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What the 2004 Tsunami Revealed About Mahabalipuram

On the morning of 26 December 2004 , something extraordinary happened at Mahabalipuram. As the tsunami approached India's east coast, the sea suddenly retreated. For a few minutes, the Bay of Bengal exposed a stretch of seabed that had been hidden for centuries. Local residents, fishermen and visitors reported seeing rows of dressed stones, walls and other structures before the water rushed back. The scene immediately revived one of India's oldest coastal legends: the Seven Pagodas . But did the tsunami really uncover a lost city? The answer is more interesting than the legend. A Story Older Than the Tsunami Long before archaeologists began studying Mahabalipuram, European sailors knew it by another name: The Seven Pagodas . For centuries, European sailors called Mahabalipuram the 'Seven Pagodas'. The name came from a local tradition that several magnificent temples once stood along the coast, while only one—the Shore Temple—remained visible abo...
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Part 1 — The Site Plan: Before the First Brick | Sheet by Sheet

Every house starts with a site plan. Not a foundation. Not a floor plan. The site plan.
Before anything gets built, someone has to answer one question: where exactly does this house sit on this lot? Get that wrong and everything built on top of it is wrong too.

What It Actually Shows
A bird's-eye view of the entire lot — not just the house:
Lot lines, setbacks, and the house footprint within them
Driveway location and garage entry
Utilities — water, sewer, gas, electric
Grading and drainage direction
Impervious surface area
One sheet. Every decision about how the house sits on the land.

Where Builders Get Burned
Setbacks. Corner lots, cul-de-sac lots, lots near open space — each can have different requirements. Copy-pasting the standard setback across every lot is a fast way to a permit rejection.

Driveways on slopes. A garage that works on flat ground can become a grading nightmare on a sloped lot. Site plan and grading plan should always be reviewed together.

Utility conflicts. A sewer line running right through the foundation zone. Caught late, it's expensive. Caught on the site plan, it's a quick fix.

What Good Looks Like
Clean. Dimensioned. No guesswork for the contractor. Finished floor elevation referenced, drainage direction shown, every setback called out.
If someone can pick it up and start work without a phone call — that's a good site plan.

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Part 2 — The Foundation Plan: Getting It Right From the Ground Up.
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