Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Aug 18, 2011 7:59 pm Just got our a soil report done and supplied to us by our builder. Its a bunch of information which is hard to make sence of by a layman such as myself. It says "This site is classified as H" and also it says "This says is classified as H1" ....is this good or not so good? What does that mean? Hole 1 Hole 2 Hole 3 Fill 0-200 0-200 0-200 clay 200-500 200-1200 200-1200 Weatherd Rock 500-2750 1200-2750 1200-2750 also I didnt like seeing rock on here ..but is this alot? The builder just emailed this to us and didnt explain anything. ...its all to much for a layman like me. Re: How to read a soil report? 2Aug 18, 2011 8:43 pm H means Highly reactive soil this means the soil will swell when wet and shrink as it dries. Thats not unusual and isn't a problem for an appropriatly designed slab. It will cost more than a basic slab. The following link will describe what goes on and provides a further link to a table of soil classification http://www.anewhouse.com.au/?p=337 You have got a layer of fill which will need to be compacted or removed under the slab. The clay layer is of variable depth Weathered rock is usually a fairly soft rock which isn't too hard to dig through. shouldn't be too much of a problem The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: How to read a soil report? 3Aug 19, 2011 10:55 am Based on those details you will have increased site costs. On top of a "regular" slab (there is no such thing as a regular slab as far as I am concerned) you may require Piers - holes that start around 450mm in diameter and go downs starting around 2 meters which are then filled with concrete and sometimes I believe steel reo as well. Thicker steel for reo, edge beams, raft beams. Blindings - extra concrete laid under the beams to provide a more stable footing. The more reactive your soil the more piers (also wider/deeper) If you allow $50k (which is not unheard of) you should be fine. That is not to say it will cost that much, but that it could, potentially more but very unlikely. Oh and the best thing to do would be remove the fill and use sand instead. Clean fill can be used but engineers allow a thicker bed of sand to be used, so if you want the house to sit a a certain height, sand is the way to go IMO. Re: How to read a soil report? 4Aug 19, 2011 5:29 pm Thank you bash and chris! @chris ...we have fixed site costs by our builder so by what your saying we are very thankful that we pay no extra for site costs. .... is it possible to tell from my results that there is alot of rock? Re: How to read a soil report? 5Aug 19, 2011 5:34 pm That is a lot of rock, but it's only weathered rock and it should be below the foundations (except maybe borehole 1). Did you get a map showing where the boreholes were? 23 Aug 2011: Land settlement 14 Sep 2011: Block levelled 20 Oct 2011: Slab 3 Nov 2011: Frame 10 Feb 2012: Handover http://s1098.photobucket.com/albums/g372/Dazzab6/ Re: How to read a soil report? 6Aug 20, 2011 12:37 pm @Dazza ,oh man hearing theres alot of rock isnt good ..even if it is only over one borehole lol. yeah borehole 1 looks like is where our garage will be. ...we really cant afford extra rock costs. I am not sure whether Perth has its own way of doing things in regards to this. Most of Perth has class A (sandy soil), except for some areas near rivers or hills. 2 13106 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37155 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair I'm in WA and our sandy soils make drainage a bit easier but this is what I'd be doing. Dig down to your footings and let the wall dry out. Clean it all well by brushing… 1 5197 |