Building on the Veluwe: what sandy soil means for your foundation

Bouwbedrijf Dries Lagemaat

·New build·3 min read

The ground beneath your home

On the Veluwe you build on sand, not on clay or peat. That usually works in your favour, but it does call for different choices in the foundation and in drainage. This article explains what to watch for.

Sand carries well, but not everywhere equally

Sandy soil has a high bearing capacity and settles far less than peat. A home can often be founded directly on a widened footing in the ground, without piles, which saves both money and disruption. But the subsoil on the Veluwe is not uniform: ice-pushed ridges, cover sand and old stream valleys run through one another. A soil survey therefore remains necessary, even if your neighbour needed no piles.

Mind the groundwater level

Higher up on the ridge the groundwater sits deep and a cellar or basement is perfectly feasible. In the lower parts towards the IJssel and the stream valleys the water stands closer to the surface, and a cellar quickly becomes a watertight tank with the costs to match. Have the level measured in the wet season rather than in a dry summer, or you will get too rosy a picture.

Lead water away rather than drain it off

Sand lets water through quickly, which makes infiltration on your own plot a sound solution here: rainwater from the roof goes into the ground through an infiltration crate or a gravel bed instead of into the sewer. Many municipalities on the Veluwe now require this for new build. Allow for it in the design, so it does not have to be dug into the garden afterwards.

Where it goes wrong

• Founding without a soil survey, assuming the neighbouring plot is the same
• Planning a cellar without knowing the groundwater level in the wet season
• Leaving rainwater drainage until the garden is laid out
• Not allowing for a height difference across the plot

From ground to delivery

Bouwbedrijf Dries Lagemaat has been building on the Veluwe for over 13 years and knows the subsoil here. From the first design onwards we think along about foundations, water management and height differences. Get in touch without obligation.