Did you know? The Leaning Tower of Pisa requires constant engineering work to ensure that it doesn’t collapse, and all while still maintaining its signature precarious tilt.
The thing is, if designers, architects, and engineers back in the 12th century had access to the same types of soil reports that we have now, we’d have a much more stable, non-leaning tower.
(Of course, the province of Pisa would also miss out on hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, but that’s another conversation!)
While it eventually worked out in the end for the Italians, you probably won’t be able to get away with turning your dream home into a globally recognised landmark.
When it comes to your home, you need to make sure you get it right the first time. A lean or tilt is the last thing you want.
The key to avoiding this? Your soil report.
What is a soil survey report?
Simply put, not all land is suitable for construction.
Long before work starts, it’s crucial that you know whether or not the soil underneath your parcel of land falls into the “suitable” category.
There are a whole range of different factors that can weaken any land that you plan to build on:
- Your parcel of land may suffer from erosion
- Some land can be unstable following rain
- “Thin” soil can move under the weight of a home
- Specific soil types are too soft
Honestly, the number of potential issues is too long to go over - we aren’t structural engineers, and if we were to list all of them, we’d be able to write an entirely new article just for that!
The purpose of a soil report is to find out whether or not your parcel of land suffers from any of these issues.
This is literally the first step in any construction, renovation or development project, and can only be performed by an independent, licensed geotechnical engineer with an onsite evaluation and inspection of your property.
Long before work starts, it’s crucial that you know whether or not the soil underneath your parcel of land falls into the “suitable” category.
There are a whole range of different factors that can weaken any land that you plan to build on:
- Your parcel of land may suffer from erosion
- Some land can be unstable following rain
- “Thin” soil can move under the weight of a home
- Specific soil types are too soft
Honestly, the number of potential issues is too long to go over - we aren’t structural engineers, and if we were to list all of them, we’d be able to write an entirely new article just for that!
The purpose of a soil report is to find out whether or not your parcel of land suffers from any of these issues.
This is literally the first step in any construction, renovation or development project, and can only be performed by an independent, licensed geotechnical engineer with an onsite evaluation and inspection of your property.
What does a soil report include?
Allowable bearing pressures
Houses weigh a lot - we’re talking about tonnes and tonnes of weight here.
Before construction starts, you need to know whether or not your parcel of land will be able to hold that much weight.
As part of your soil report, your engineer will create a report listing allowable bearing pressures.
Essentially, this is a document that outlines the soil’s ability to carry the load of a building without issues.
As a general rule, the Building Code of Australia mandates:
- 100 kPa for under strip and pad footing systems
- 50 kPa for under slab footings.
Your soil report will include a section telling you whether or not the soil on your parcel of land is able to meet these stringent requirements.
What’s more, they’ll also tell you exactly how much pressure the soil can handle, giving your architect and designer a better idea of what they can get away with.
Before construction starts, you need to know whether or not your parcel of land will be able to hold that much weight.
As part of your soil report, your engineer will create a report listing allowable bearing pressures.
Essentially, this is a document that outlines the soil’s ability to carry the load of a building without issues.
As a general rule, the Building Code of Australia mandates:
- 100 kPa for under strip and pad footing systems
- 50 kPa for under slab footings.
Your soil report will include a section telling you whether or not the soil on your parcel of land is able to meet these stringent requirements.
What’s more, they’ll also tell you exactly how much pressure the soil can handle, giving your architect and designer a better idea of what they can get away with.
Soil reactivity
Did you know? There are eight different soil categories, arranged from most stable to least stable.
Stable soil doesn’t move, end of story. It could be a torrential downpour, gale-force winds or an underground pipe leak. No matter what it is, the soil doesn’t shift or move at all.
This is the ideal - even minor shifts can cause a lot of damage to your home such as cracks in your property.
As part of your soil report, your geotech will assign your parcel of land a reactivity grade depending on the composition of the soil underneath.
Stable soil doesn’t move, end of story. It could be a torrential downpour, gale-force winds or an underground pipe leak. No matter what it is, the soil doesn’t shift or move at all.
This is the ideal - even minor shifts can cause a lot of damage to your home such as cracks in your property.
As part of your soil report, your geotech will assign your parcel of land a reactivity grade depending on the composition of the soil underneath.
