Geotechnical Investigations and Foundation Evaluations
A Well-Planned Investigation Approach
When you retain GeoInsight, we integrate ourselves with your existing project team to understand project objectives, restrictions, and variables and to ensure seamless communication. This helps us design and evaluate an efficient, technically-sound, cost-effective investigation approach that makes sense for your project and meets the design team's goals.
How Are Investigation Objectives Defined?
Investigation objectives are often defined by site conditions, proposed or existing structural loads, environmental loads (e.g., wind and hydrostatic forces), the configuration of the structure (i.e., a tower versus a heavy machine), and the area of influence of the proposed or existing structure. Our depth of experience with New England geology gives us strong intuition about where and what types of geotechnical soil samples to collect for field and laboratory tests to support investigation activities.
Quality Assurance: Project Specifications and Construction Drawings
Clients frequently request the preparation or review of project specifications and construction drawings following our geotechnical evaluation. This involvement ensures that our investigation and evaluation results are accurately transferred to the final design and construction, achieving a deeper level of quality assurance.
GeoInsight's geotechnical investigations and foundation evaluation services include:
We have experience in foundation studies for buildings, utilities, pipe jacking operations, towers, signs, tanks, machines, bridges, and roadways. When necessary, we rely on our relationships with numerous foundation contractors to obtain site-specific cost or construction input information for our design recommendations.
GeoInsight’s foundation services include:
- Deep and shallow foundation investigations and reports
- New foundation design, evaluations, and recommendations
- Seismic and vibration concern evaluation and remediation
- Pile load tests and foundation installation inspection
- Evaluation and remediation of existing foundation concerns, and
- Settlement analysis and remediation.
GeoInsight commonly aids in the selection and design of foundations comprised of timber piles, precast concrete piles, steel beam and pipe piles, pressure injected footings, caissons, and pressure-grouted or cast-in-place piles. For deep foundation system investigations, soil borings are normally required, and the program must be carefully planned. Foundation selection depends on soil strength, bearing depth, and load support required to evaluate soils at the design depth.
Oversight, Installation Monitoring, and Load Testing
We provide oversight during installation of deep foundation elements (e.g., piles, caissons, pressure injected footings, etc.). We monitor installations, evaluate data, and prepare installation or load tests for these foundation elements. We also assess the integrity of installed foundation units (such as using a non-destructive concrete pile continuity instrument). Furthermore, we can also identify when instrumentation is needed to provide information on in situ conditions, and what type should be installed as well as vibration and settlement instrumentation.
Shallow Investigations
Shallow investigation can often be accomplished using a combination of techniques, such as soil borings, test pit excavations, and geophysics.
We are familiar with multiple investigation techniques and have conducted explorations at sites with widely-varying above- and below-ground conditions. We offer you the methods best suited to your project’s technical requirements and cost framework.
Geotechnical exploration may be required at locations with complex and variable geology, including:
- Shallow bedrock surface
- Man-made soil embankments
- Landfills
- Overlying water bodies
- Interior locations (through floor slabs)
- Soft wetland or marsh areas, and
- At locations requiring angled drilling.
GeoInsight staff members have prepared reports and work plans for hundreds of projects, aiding development and construction planning and evaluation. Our reports are tailored to the project requirements and can range from simple data transmittals to complex multi-volume documents.
We also frequently prepare or review project specifications and construction drawings following our geotechnical evaluation. This involvement ensures accurate transfer of investigation and geotechnical evaluation results to the final design and construction, providing you an added level of quality assurance.
Ask an Expert
Let us provide you with an expert answer or opinion to your project questions.
