Soil Survey (Scotland)

[davidc]

I am wondering if I should commission a Soil Survey as a preliminary step in my Scottish self-build programme. Is it a forgone conclusion that the engineer will require one ? Or not that simple ?

 

It has been suggested that irrespective of whether it is required as part of the regulatory or engineers process it may in the end save more money than it costs through being able to design the founds to the specific ground conditions rather than over engineering them to cover a spectrum of possible ground types.

 

It has been suggested that if i can get a contractor to dig the trial pits (digger already needed to move garage out of way of new house) and log the strata and take photographs myself this would be enough to give to the engineer. As i have no idea how to classify the strata i'm wondering it it might be better to just commission somebody to take of care of the the survey as a whole.

 

I would be grateful for any thoughts.

 

 

[ProDave]

All that happened with mine was the SE visited and I dug 3 test pits down to 2 metres deep, and he logged what soil came out from what layer.

 

A few years ago nobody even did this. They just started digging and the builders / building control made a decision how deep to go depending on what they found.

[Mr Punter]

In the past we have dug trial holes and as long as the ground is OK for a standard foundation that is all we have done.  Ask Building Control what is normally acceptable for the location.  If you need special foundations you will need a proper geotechnical report.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Mr Punter

[the_r_sole]

.

Edited September 26, 2019 by the_r_sole

[jamieled]

Similar to @ProDave our structural engineers just directed us to dig four holes on site at the building corners and had a look at what came out. This informed their assessment of the foundation design, the SER certification and therefore building warrant application approval. There was no separate G.I., and having got a quote for one (as I was initially thinking along the same lines as you are now) I would not volunteer to do it unless absolutely necessary.

[Ed Davies]

For mine, I got the contractors doing the site access to do the pits and the architectural technician/house designer to record the results. He wasn't a structural engineer but had the appropriate ticket, whatever that is, to do this. So I don't think you could do it yourself,  but perhaps ask your SE what they can accept.

 

Note, this was after planning permission was granted so the digging work could be part of a zero-VATed contract, though the professional services of peering in the hole and writing things down could not.