Geotechnical Drilling Brandon What to know when hiring geotechnical drillers
Geotechnical drilling serves as an effective technique for extracting samples of earth which are then sent out for analysis to evaluate the integrity and solidity of the ground in a particular location. The data that’s gleaned from these core samples can provide developers and engineers with vital insight into whether the site is suitable for a specific building project.
When hiring a firm to oversee geotechnical drilling, Brandon developers should enquire about the timeframe for the project, as it can take anywhere from a couple days to several weeks (or even longer) to extract samples from a site. The timeframe will vary depending upon the size of the site and the ground composition. If you were drilling atop an area with extremely hard granite deposits, the drilling process would be much slower than the rate of progress for a site with lots of comparatively soft limestone.
Numerous core samples are extracted from the site to provide a comprehensive view of the earth composition in a given location. Drilling may be combined with other techniques, like ground penetrating radar scans, which can generate a digital rendering based on the differing densities in the various layers of earth.
Brandon developers can expect to gain lots of essential information about the quality of the ground in a particular location. The large vertical columns of rock and soil that are extracted from the site will be sent out for analysis. The cores are usually evaluated to determine the depth of the various layers, the composition of those layers and the quality and strength of the stone bedrock.
This data is particularly important for developers who are constructing a building or other large structure in Florida or in other areas of the country that are prone to problems with ground quality. Florida is an example of a region that’s situated atop a bed of limestone, which is overlaid with sandy soil. Acidic rain water can percolate through the sandy soil, contacting the limestone which subsequently dissolves and disintegrates if the water has a high level of acidity. This can result in poor earth quality and in some cases, the groundwater may even carry away the dissolved limestone, resulting in the formation of empty voids. These voids can collapse under the weight of the overlaying ground (and any structures erected on that ground), resulting in a sinkhole.
Fortunately, sinkhole-prone areas can be rendered more stable using remediation methods, such as pumping cement into the voids.
Developers and engineers may also opt to tailor their plans for a particular site if the ground quality is found to be poor. If a building is constructed on unstable ground, it will shift and crack over time, resulting in structural damage or even collapse. But engineers can make special alterations to the design to prevent this form of damage, from including anchors that extend down into the bedrock, to using special materials or even erecting the structure on a different site.
*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Amdrill Inc*
