Cut and filled land

hiluxx · Mar 13, 2024 8:46 pm

Hi guys,

not sure if this was discussed before. I was doing my own research on the plot of land which I have interest in. Unfortunately it turns out that a majority (80%) of it will be filled and the rest are cut. I think the amount they are going to fill is about 500-800mm, at least on the spot where I will be having my house.

I am starting to get a little nervous, because of the filling. The land also has a number of trees on it at the moment, which they will be removed for the development. Question is with this setup am I almost guaranteed to have a P grade soil?

I have heard of getting a soil compaction report from the developer, and that might help improve the soil testers confidence. Not sure.

BuildingandLegal · Mar 14, 2024 3:51 pm

'P' is not a soil type, P is a site classification the geotec is simply advising the engineer "This site has a problem that needs to be considered"
Trees,
Water Tables,
Fill by Developer,
Disturbed soils ( previous house knocked down)
these and a few more are the common cause for a site being labeled P
the soil type A, S, M, H1, H2 & E are the reactivity of the soil, (how much it expands and contracts through wet & dry cycles)
As soon as the builders earthworks (cut & FILL) goes over 300mm of fill you are looking at requiring piers, unless the builder does a field density test on their fill component, which subject to the report remove the requirement of piers.

If the Developer has filled the site (TOTALLY SEPARATE ISSUE TO BUILDERS EARTHWORKS), then request a copy of the Level 1 compaction certificate, 99% of the time they happily hand it over.

Piers are nothing to be worried about, obviously apart from the hit to your pocket. Your concern is that the sites drainage and surface water are managed from THE START of the build, through the build and after the build.

Hope this helps
Craig

hiluxx · Mar 14, 2024 7:33 pm

Thanks Craig! This make absolutely sense to me!!