
SITE PLANNING
Standard Site planS
- Pre-Condition Plans
- Post-Condition Plans
- Pre-Vegetation Map
- Post-Vegetation Map
- Tree Conservation Plan
- 10 Year Canopy Calculations
- Pre-Grading
- Post-Grading
- NCS Detail
- Storm Water Management (SWM)
- BMP, Outfall and Impervious Area Calculations
- New Home Site Plans
- Subdivision Site Plans
- Site Topographical Survey
- Existing Building Height Survey
- Setback Certification
- House Location Plat
- Resource Protection Area (RPA)
- DOT Requirements
Development Services
- Full Site Plan
- Infill Lot Grading Plans
- Conservation Plan
- Master Planning
- Site Development Permits
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Vesting Tentative Maps
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Planned Development Permits
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Commercial/Industrial Site Development
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Residential Site Development
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Public Facilities/Golf Courses
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Tentative Subdivision Maps
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Tentative Parcel Maps
- Pre & Post Development ALT
- Limited Feasibility Study
- All Other State Specific Civil Engineering and Site Planning Services

ENGINEERING DESIGN
Northern Virginia:
Home building plans:
Commercial Building plans:
Architectural

Architectural ProjectS
Architectural Services
- Complete and Detailed Construction Documents (CD’s)
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Custom Home Plan Sets
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ADU/JADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) Design
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Home Additions
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Detached Garages
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Attached and Freestanding Decks
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Multi-Family Plan Sets
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Commercial Build-outs
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Condominium Plans
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Apartment Complex
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Full Home Bump-Ups (adding second floor to existing home)
- Everything From A-Z

Fairfax county violation – Civil Engineering
Fairfax County has a rigorous process for approving site plans where a simple Infill Lot Grading Plan requires a checklist with 100 plus line items of required detailed elements.
- Conservation Plan – 2,500 sf of disturbance to 4,999 sf.
- Infill Lot Grading Plans (INF) – 5,000 sf of disturbance or more.
We specialize in and have extensive experience dealing with Fairfax County on land disturbance violation and compliance site plans.
Elements of a Minimum Violation Site plan
- Pre-Condition Plans
- Post-Condition Plans
- Pre-Vegetation Map
- Post-Vegetation Map
- Tree Conservation Plan
- 10 Year Canopy Calculations
- Pre-Grading
- Post-Grading
- NCS detail
- Storm Water Management (SWM)
- BMP, Outfall and Impervious Area Calculation
Violation Site plans
Due to the nature of land disturbance violations, Fairfax County holds a very high standard for these types of plans, which is why most firms will not handle these cases (higher than standard plans). This is a stressful and extensive process, however, it doesn’t need to cost a fortune.
- New Home Site Plans
- Subdivision Site Plans
- Existing Building Height Survey
- Setback Certification
- Tree Conservation
- House Location Plat
- Resource Protection Area (RPA)
- VDOT Requirements
- Full Fairfax County Violation Services, but we can provide violation services anywhere you might need.

