Creating a Garden for a New Build: The Checklist for Home Builders

When you build a house, the garden usually comes last. Many of its decisions are made much earlier, though: where the topsoil is stored, where the construction machines drive, at what height the ground ends at the house, where the pipes and cables run and where the rainwater goes. Once the house is finished, much of this can only be changed with a lot of effort. This checklist collects what you should clarify with your architect, your building contractor and your local authority while the excavators are still on site. When each step comes up is shown in the article on the order of work when building a house. What the garden costs is covered in Creating a garden for a new build: costs and budget.

The rules and examples in this article refer to Germany. Rules for building, water and neighbours differ by federal state and municipality. The checklist does not replace information from your building authority or professional planning.

At a glance

• Read the development plan for the garden, too. It can contain planting requirements, areas for rainwater and rules for fences.
• Check your building contract. Outdoor works are often not included, or only in part.
• The topsoil must be preserved. In Germany, the Federal Building Code requires this. It is stored separately and not driven over.
• The ground level at the house is fixed early. It affects the plinth, the patio door and the slope.
• Plan pipes, cables, empty conduits and rainwater while the trenches are still open.

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1. Documents: what is already decided for your garden

Before you think about plants, it's worth looking at the documents for your house. Some things about the garden are already set there.

• Read the development plan, including the written part. In Germany, a development plan (Bebauungsplan) can, for example, require trees and shrubs to be planted, and it can keep areas free for rainwater to soak away (Section 9 (1) nos. 14, 16 d and 25 of the Federal Building Code, BauGB). It often also contains rules on fences, parking spaces or surfaces.
• Know the rules of your federal state. In Bavaria, for example, the parts of a plot that are not built over must be able to absorb water and must be greened or planted, unless the development plan says otherwise (Art. 7 (1) BayBO). In Baden-Württemberg, gravel gardens are generally not permitted (Section 21a NatSchG BW). The city of Münster points out that the building code of North Rhine-Westphalia prohibits them too.
• Ask whether an outdoor design plan is required. Some municipalities require one with the building application. In Münster, for example, it is part of the application if the building authority asks for it. It shows paved areas, parking spaces, fences, retaining walls, ground levels, trees and planting.
• Check the building specification and the contract. German law lists outdoor works in the minimum content of a building specification only “where applicable” (Art. 249 Section 2 EGBGB). So look closely: are earthworks, putting the topsoil back, access paths, the patio and drainage of the paved areas included? Whatever isn't in there you'll have to commission separately.
• Get the plans. You'll need the site plan, the drainage plan and the levels from the building application for any later garden planning.

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2. Topsoil: save it before the excavator comes

The top, dark layer of soil is the most valuable thing your plot brings to the garden. In Germany, the Federal Building Code requires that topsoil excavated during construction “is to be kept in a usable condition and protected from destruction or waste” (Section 202 BauGB). How this works in practice is described, for example, in the leaflet of the Bremen soil protection authority, based on the relevant standards:

• Strip the topsoil separately before excavation. It must not be mixed with the subsoil. Each layer goes on its own heap, which professionals call a stockpile.
• Don't pile the stockpiles too high: topsoil no more than 2 metres, subsoil no more than 3 metres.
• Don't drive over the stockpiles, and don't store building materials or construction waste on them.
• Stored for more than two months? Then sow it. This keeps the soil alive and stops it from washing away.
• Plan the space. On a small plot it's tight. Clarify beforehand where the stockpiles will go and whether surplus excavated soil will be taken away. That costs money.

When the soil comes back later, it is spread loosely and only worked in dry weather. Areas that have already been prepared are not driven over again.

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3. Construction site: where machines drive, little will grow later

Heavy construction machines compact the soil, especially when it's wet. Afterwards, rainwater can hardly soak away, and waterlogging occurs. The Bremen leaflet points out that loosening compacted soil later is usually expensive. It's easier to keep compaction to a minimum from the start.

• Put the site road, storage area and skip where paving will go anyway, i.e. on the future driveway, parking space or patio. The Bremen leaflet recommends this too.
• Cover unpaved site roads with panels that spread the load.
• Protect trees, including your neighbours' trees and those along the street. Under the German standard for protecting trees on construction sites (DIN 18920), the root zone is the area under the crown plus 1.50 metres. Nothing drives there, and nothing is stored there.
• Agree who loosens the soil after construction. According to the Bremen leaflet, compaction that couldn't be avoided must be reversed by loosening after construction. If it isn't in the contract, it will be up to you.
• Don't let anyone bury building rubble in the garden. It will turn up again with the first planting hole.

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4. Levels: where the ground ends at the house

The height of the finished ground around the house decides more than just the look. It's about waterproofing, water and how you get from the house into the garden.

• Have the future ground level at the house fixed, together with your architect or site manager. How the plinth has to be waterproofed depends on where the ground ends (German standard DIN 18533). A manufacturer of plinth systems therefore calls the later ground level “of essential importance for all trades”. Don't simply pile soil or gravel higher against the wall later than planned.
• Think about the patio door. How high is the floor inside, and how high will the patio be? A door with a low threshold needs a solution for the water in front of it, such as a drainage channel. Clarify this before the door is installed.
• Plan a slope away from the house for the patio, paths and ground, so that rainwater doesn't run towards the wall.
• Look at the boundaries. Is the neighbouring plot or the street higher or lower? Then you'll need an embankment or a retaining wall. Walls on the boundary are subject to building and neighbour law. In Bavaria, for example, walls up to 2 metres high don't need a permit, except in undeveloped outlying areas. Retaining walls also raise the question of structural stability. That's a job for a specialist contractor.
• Ask about the backfill at the house. The trench around the basement or the floor slab is filled in again after the shell is built. Ask the site manager how it was filled and compacted. Loosely filled soil can settle, and then whatever is built on top sinks, for example paving right next to the house.

