Our recognised experience and reliable results keep our clients returning
Soil Tests
Residential, Commercial and Industrial Soil Testing on the Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Caloundra and Caboolture areas.
Soil Tests are needed when constructing a new residence, shed or extension. Soil tests are also known as Site Classification Reports and are used to determine the Sites Classification so an appropriate footing or foundation design can be made.
It is highly recommended that you perform a Soil Test prior to purchasing a block to establish if there are any additional costs arising from poor soil conditions.
Site Classifications Reports involve soil testing to define the soil reactivity and help determine an appropriate founding depth for the footing of the proposed structure. This will reduce the likelihood of having slabs and brickwork cracking in the future.
Reactive soils absorb water and this is when problems can arise if the building foundation design is not appropriate to compensate for the expected movement. A soil test must be conducted to adhere to council’s building and planning requirements.
The possible results you may receive from soil tests on the Sunshine Coast and Gympie are-Class 'S' - Slightly reactive clay sites. May experience slight ground movement as a result of moisture changes.
Class 'M' - Moderately reactive clay or silt sites. May experience moderate ground movement as a result of soil conditions and moisture changes.
Class 'H1' - Highly reactive clay sites. May experience a high amount of ground movement as a result of soil conditions and moisture changes.
Class 'H2' – Highly reactive clay sites. May experience very high ground movement as a result of soil conditions and moisture changes.
Class 'E' - Extremely reactive sites. May experience extreme amounts of ground movement as a result of soil conditions and moisture changes.
Class 'P' - Ground movement may be very severe. The ability of the soil to evenly bear a load is very poor.
This could be a result of mine subsidence, landslip, soils subject to erosion, collapse activity or coastal erosion (e.g. dunes), or soft soils with a lack of suitable bearing such as soft clay or silt or loose sands.
These reactive sites are subject to abnormal moisture conditions resulting from things like trees, dams and poor site drainage. If you are building on a Class P site you will need to consult a structural engineer.
Effluent Disposal
Effluent Disposal Reports are needed when constructing a new residence, adding building extensions or when the existing effluent system is failing.
New effluent systems are designed to conform to AS1547, the Queensland Plumbing and Wastewater Code and local council guidelines.
One of the important aspects of an on-site wastewater and management system is the requirement for a thorough site and soil evaluation to be undertaken as part of the process of obtaining Council approval for effluent disposal within the property.
On-site sewage management systems can fail because of the inability of the site to cope effectively with effluent absorption due to impermeable clay soils, or inappropriate design.
When designing effluent disposal options you have to take into account the soil type, natural drainage and flood patterns to determine the best effluent disposal system and the required disposal area.
Ground Drill Sunshine Coast will assist you in making the best decision for your Sunshine Coast effluent disposal needs.
Our evaluator will select the most suitable effluent disposal site for the property and engage sound environmental practices to support their decision.
Septic is always the first option when conducting an effluent investigation, however site and soil constraints frequently rule this option out.
Not all sites have natural characteristics suitable for on-site effluent disposal, such as sites with excessive slope, flood potential, high ground water or impermeable soil.
In these cases an alternative effluent disposal system may be necessary.
Other options subject to site and soil are Secondary and Advanced Secondary Treatment Plants.
There are many forms of irrigation methods including, trenches, beds, turf valves, fixed surface, covered surface and sub-surface.
Geotechnical Drilling
Geotechnical drilling is a type of drilling that is performed as part of the construction process.
This is mainly for structures such as residential, industrial or commercial buildings, or as part of the investigation process carried out on site prior to construction of roads, railways, bridges, pipelines, tunnels or dams.
One of the most vital aspects before a development project can begin, is knowing what subsurface materials (soil and rock) you are dealing with. Ground Drill provides the owner with the geotechnical drilling expertise to help make your project a success.
Offering a range of Geotechnical and environmental drilling in all areas of the Sunshine Coast. We perform geotechnical drilling on an hourly rate basis on projects including bridges, pipelines, commercial and industrial buildings, roads and many other projects throughout South-East Queensland.
We capably offer our clients the following options:
Solid Augering to 10m (Depending on material type)
A method of sampling using an auger as a corkscrew. The drilling equipment applies pressure against the top of a solid stem while turning it into the ground.
The auger bit displaces the soil material when rotated and moves it up as the drill bores deeper into the ground. Soil is retained on the blades of the auger and kept for testing.
It is used for rapid drilling into soils with a lot of clay, saving time and money. Samples taken this way are considered disturbed.
SPT's to 10mThe standard penetration test (SPT) is an in-situ dynamic penetration test designed to provide information on the properties of soil, while also collecting a disturbed soil sample for soil classification and grain-size analysis.
This method involves a hollow tube with a hardened metal drive shoe attached to the bottom that is driven into the ground by blows with a slide hammer.
The blow counts (hammer strikes) required to advance the sampler are counted and give an indication of the ground density. Generally used for non-cohesive soils, samples taken this way are considered disturbed
U50 Tubes to 10mUsed for collecting soils, including fine cohesive soils and clays. This sampler consists of a thin-walled tube with a cutting edge. A sampler head attaches the tube to the drill rod, and contains a check valve and pressure vents.
This sampler tube is advanced into the soil layer, and the vacuum created by the check valve causes the sample to be retained when the tube is withdrawn. Soil sampled in this manner is considered undisturbed.
DCP's to 3mA dynamic cone penetrometer is an in situ test in which a weight is manually lifted and dropped on a cone which penetrates the ground. The number of mm per hit are recorded and this is used to estimate certain soil properties.
This is a simple test method and usually needs backing up with lab data to get a good correlation.
Bore logging to high standards (No need for an engineer to supervise)Bore logging is the practice of recording the ground materials encountered when drilling.
Bore log is the common name for a record of drilling which can include the depth, size, details of construction and location of the bore, results of any soil testing and pump testing, and a ‘strata’ which is a description of the materials encountered through drilling.