Steel Building Foundation-Only plans and calculations
When you a purchase a pre-engineered metal building, most often your steel building supplier does not do the foundation design. However, you are required by the City or County to get a soils report and foundation design plans. Foundation Engineering Consultants, Inc. has a package for a soils report & foundation design for metal buildings. We need foundation reactions & anchor bolt plan from your steel building manufacturer.
Planning Your Metal Building Foundation
Design your foundation according to your local conditions regarding soil quality, frost lines, wind uplift and static load for a metal building that will last for years to come.
Soil Quality
Before laying a foundation, it is crucial to have your land professionally surveyed to determine soil quality, plot boundaries, and leveling. If your soil quality is low, you can excavate and remove it to replace with higher-quality soil that will prevent your steel building from shifting or sinking over time.
Frost Lines
When you excavate the future site of your building, you will need to dig below the frost line to secure your footings. Securing the footings of your building below the depth at which moisture in your soil freezes ensures your footings are insulated and unaffected by shifting soil during freezing and thawing.
You or your project manager can contact your local building authorities for more information on the frost line requirements in your area.
Wind Uplift Threats
Wind uplift refers to the suctioning effect that can occur during high winds. Wind uplift is of particular concern to metal buildings which are known for being susceptible to lifting from the foundation in uplift.
If wind uplift is a known threat in your area, accommodations will need to be made in foundation design. Heavy foundations, deep footings, and a foundation with topsoil will all help to mitigate the effects of uplift on your steel building.
Static Load
Steel buildings can be significantly impacted by high winds and earthquakes, which can destroy the structure or cause it to detach from the foundation.
Anchor bolts and larger footings can be tied to your foundation using steel tie bars to help your building resist the effects of weather phenomena.
If heavy equipment will be stored in the building, the foundation’s load-bearing capacity needs to reflect this additional weight. The weight and dimensions of your metal building will also affect the static load your foundation must carry.
The more expansive your building, the heavier and deeper the foundation must be.
However, your local conditions are not the only considerations that must be made for your building foundation. Owners must also choose which type of foundation works best for their purposes.
Types of Steel Building Foundations
Perimeter Footing
For a minimalist approach to laying a foundation, owners can choose a perimeter footing foundation.
A perimeter footing is exactly what it sounds like: a foundation that only exists on the perimeter of a building. To construct a perimeter footing foundation, concrete is poured around the exterior of the metal building structure dimensions.
The foundation will provide support to the exterior steel walls. Perimeter footings can be used on their own or combined with piers or concrete slabs for additional support.
Slab Foundation
Slab foundations are the most popular foundation used today.
A concrete slab is an area of poured concrete with a reinforced grade beam that transmits the load from bearing walls into the foundation. A slab foundation becomes the floor of the building after construction.
Slab foundations are made popular by their quick, easy and affordable construction that does not utilize piers or footings, making for a simpler construction.
However, if pipes and electrical lines are required, it complicates the process a bit. Pipes and electric must be embedded directly into the slab.
Pier and Beam Foundation with Optional Footing
In a pier and beam system, the foundation rests on piers which rest on footings with a grade beam wall.
Some buildings can utilize drilled piers instead of a footing, but in either case, the piers and footing are primarily responsible for carrying the load of the metal building. A drilled pier foundation includes concrete piers that are drilled down to support the foundation walls at the piers.
With pier and beam foundations, the floors can be left as dirt or gravel. The pier and beam foundation with optional footing is a more expensive option but is not without benefits.
This foundation type offers additional opportunities to secure your metal building against horizontal loads, wind uplifts, and seismic shifts.
Ground Mounting with Concrete Caissons
If you would prefer your structure to have a dirt floor instead of a concrete slab, ground mounting may be the right choice for you.
This option is typical for agricultural buildings and equipment storage. Ground mounting with concrete caissons anchors the building to the earth using concrete anchors called caissons.
Caissons are, in essence, dug out post holes filled with concrete to create a secure tie-off point for a metal building structure.
Container Homes

Shipping container homes
Ceed Civil Engineering specializes in custom home designing and engineering utilizing standard ISO shipping containers to develop detailed plan-sets for eye-stunning container homes and functional structures (also known as Conex homes, Container Houses). We also enigneer a vast amount of other shipping container buildings such as restrooms, kitchens, venue housing, portable housing, FEMA housing, Fire Proof homes, bunkers, etc. These structures are versatile, unique, and extremely cost-effective while still providing a spacious and beautiful alternative building style. With millions of shipping containers sitting at ports and storage sites, these units can reduce build time and costs by up to 3,000%. We have helped hundreds of clients design and utilize shipping containers for their homes, garages, and even utility uses such as portable battery storage, ADU’s, homeless shelters, Temporary housing, Concert stages and the like.
Ceed Civil Engineering has deep experience ensuring the modification of these large shipping containers is not only safe and code compliant, but beautiful.

