GeoCon offers a full Site Investigation service including Phase I Preliminary Site Investigation (Desk Study), Phase II Initial Site Investigation, Phase III Detailed Site Investigation, Factual & Interpretive Report, and Remediation Strategies.
Here at GeoCon we see our site investigations and ground investigations as an investment. Money spent on a good ground investigation can save money further down the line, foundations wont need to be over engineered, and large volumes of soils may not require removal or remediation. We see our site investigations as investments and our clients do to. Statistics shows that 80% of problems encountered on construction projects are due to unforeseen ground conditions that could have been avoided if a suitable ground investigation was carried out. Failure to commission a suitable ground investigation can cause financial costs and costs in lost time far greater than the cost of what the site investigation would have been.
Site Investigation / Ground Investigation is carried out via a combination of the following techniques;
- Hand Pitting
- Concrete Coring
- Trial Pitting
- Window Sampling
- Dynamic Probing
- Cable Percussion Drilling
- Rotary Open Hole Drilling
- Rotary Cored Drilling
- Soak Away Testing
- CBR & Plate Load Testing
- Analysis and Reporting
GeoCon use a selection of the above when designing any ground investigation utilising the techniques that are most suited to the purpose of the site investigation. I.e, window sampling and concrete coring to determine the shallow ground conditions at an industrial warehouse with limited or tight access entirely covered by hard standing or on a site that may have a high potential for buried services. Or cable percussion with rotary follow on at an open site which is covered by soft landscaping and there is a requirement to gain strength information from the soils beneath the site and continue into the rock to determine the presence of shallow coal mining.
These are both just examples of how we can put together a full detailed high quality ground investigation at any site no matter how difficult to gain the required results for our clients.
Site Investigation techniques are also used in the installation of Geothermal Heating systems such as rotary open hole drilling usually around 100m deep, however for the installation of ground loops drilling is performed on a much slower basis and drilling mud /foam should be utilised to encourage the holes to stay open to facilitate the installation of ground loops.
