We recently arranged ground investigations/soil samples to be collected for our 450sqm new build boat house facility near Chichester which is due to break ground in October 2021.
Soil samples are key to knowing how far down your foundations need to go, what type they are and how you form your base (traditional ground bearing slab or block and beam).
The engineer will only be able to advise and design the foundation scheme once they know what the soil condition is, hence the need for soil samples. The soil samples are tested for a variety of things such as moisture content & plasticity indices.
Once the soil samples have been analysed and a report issued the engineers will use the information to recommend whether traditional strip footings or a piled foundation solution is necessary.
There is a large cost difference between both so it’s key you are 100% certain of the necessary approach to enable you to correctly budget for your project.
A light percussion rig enables the team to collect borehole samples to 18m deep. The subsoil on our project in Chichester is expected to comprise Tidal Fiats over River Terrace Gravel with Lewes Nodular chalk.
We will know more once the soil samples are taken to the geotechnical laboratory for testing.
