swale...... find out if the area ever does totally dry out, then why it wets up again.....

using fill dirt will just get the fill dirt wet.... if you're keen on the land, the only way I see would be to set the house on pylons that are sunk to bedrock.... and you'll still have difficulty with lawn, growing plants, driveway, etc............

find the cause or select another spot to build on.... this could get tricky...........

Answer 4

It's too hard a question to answer with out checking the land personally, so I would suggest you get an engineers report on the land before you attempt anything. The cost of a qualified engineers report would negate any further financial cost to you if anything goes wrong, and it would inform you of the correct course to take to insure a firm foundation for your home, not to mention the Councils requirements on the said land. It would be a very good investment at a reasonable cost. Have a great day.