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Why Soil Testing is important before Construction?

Are you planning to construct a custom house? There is a lot to think about. A soil test is one omitted step in the planning process normally.

Before you construct your ideal home, it is crucial to assess the soil’s quality. It’s important to assess the soil quality of the site where you intend to build your dream home before you start construction.

The importance of the soil is greater than you might think when buying land on which to put a house. Everything from foundations to plumbing can be impacted by the soil composition in your yard.

What is Soil Testing?

Soil testing is a scientific method for determining the inherent engineering and physical characteristics of the soil and its load carrying capacity.

The purpose of a soil test for construction is to determine the soil’s ability to support a load. Which may change from region to region and from stratum to stratum. With the help of that, we can determine the soil’s SBC (Safe Bearing Capacity), allowing us to decide what type of foundation to use based on the structure, its loads, and the structure’s height. The quality of the soil is influenced by a number of variables, including the weather, climate change, and the previous use of the land.

Depending on the soil’s quality, the pillar’s length and depth were decided during construction. Soil testing can only be used to determine the soil’s water content. The quality of the material can be determined based on the soil testing results. For instance, it is crucial to select only corrosion resistant TMT Bars for the construction if the area is vulnerable to corrosion as a result of moisture.

Who Performs Soil Testing?

Soil testing is done by soil engineers. They can be hired directly, through the architect or builder who will be designing and constructing your new home, or indirectly. Before working as a soil engineer, these people—also known as geotechnical engineers—must have complied with a number of requirements. Civil engineering degrees are required for geotechnical engineers. Additionally, they must have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam given by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) and hold a valid licence from their state.

The engineer typically gains experience by working for a licenced soil engineer between graduation and passing the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, which can be seen as a type of on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

What is the job of Soil Engineer?

To collect samples, soil engineers drill holes in the ground. The suitability of the soil is then evaluated using these samples. To ensure ongoing compatibility, soil engineers can test the soil prior to construction, during construction, and after construction is finished. Even sites with existing buildings that have had foundation issues in the past or could have issues in the future will have soil testing done.

The soil engineer searches for any issues that the composition might be able to cause after performing the testing and inspection and noting all of the soil’s constituents.

They then offer advice on the best ways to deal with these problems, which may include soil grading, additional drainage, foundation and earth supports, and more. The home or property owner, as well as the construction crew hired to build the new house, receive a report once the soil engineer has completed all of these tasks.

 

How important is Soil Testing for Construction?

  • As previously mentioned, testing the soil aids in laying the building’s foundation. Furthermore, untested soil can result in foundation damage and defects that affect the building’s strength and stability.
  • The results of soil testing are used to decide the most effective construction techniques and the likelihood of foundation issues.
  • The length and depth of the pillars that will be inserted into the ground to lay the building’s foundation are also determined by soil testing.
  • The construction material selected may be influenced by the mineral and chemical makeup of the soil.
  • In the event that a soil analysis reveals the presence of sulphur, sulfur-resistant cement is used to safeguard the building’s foundation.
  • The term “soil reactivity” describes how the soil responds to specific site conditions, such as whether it moves, contracts, or expands.
  • When multi-story apartments or buildings are being built, soil testing is absolutely essential.
  • By doing this, dangerous mistakes or collapse are prevented.

Conclusion

Although soil testing prior to construction is a requirement, the requirement varies depending on the projects and differs for different soils. Many contractors engage in the practice of failing to provide the customer with the correct information in accordance with their needs in an effort to make money. Many people can also advise that, if the client insists, the process should be ignored.

The role of knowledge is crucial. The importance of soil testing can be understood by the fact that most governments have made it a legally required procedure and will only approve a building’s construction plan after receiving the soil test report from the applicant. However, a lot of people skip this step in an effort to save money or simply out of ignorance. These cases typically have fatal outcomes. The first step to a long and secure future is to have the soil tested. As I told you before “the quality of the soil is influenced by a number of variables, including the weather, climate change, and the previous use of the land” some times engineer will be able to decide on his experience too.

Let us handle all of your construction-related concerns.