GROUND INVESTIGATIONS
Ground investigation, geotechnical interpretation and contamination assessment are essential components of the ground-related advice demanded by construction project teams during the planning, design, tendering, organisation and construction of proposed development sites. Your site may occupy a relatively small area, or you may be planning an extensive development over several hectares, and for any site within these extremes, ground investigation data can provide broad foundation options to inform outline budgets, information to support all stages of structural, civil and geotechnical design, and equally to inform contamination assessments and build conceptual models to satisfy Local Authority Planning Requirements.
At G7 Geotech we believe that getting your project started on the right footing, with a comprehensive ground investigation, can provide the understanding which today's multi-disciplinary project teams need in order to co-ordinate and manage all ground-related aspects of development.
You may have found this website because you already feel the need for, and understand the benefits of ground investigation. We firmly believe, the most important step, is the first step, which, in order to appreciate ground risk for any particular site, should generally be a Desk Study. If you wish to find out more about the benefits of Desk Studies please click on the button above and to the right of this text. Alternatively, you can read on about our intrusive ground investigation services.
We partner with sub-contract drillers for windowless sampling, cable percussive or rotary drilling services. Regular contact with plant hire companies provides us with the necessary excavators and lorry mounted bowsers for soakage tests in accordance with BRE365 (2016) : 'Soakaway design'. We use MCERTS Accredited ground gas analysers for site monitoring to support our interpretive assessments and we have advised numerous Clients on ground gas risk for their developments. Our preferred laboratories are UKAS and / or MCERTS Accredited and can provide the full range of geotechnical and ground contamination laboratory analysis required by the current regulatory regimes.
G7 Geotech can undertake intrusive ground investigations providing factual data, interpretive reporting and recommendations for the following design and construction elements:
i) Foundations
ii) Retaining Walls
iii) Floor slabs
iv) Pavements
v) Surface water drainage
Alan Watson has successfully provided advice for the following geotechnical requirements on numerous residential, commercial and public property developments:
a) Assessment and selection of suitable foundation and floor slab options
b) The influence of trees on foundations
c) Geotechnical aspects of basement construction
d) Suitability of soils for re-use in earthworks
e) CBR assessments for pavement design
f) Ground improvement and soil stabilisation
g) The influence of shallow mineworkings
h) Slope stability assessment and analysis
i) Chalk hazard investigation and assessment
Eurocode EC7 has had a significant impact on ground investigations since introduced in 2010 although not all the guidance in the code is routinely used in geotechnical design. The interpretive conclusions given in our reports can include EC7 compatible illustrative examples as required.
G7 Geotech can provide ground contamination assessments based on fieldwork which can run concurrently with geotechnical investigations to provide a comprehensive dual service for most development sites. To find out more about ground contamination assessments you can click on the button above and to the right of this text.
SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE ( SuDS ) ASSESSMENTS
G7 Geotech can undertake soakage tests in accordance with BRE365 (2016) to provide soakage rates for use in surface water drainage design.
This is another area where a comprehensive ground investigation at an early stage can address all the relevant Planning Conditions prior to the
Construction Phase to enable development schemes to progress with confidence.
