Soil testing and geotechnical reports

Long before any construction starts on your website (even before house plans ar determined on) you'll ought to have the soil on the positioning tested by a geotechnical engineer (sometimes known as ‘geotechs’ or maybe ‘mud doctors’). the most reason for this is often to know however ‘reactive’ the soil is, and to make sure that there aren’t any hidden chemical or physical conditions on the positioning that may injury your house. 
What is soil reactivity?
Soil reactivity refers to what proportion the soil on the positioning is probably going to maneuver, expand and contract (normally as a results of dynamic  wet content). this could be a true issue, particularly wherever concrete block subfloors ar involved, or if you’re designing on building a multi level house with a trifle of weight thereto. Reactive soil will simply cause plenty of injury to a house, particularly if the house use the incorrect kind of concrete block sub floor.

What are the soil classifications?

Soil reactivity’s generally graded in terms of the following classifications:

Site classifications based on soil reactivity
Class A	Stable, non-reactive. Most sand and rock sites. Little or no ground movement likely as a result of moisture changes.
Class S	Slightly reactive clay sites. May experience slight ground movement as a result of moisture changes.
Class M	Moderately reactive clay or silt sites. May experience moderate ground movement as a result of moisture changes.
Class H1	Highly reactive clay sites. May experience a high amount of ground movement as a result of moisture changes.
Class H2	Highly reactive clay sites. May experience very high ground movement as a result of moisture changes.
Class E	Extremely reactive sites. May experience extreme amounts of ground movement as a result of moisture changes.
Class P	Problem sites. The ability of the soil to evenly bear a load is very poor. Sites may be classified as 'Class P' as a result of mine subsidence, landslip, collapse activity or coastal erosion (e.g. dunes), or soft soils with a lack of suitable bearing. Ground movement as a result of moisture changes may be very severe, and these sites are typically subject to abnormal moisture conditions resulting from things like trees, dams and poor site drainage. If you are building on a Class P site you will need to consult a structural engineer.
	The 'D' in these classifications refers to 'deep' movements in soil due to deep variances in moisture. These classifications are only found in dry areas (e.g. north of hte Great Dividing range, in places like Stawell, Horsham, Mildura, Bendigo, Shepparton and Wangaratta). Geo technical engineering reports Very early on in the piece a geotechnical engineer will need to be commissioned to test the site you plan to build on, and will return a report that indicates the physical properties of the soil on your site, the stability of natural slopes, the chemical composition of the soil and various other details. The type of footings or slab subfloor that can be built on your site will depend on how stable the soil is, and for particularly reactive soil, a structural engineer might be needed to ensure that the house will be able to withstand the kind of movement that’s likely on the site.

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