Level 1 Compaction Report - Melbourne SE - Burbank

Hi Guys,

Has anyone else experienced issues in obtaining a level 1 compaction report for their block from the developer/surveyor?
The surveyor for the land we purchased advised they didn't produce a compaction report because it didn't meet the minimum threshold to require a report.

On the other hand, Burbank are saying they need a compaction report for their engineers based on our soil report returning a P class site classification and that additional costs may be incurred if we can't provide a report.

Any ideas on what we can do here? Anyone else been in this situation before?

Our land is in Bentley Park Estate, Keysborough, Victoria.

Cheers,

Kevin

Go to the developer, find out what is in your block, depth of fill etc

Thanks. We've been in touch with the developer and they advised that our whole street did not get a level 1 compaction report.

The builder advised us to sign the contract, before they will perform any engineering analysis on the lot for us. The risk is, it could cost more when they do their analysis. Our neighbour who is building with Arden nextdoor fixed their site costs at 22k. Ours was fixed to 17k.

Best case, I'm hoping that the site costs will not change or at worst, change a little bit.

Get minimum 2 independent soil testers to do 2 separate soil tests, min 3 boreholes and depth to below natural soil (ie under the fill).
Then take the worst soil test ie highest reactivity and lowest bearing pressure to different builders and get them to quote site costs and fix the costs.
Don't EVER sign a builders contract unless you know what is in your soil.

Hi,

I am about sign a contract from known builder, can anyone please share their experiences or suggest what to consider before signing contract. It would be a great help.

Regards,
Sumit

Unless you got your own soil tests done first, you are crazy. Don't sign anything unless all the costs are known and fixed. Always get 3 quotes and stay within your budget. Otherwise there are heaps of threads here about all the inclusions you should get or not.

Thanks kindly for replying. In my quotation it's mentioned inclusions up to P class engineered waffle pod slab. Does this means irrespective of soil test results builder won't charge extra apart from what mentioned in quote.

Go and get your own soil test down to natural ground , find out what your soil type is. P is always given to sites with fill but can change if your land developers can produce a document that says your soil has been level 1 compacted. If they can't then you will probably needs piers to natural ground, if the fill is rubbish.
What determines the thickness of the slab is the reactivity of the soil eg E class slab will be thicker than H1/2 etc.
Soil tests are not that expensive, forewarned is fore armed. Don't be an uneducated fool.

So not all developers can provide the level 1 compaction report? I thought it's required. Sorry for being naive.

Only a nitwit would buy a block of land without doing basic due diligence. I have heard of developers selling blocks of land filled with rubbish, car bodies etc. Don't be so naive, get a soil test before you do anything. Buy land subject to soil test . It isn't hard.

Just the soil test is not going to be enough to test the quality of compaction.

If you are planning putting your house footings on the fill, you would need proper compaction testing to be done (eg radioactive).