What is a container home?
Shipping container homes (also known as CONEX homes) are exactly what they sound like; homes made from the steel shipping containers that you see carrying cargo everywhere on trains, trucks, and ships. From these giant Lego blocks, we are designing homes of all shapes and sizes. Shipping containers are generally available in standard 10ft, 20ft, 40ft and 52ft. The smallest shipping container can provide about 80 square feet of floor space for a shipping container home. Eight larger 40 foot containers together can make a two-story house at about 2,560 square feet. Hundreds of container micro-apartments together can make a huge apartment building, as seen in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, CA.
We are asked daily why shipping containers are being used to make homes, studios, cabins, and offices? Our answer is, with about 14 million ‘out-of-service’ containers in the world, there are lots of them available. And playing with giant blocks are definitely exciting!
Besides trendiness, interest in container homes is also part of a wider interest in saving money with prefabricated and modular homes. Many potential clients are looking for lower construction and maintenance costs. There is also a perception that container homes contributing to recycling and their high ‘Fire Proof’ steel construction is an ideal building material in high fire zones throughout the West Coast.
Shipping Container Homes Have Standard Costs


Recycled Shipping Container Homes
The environmental appeal of a container home being re-used after its cargo products are unloaded and delivered opens the doors to a new custom and unique home. This is a excellent for the environment and the industry.
Some of the advantages, like short construction time, predictable pricing and versatility in design, are the larger draw for clients to consider a shipping container home. But container homes benefit uniquely from the worldwide infrastructure built to move shipping containers. Even where local building expertise is lacking, or for emergency shelters, shipping container structures can be moved easily to where they are needed. In these scenarios, the versatility of container transport is a huge advantage.
Roofs
- Flat roofs are the simplest, fastest, and least expensive to construct but can be more costly to maintain. It’s essential to create a slight pitch for the drainage of rainfall.
- Living roof, also known as a green roof, is a roof with introduced plants and greenery. These roof types are both aesthetically and naturally pleasing and provide natural insulation and cooling.
- Pitched roofs are roofs that slope downwards and are among the most common roof types found in areas with heavy rainfall and snow. Popular examples of pitched roofs are gables, hip, mansard, gambrel, and skillion.
- Roof terraces are creative flat spaces built on top of the roof to expand occupiable or usable space. Many roof terraces are used for small outdoor gardens, eating or lounging areas.

What type of ADU Should you build?
You may be asking yourself whether to build an ADU or garage conversion. Luckily, you may now be able to choose the structure that best fits you! Most states recently passed laws allowing many new zoning codes to accommodate Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU/ALU) and Garage/Basement Conversions. Many new single and multi-family properties will be permitted to have both!

Ceed Civil ADU Development Process
We take your hand and walk you through from start to finish.
In just 5 steps you can change your life with an ADU or Garage/Basement Conversion!
In most jurisdictions, homeowners will need to run plans for the project by their local department of building and safety. For ground-up construction, that means diagrams and exact measurements will need to be included. If a project is especially complex, homeowners will utilize our engineering expertise to ensure it’s built to code.


In most areas, you are allowed to turn your garage or basement into a habitable dwelling unit. It will be an accessory to the main house. That is why it’s called an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or accessory living unit (ALU). Ceed Civil will assist you in all aspects of the permit plan process.
Upon receiving your permits, Clients can finalize their Construction Contract, including a budget and estimated build time. Then they will begin construction on your ADU or Garage Conversion. We can provide engineering services throughout the build process. After all, it is in your backyard!
Costs and estimated build time depend on the size and features requested.
Building an ADU or Garage/Basement conversion can increase your property value by $100,000+ and generate $10,000-$50,000 in rental income per year, depending on location.


When your ADU or ALU is completed, the final inspection will give you the ability to start utilizing your new space and generate the income you have always wanted.
