Short answer: what to organise before starting
Before building a house, check the lorry route to the plot, choose where to unload and store materials, plan waste removal, connect temporary water and power, and confirm whether you need a permit to use the public road. Without this, the first weeks go on solving logistics instead of building.
Access does not end at the gate. A lorry has to arrive, manoeuvre, unload and leave without blocking the neighbours or damaging what has already been built.
Check the whole route
Walk the route from the main road to the plot with the largest vehicle in mind: concrete mixer, concrete pump, lorry-mounted crane, tipper. Look at street width, turning radii, gradient, overhead cables, tree branches, and weight and height limits.
In the urbanizaciones of the Garraf or above Castelldefels, streets are often narrow and steep. Sometimes a large pump simply will not fit, and concrete has to be placed with a smaller machine or in several pours. That changes both programme and price, so it is settled during preparation, not on the day of the pour.
Unloading, storage and waste
The plot needs an unloading area and storage protected from rain and sun. Windows, tiles, insulation and sanitaryware are expensive and deteriorate outdoors. Do not plan storage where the pool will later be dug or services will run.
Waste is separated and removed in skips placed where a lorry can collect them. The pavement, the neighbouring plot or public land are not available for storage without a permit. Conditions for occupying the public road are confirmed with the ajuntament.
Temporary utilities and fencing
A site needs water and power from day one. A temporary construction supply is arranged in advance with the utility company; otherwise you are working off a generator and bringing in water. Lead times depend on the company and the area, so build them into the programme.
The plot is fenced so that outsiders and children cannot get in and tools and materials do not go missing. When several companies are on site, a health and safety coordinator is appointed and site rules are communicated to every crew.
Think about welfare facilities too: a toilet, a changing area and shelter from rain. On an empty plot that means a site cabin, which needs a spot a crane lorry can reach and where it can later be removed without getting in the way.
Neighbours and street rules
Neighbours are the first to notice a building site and the first to call the ajuntament. Tell them when work starts, which days will bring noisy machinery and when concrete pours are planned. Keep the street clean: mud from tyres on the road is a common cause of complaints.
Each municipality has rules on hours for noisy work and for loading and unloading. They vary from place to place and are checked with the ajuntament. If a lorry needs to close the street for a while, that is arranged in advance.
Tie logistics to the programme
Logistics and programme are one document. Orders are scheduled around the works and the storage space: windows delivered too early raise the question of where to keep and how to protect them; delivered too late, they stop the crew.
Agree who confirms each delivery, who receives it on site and what happens if the area is not ready. On the private house with pool and solar panels that BCN YARD built between 2022 and 2024, deliveries for the house, the pool and the exterior works followed one programme so that machinery did not get in each other’s way. Each project has one person in charge, who also coordinates deliveries and subcontractors.
What the client should prepare
For the first conversation, have the address and cadastral reference, photos of the access from the street, information on existing connections and the contact for the urbanización’s administration, if there is one. If you know of issues with neighbours or street restrictions, mention them straight away: they shape the plan.
After the site visit we draw up a site layout: route, unloading area, storage, skips and temporary utilities. That layout becomes part of the works plan and the quote.