Commercial Foundation Construction: Understanding the Essential Processes of Soil Investigation

If you are planning on establishing a commercial building on your property, you should prepare diligently for the installation of the foundation. The foundation is the base of the building, and it is responsible for transmitting the load to the soil. This structure also ensures that the building load is transmitted over a wide surface area and the pressure exerted is even. In most cases, a deep foundation will support commercial buildings, ensuring stability and longevity. Unfortunately, the foundation can also fail if the substrate is not understood. Therefore, you should consult a geotechnical engineer for the investigation of the soil before commencing foundation installation. Here are the essential soil investigation processes that you should commission for valuable information.

Inspection of Neighbouring Buildings

The inspection of your worksite and its general soil conditions will provide beneficial details to help you plan for the construction of your commercial building. However, you should not only focus on your commercial space. You should also examine and assess the established commercial buildings in the vicinity. The information obtained from the builders of neighbouring structures can help you avoid numerous challenges during the installation of the foundation. For instance, you should find out the type of foundations used and the problems encountered during the building processes. With these details, your engineers and contractors can find the best solutions to manage your construction.

Sampling and Examination of Test Pits

You should have your site investigators or geotechnical experts examine your land by using tests pits. Test pits can be dug using an excavator or even by hand. The holes should be big enough to accommodate a person for ideal results. The test pit will allow for the visual examination of the soil conditions underneath the surface. Sometimes, the problem in the worksite soil can be identified through the assessment of the colour, texture and other obvious characteristics. Additionally, samples must be collected from the test pit for laboratory analysis. Both samples from the disturbed and undisturbed layers of soil should be collected for comprehensive reports.

Probing the Ground

Finally, you should commission the investigation of the soil on your worksite through probing of the ground. This process is essential for identifying the nature of the soil and the hardness of the substrate. Typically, the investigator will insert a steel rod into the ground and observe the movement of the probe as it penetrates. The expert will also check the quality of soil at intervals for better understanding of the characteristics of the substrate.