New Orleans is the site of many new building developments and new construction projects, which often require help from a geotechnical drilling contractor to extract core samples and obtain vital data about the ground composition, integrity and its overall suitability for a building project.

If you’re considering geotechnical drilling, New Orleans developers and property owners can enjoy many benefits such as cost effectiveness and minimal disruption to the surrounding area. Portable drilling rigs are transported to the site to drill into the earth and extract core samples, which are vertical slices of the ground which are extracted in a large tube that’s sent out for comprehensive analysis. This is key when building on a site and evaluating the suitability of a location for a building project.

Core samples can reveal lots of important info, like the density and composition of the earth, the location depth of the bedrock and the presence of any underground voids.

Why Do I Need Geotechnical Drilling?

New Orleans clients can enjoy many benefits from turning to a contractor to perform geotechnical drilling. Louisiana is very prone to problems with ground quality due to a number of factors, one of which surrounds the soil which is very loose in nature. Loose soil lacks the density and stability of clay rich soils that you might find in others parts of the country.

In addition, the entire state of Louisiana is located on top of a peninsula of bedrock that’s made up of limestone. Limestone is a soft stone to begin with and to exacerbate matters, limestone has a tendency to dissolve when exposed to acids, even very mild acids such as those found in acid rain or in groundwater that percolates through the soil.

Acids can dissolve the bedrock and groundwater pulls the particles away, causing the limestone bedrock to erode and form a void or cavity that can expand until it collapses. This is how a sinkhole forms. Sinkholes can swallow your entire home or even an entire city block. They are linked to property damage, injury and even deaths.

Through the use of geotechnical drilling, New Orleans developers and homeowners can call in a team to extract core samples and evaluate the ground to locate underground voids that are at risk of collapse. Other methods can also be used, such as the usage of ground penetrating radar. This can help you to determine the exact location and shape of the void. The underground void can be filled with cement, preventing a collapse in the future. Or other sinkhole remediation measures can be implemented too, such as sinking large poles into the bedrock and securing the end at the surface to a building’s foundation. This offers support so even if a sinkhole forms, the building can remain standing.

The exact cost and timeframe for your geotechnical drilling project will vary depending upon factors, such as the number of drilling locations, the depth of the drilling and the size of the site that you’re seeking to learn more about.

*Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of Amdrill Inc*