Before any construction project begins, conducting a thorough site investigation is paramount. This crucial step ensures that the construction process is safe, efficient, and cost-effective.
Firstly, a site investigation helps identify potential hazards such as unstable soil conditions, or environmental concerns like contamination. Understanding these risks beforehand allows engineers and architects to design appropriate measures for mitigating them, ensuring end -user and worker safety and preventing costly delays or accidents during construction.
Secondly, a detailed site investigation provides essential information about soil properties, groundwater levels, and geotechnical characteristics. This data is vital for determining the appropriate foundation design and construction techniques, ensuring the structural integrity and longevity of the building or infrastructure.
Furthermore, a comprehensive site investigation helps in optimizing construction schedules and budgets by providing accurate information about site accessibility, material availability, and potential construction challenges.
This requirement is well understood by most larger construction companies and developers, but we often find that smaller developers see SI as an unwanted and unneeded expense; or simply do not understand its worth; until its too late!!
We have recently worked for a client who was advised by their builder that his experience of the area would suffice. However, their ended up having to carry out extra retrospective works on foundations (due to clay soils and adjacent Leylandii trees) and having to do retrospective ground gas testing due to be being close to an historic landfill. Both of these problems could have been identified and dealt with by a site investigation.
If you are a smaller builder or developer, look upon site investigation as a form of insurance to save significant costs, reduce risks, and ensure the overall success of your construction project. Give us a call on 01280 816409 or email us on this link.
Write a comment