Critical Facts About Soil Testing
No developer wants their property to start leaning on one side a few years after construction. Well, the only way to ensure that a building stays upright for years and avoids fatal dangers is to conduct a soil test before buying a piece of land. Soil testing is the laboratory analysis of a site's inherent physical and engineering properties and load-bearing capacity. Unfortunately, most people do not take soil testing seriously and consider it expensive, time-consuming and an unnecessary construction cost. The view stems from the fact that some property investors and developers do not understand the basics of soil testing. Here are key points about construction soil testing.
Every Project Requires Soil Testing — A common misconception is that previously developed lands do not require soil testing. For instance, if there have been previous constructions on the project site in question, contractors can decide to rely on previous soil test reports. Well, that is the last thing a contractor or developer should do because construction projects vary significantly. For example, you cannot rely on a soil test report of a site that previously accommodated a single-storey building to construct a six-storey structure. Notably, the soil profile of a particular area changes over time. Thus, every construction project requires a soil test regardless of whether it is virgin or used land.
Reliable Soil Tests are Conducted in Dry Seasons — Only reliable soil tests should guide construction decisions. Notably, various factors can affect the reliability of a soil test, and the weather is one. In wet seasons, rainwater flows different directions, carrying chemicals and multiple elements. Therefore, the soil samples you collect in rainy seasons from a site might have originated from somewhere else and been deposited by rains. Thus, you might not get an accurate picture of a site's soil properties. It might explain why geotechnical engineers prefer to take soil samples during dry seasons since it increases the chances of generating reliable results.
Soil Analysis is Not a Pass or Fail Test — Most people innocently believe that a soil analysis is a pass or fail test. However, nothing could be further from the truth because soil analysis results are only used to determine potential foundation problems and select the best construction method. Therefore, just because a soil test report reveals that a site cannot accommodate a storey building does not mean you cannot construct on it. It only means that a contractor and an engineer must employ the proper techniques to ensure that a structure remains stable regardless of soil properties.
For more information on soil testing, contact a professional near you.
