Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 08, 2012 4:46 pm Hey, I was wondering if anyone could tell me a bit about soils. We're currently looking at two areas to build a house. One has 'M' soil and the other has 'H' soil. The place with 'H' soil has land that is cheaper than the place with 'M' soil. (by about 40k for a 600sqm block). Is it worth paying the extra costs for the 'M' soil to save on site costs, driveway (and later if we would want to add a pool) etc? Or is the extra costs that these things would cost on 'H' soil not worth the higher initial cost for the land? Here is what the soil classifications mean: M= moderately reactive clay or silt sites which can experience moderate ground movement from moisture changes H= highly reactive clay sites, which can experience high ground movement from moisture changes Re: Soil Classification 2Jan 08, 2012 5:49 pm Definately look into the classifications when you buy your land. We bought a block and had a copy of the full Geotech report when we bought it saying it was an M class block. After 2 lots of soils tests done they both came back as a H class block. Cant help you with the site costs etc though.. Re: Soil Classification 3Jan 08, 2012 6:14 pm H class slabs only cost about $4-6k more than an M - obviously depending on the size of the slab. I wouldn't base your decision purely on soil type. I would also look at other things like fall on the land, and rear/size easements, the orientation, likelihood of rock etc All of those things as a whole should help make the decision - $40k is a big difference for the sake of maybe only $5k more of site costs. Hope this helps! Sleven Moved into our Atlantique MkII 36 by Carlisle Homes Re: Soil Classification 5Jan 08, 2012 8:49 pm Exzy Thanks, I had one building company tell me that they WON"T do driveways on 'H' class soil as it will crack. Well ive just got my soil tests with a H1 rating.. its gonna cost me a bit over 4k more for the slab. Dont know about the driveway but im sure people build driveways on all types of sites Building the Bronte Executive with MJH Latest News: Slab down, frames were to be delivered 30/5 http://escape2country.blogspot.com// Re: Soil Classification 7Jan 08, 2012 9:10 pm Exzy What does the 1 mean? There are degrees of reactiveness.. 1 is high ground movement from moisture, 2 is very high... its all about the shrinkage/expansion of soil when it gets wet. Slabs and steel have to be thicker on these sites to cope with the movement. Mine is also a "P" site as well meaning it has failed one of the criteria (mine is Soft/collapsable) I stressed heaps when i first read my soil report.. im not so bothered now coz its my dream site.. its all perspective. A picture of my land is front page of my blog and i will update with anything i encounter especially with soils Building the Bronte Executive with MJH Latest News: Slab down, frames were to be delivered 30/5 http://escape2country.blogspot.com// Re: Soil Classification 8Jan 09, 2012 9:56 am Exzy Coral wouldnt do my driveway as i was on a H class block, but in saying that Eden Brae would. Wouldnt let it worry you too much, my mate is a concreter and i was talking to him about it. He said obviously there is a greater chance of the concrete cracking on a H class site so i think Coral just dont want the headache down the track if this does happen. I got a couple of quote for driveways as i needed them for the bank and found that they were cheaper than what the builder was offering anyways. Thanks for your reply. I will just wait and see I guess. Trying to get some more information from our builder. 9 30235 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 13053 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 37085 |