Are you planning a build of any kind, especially one that’s on bare land? Then you may already have been told that you will need to have a series of ground tests and soil assessments done before you receive the building permits you’ve applied for. This may have left you wondering what all the fuss is about, since the ground looks pretty stable from where you’re standing.
The reality is that every new build needs the soil testing Melbourne law mandates. This is to ensure that the proposed infrastructure (buildings and roads) is built on ground that’s safe enough to hold it, especially during adverse weather. This post takes a quick look at what soil testing is and why it’s essential, even for the smallest builds.
What Exactly is Soil Testing in the Australian Landscape?
When you first hear of soil testing, you may be forgiven for thinking it’s something that only applies to farmers and the agricultural business. In reality, soil testing refers to the process of testing and analysing various soil samples from the area around your proposed build.
The main goal of soil testing is to assess the surrounding soil’s properties, overall health, and moisture content. These tests let your building engineer know whether your infrastructure is at risk of collapse in severe weather. It also highlights how at risk the space is of floods and landslides the space is. To determine this, a series of tests is done. Some of these are performed on site, while others require samples to be sent off to NATA laboratories.
Understanding the Importance of Comprehensive Soil Testing
There are many advantages to having the soil under and around your proposed build tested. Our team of geotechnical experts have compiled a list of the most significant ones worth knowing.
Assesses Structural Integrity
When you’re envisioning your dream home or commercial property, the last thing you will give any thought to is the building and surrounding infrastructure collapsing at some point in the future. This may seem far-fetched, but building on weak soil may eventually lead to this.
Therefore, the number one reason to perform soil tests is to assess the soil stability. Since not all soil types are the same, load-bearing capacities, cohesiveness, and overall strengths may vary. This means that some soil may be stronger and better suited to hold the type of building you want to build.
Not testing the soil may potentially result in you building on unstable soil. Over time, this can lead to uneven settling, foundation cracks and ultimately, structural failures. During the various soil testing procedures, aspects such as density, compaction levels, and moisture content are inspected and assessed. Once weak or risky soil has been identified, building methods can be amended to rectify the issue.
Create Effective Long-Term Construction Approaches
You only have to spend time on two building sites to know that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. This is because each project and site is unique to the soil it’s being built on. What works well in one area may be catastrophic in another.
By performing the necessary soil testing, your engineering team will be able to customise building techniques and materials to make your build as strong and durable as possible. Knowing up front what the issues are prevents your team from wasting time and resources making mistakes or having a build collapse mid-way through.
Prevents Delays and Expensive Mistakes
Whether you’re building a swimming pool or an office park, the last thing you need is to have your project experience delays because standard building techniques and materials aren’t holding up. Extensive soil testing before construction can highlight several issues that can affect the quality and safety of your build.
The most common of these include the following:
- Hidden voids in the soil layout
- Weak soil pockets
- Underground water tables
- Contaminated soil that can be hazardous
These issues need to be addressed and repaired before building materials are chosen and the project is started. This avoids excessive money being spent on materials and resources that aren’t suitable for the issues found. Failure to address these issues can result in you having to deal with the cost of trying to repair a compromised foundation.
Enables Your Team to Customise the Foundation
As with the rest of your build, your foundation will also be unique. The techniques used to build it will depend on the results of the soil tests. A typical example of this is having to create deeper foundations for areas where the soil has low bearing capacity, which means it’s not outwardly strong enough to sustain the weight of your planned build. Since the foundation is the most critical component of any build, it’s essential to get it right.
Final Thoughts
Comprehensive soil testing is the key to providing your engineering and building team with the critical data needed to design and construct buildings, roads, and other infrastructure safely. Knowing how strong and healthy the soil around the project is allows the team to utilise the correct materials to create a durable build that won’t be at risk of collapse as soon as there’s a major storm. It’s the most effective way to avoid project delays and ultimately saves you money in the long run.
