Basics in Building Construction

Basics in Building Construction 4(2+2)

Lesson 02 : Shallow Foundations

Site Investigation

Before the foundation plans are prepared, an investigation of the sub-soil should be made. It serves as a good guide to determine the type of foundation to be adopted. The site investigations are mainly done for obtaining information about the sub-surface conditions at the site of proposed construction. For normal residential buildings in -depth site exploration is not required, whereas for big engineering projects it is necessary to carry out detailed investigation of sub soil characteristics.
Purpose of Site Investigation is illustrated below:

Methods of Site Investigation:

Various methods of site investigation are available. Trial pits are the cheapes t method of exploration in shallow deposits since these can be used in all types of soils. In this method, pits are excavated at the site exposing the sub-soil surface thoroughly. Soil samples are collected at various levels. The advantage of this method is that soil strata samples can be conveniently taken. A typical trail pit is shown in figure