Blogs

Welcome to Urbane Designers’ first blog post.

We have decided to start with a very important topic which is often overlooked by most people, either because of lack of proper knowledge or simply because it is deemed unnecessary cost addition to the project.

However, please read through to get a brief insight on what to look forward before planning and designing a building structure, the very basic initial step to be followed diligently which has direct influences with the project cost estimate, design & safety.

Importance of Soil Investigation in Construction

Soil investigation or geotechnical investigation is a process which determines properties of the surface & subsurface soil conditions underlying the proposed construction site. This is done mainly to check the bearing capacity of the soil and to ensure that the substructure which is eventually going to hold up buildings is safe & enduring.

The soil investigations which form the basis of planning & designing during the conceptual phase of a project, has to be done with accuracy & precision. The geotechnical report directly influences the project cost, design & safety of a construction project however big or small it may be.

Unfortunately, this critical process is often disregarded and considered a waste of money by some or most before the construction starts, which is the cause of disastrous repercussions later on once the construction commences. An attempt to save cost by avoiding soil exploration usually is associated with high cost maintenance & repairs after the construction is complete, loss of life or property or damage to adjoining structures.

To get a broader perspective, below given are some of the pointers which emphasises the importance of soil investigation:

-          It helps civil engineers determine what type of foundation will support the structure & to plan & budget for the necessary mitigations.

-          It helps to determine the position of the water table and the settlement rate of the soil.

-          To assess the strength, density, contamination, sand content & compaction which gives an idea of the impact of the soil on the construction project.

-          To get precise information on the safety measures to be undertaken and the challenges to be identified early in the process before investing time, energy & resources into developing a site.

-          It provides information associated to site grading & drainage, floor systems, earthwork & other additional details necessary for contractor estimates.

In short, we at Urbane Designers are very particular about the quality & safety of the structures we design and we highly recommend going for a subsurface soil investigation which is a very critical step which should not be overlooked for any reasons whatsoever.