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5. Pipes, cables and conduits: while the trenches are open

Anything that will need electricity or water in the garden later needs a line. Retrofitting under a finished patio means lifting the slabs again.

• Plan outdoor taps: how many and where, for example at the patio, at the end of the garden and in the front garden. They should be frost-proof or easy to shut off and drain in winter.
• Plan outdoor power: outdoor sockets, lighting and possibly power for a garden shed or a pump. In Germany, work on the electrical installation may only be carried out by the grid operator or an electrical contractor registered with the grid operator (Section 13 NAV). That applies to an outdoor socket too.
• Lay empty conduits under everything that will be paved: under the patio, paths and driveway, including for things that will only come in a few years, such as lighting, irrigation or power at the garden gate. An empty conduit is quickly laid during construction. Later it means digging up.
• Record the positions. Photograph every line with a tape measure before the trench is closed, and mark it on the site plan.
• Ask about other people's lines before every dig. The German gas and water association (DVGW) points out that lines can also run under gardens and that you have to check with the network operator before digging.
• Don't plan trees directly above lines, including the house connections in the front garden. The network operator can tell you which distances are needed.

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6. Rainwater: where does the water from the roof go?

A new build brings new roof areas and new paved areas. The water has to go somewhere. In Germany, the Water Resources Act provides that rainwater should, where possible, soak away on site or be drained separately from wastewater (Section 55 (2) WHG). What applies on your plot is set by the development plan, the local drainage bylaws and your drainage plan.

• Check the drainage plan to see where the roof water goes: into the sewer, into a soakaway or into a rainwater tank.
• Install a rainwater tank or soakaway while the excavator and the building pit are still there. Later it needs its own construction site in the finished garden. How far a soakaway has to be from the house and whether it needs a permit is something to clarify with your planner and the municipality.
• Think about the fee. Many German municipalities charge a rainwater fee based on the paved area connected to the sewer. What that means for your choice of surface is covered in the cost article for new builds.
• Lead water from the patio and paths into beds or a channel, not towards the house wall.

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7. Boundaries and neighbours

In a new housing estate, all the gardens are created at the same time. What gets built on the boundary now often stays for decades.

• Check that the boundary markers are still there after the earthworks. Without them, nobody knows exactly where the fence and hedge belong.
• Look up the rules for fences and walls: in the development plan (height, material) and in your federal state's building code.
• Keep planting distances. How far hedges, trees and shrubs must be from the boundary is governed by the neighbour law of your federal state. In Bavaria, for example, your neighbour can demand 0.50 metres, and 2 metres for plants over 2 metres high.
• Talk to your neighbours before anything is built: who builds the fence, on which side of the boundary, and how high should it be?

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8. Before the first spade goes into the garden

When the scaffolding is gone and the building contractor hands over the plot, the actual garden work begins. A final check is worthwhile first.

• Check the building contractor's outdoor work: has the rubble gone, is the topsoil back, are the levels right, has compacted soil been loosened?
• Look with a spade. How thick is the soil layer, and what's underneath?
• Plan the whole garden before the first stage is built. Otherwise the path from year one won't fit the patio from year three.

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Where GardenPilot helps – and where it doesn't

The questions on this list are for your architect, site manager, municipality and specialist contractors. GardenPilot helps with a different question: what should the garden actually look like? You upload a photo of your plot and see design ideas on your own space, with your house. That helps before you decide where the patio, paths and beds should go. The images are visualisations, not construction plans, and they don't replace a survey. How it works and what it costs is shown in AI garden design with a photo.

Do you already know what your garden should look like? Upload a photo of your plot and see ideas on your own space. The first image is free. Start free with your photo

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Frequently asked questions

When should I start on the garden for a new build?

With the planning, before construction starts. Topsoil, the site setup, levels, pipes and cables and rainwater are all decided during construction. What the garden will look like in the end can still wait. The garden itself is usually built once the scaffolding has gone. The sequence is shown in the article on the order of work when building a house.

Are outdoor works part of the building contract?

That depends on the contract. The statutory minimum list for building specifications in Germany mentions outdoor works only “where applicable”. Read the specification point by point: earthworks, topsoil, access paths, the patio and drainage of the paved areas are common gaps.

May the building contractor take the topsoil away?

In Germany, topsoil must be kept in a usable condition and protected from destruction or waste (Section 202 BauGB). Ideally it stays on your plot, because you'll need it later for the lawn and beds. Clarify where it will be stored before excavation starts.

Do I need a permit for a fence, wall or patio roof?

In Germany, that's governed by your federal state's building code, plus any rules in the development plan. In Bavaria, for example, walls and privacy fences up to 2 metres high don't need a permit, except in undeveloped outlying areas. Not needing a permit doesn't mean there are no rules, though. If in doubt, ask your building authority.

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Read more

• Order of work when building a house: when what happens in the garden
• Creating a garden for a new build: costs and budget
• New-build garden: 9 ideas for the garden at your new house
• How much does garden design cost?