Soil profile report
Did you know? There are different types of soil!
The soil under your parcel of land might be hard, tightly-packed clay - alternatively, it could be fine, soft particles that move around a lot and absorb moisture easily.
Each one behaves differently, and some might not be at all appropriate for construction.
As part of your soil report, your geotech will create a profile of the different types of soil under your parcel of land.
As part of your soil report, your geotech will create a profile of the different types of soil under your parcel of land.
The soil under your parcel of land might be hard, tightly-packed clay - alternatively, it could be fine, soft particles that move around a lot and absorb moisture easily.
Each one behaves differently, and some might not be at all appropriate for construction.
As part of your soil report, your geotech will create a profile of the different types of soil under your parcel of land.
As part of your soil report, your geotech will create a profile of the different types of soil under your parcel of land.
Percolation testing
A septic tank doesn’t just store wastewater - it also filters out the worst sludge and scum, before distributing the now remaining water to a percolation area, where it’s absorbed into the soil.
It’s a fascinating subject in its own right - if you want to learn more, we recommend giving this video a watch.
Getting back to our original topic, with a septic tank, eventually wastewater is absorbed back into the soil.
This is the final stage of the process - of course, for this to work, the area you’ve selected as your drainfield area needs to have soil that absorbs water to begin with.
If the area you’ve chosen is too dense to absorb water, that’s going to stop your septic system from working. Not to mention, it’ll leave you with a whole bunch of problems, including wastewater pooling up underground - not exactly ideal!
Percolation testing is all about determining the water absorption rate of soil. If your plans involve a septic tank, this is a crucial consideration.
It’s a fascinating subject in its own right - if you want to learn more, we recommend giving this video a watch.
Getting back to our original topic, with a septic tank, eventually wastewater is absorbed back into the soil.
This is the final stage of the process - of course, for this to work, the area you’ve selected as your drainfield area needs to have soil that absorbs water to begin with.
If the area you’ve chosen is too dense to absorb water, that’s going to stop your septic system from working. Not to mention, it’ll leave you with a whole bunch of problems, including wastewater pooling up underground - not exactly ideal!
Percolation testing is all about determining the water absorption rate of soil. If your plans involve a septic tank, this is a crucial consideration.
Slab recommendations
Just because your soil report comes back with a high reactivity grade or displays a soil makeup that includes a lot of less-than-ideal properties doesn’t mean that construction is impossible.
All it means is that some extra precautions might be needed.
As part of your soil report, your geotech may include recommendations that you can integrate into your plan to overcome these problems.
One area that can compensate for the condition of the soil under your parcel of land is the concrete slab.
Depending on the results from the rest of the soil report, your geotech might make recommendations for your concrete slab to help overcome obstacles your soil presents.
For example, they might recommend further excavation, or that you use a thicker, deeper slab.
All it means is that some extra precautions might be needed.
As part of your soil report, your geotech may include recommendations that you can integrate into your plan to overcome these problems.
One area that can compensate for the condition of the soil under your parcel of land is the concrete slab.
Depending on the results from the rest of the soil report, your geotech might make recommendations for your concrete slab to help overcome obstacles your soil presents.
For example, they might recommend further excavation, or that you use a thicker, deeper slab.
How to get a soil report in Victoria
Imagine if getting the property information you need for a construction project were as easy as online shopping - no need to call different agencies, fire off hundreds of emails or spend hours on the phone.
It isn’t a pipe dream anymore - that’s exactly what our automated property information search offers.
Getting property information - including your soil report - is as simple as…
1. Creating a company account with PSI
2. Selecting all the information you need
3. And that’s it - we take care of the rest!
We can either use your chosen provider or we’ll get in touch with a licensed geotechnical engineer for you and arrange a suitable time for an onsite inspection - they’ll do their thing and generate the report, which our system verifies before handing it back to you.
It doesn't matter whether all you need is a soil report or you need a soil report in addition to a bushfire attack level repor and a legal point of discharge report ( just to name a few).
Our system is dedicated to making your property information search:
- Straightforward
- Quick
- Effortless
It isn’t a pipe dream anymore - that’s exactly what our automated property information search offers.
Getting property information - including your soil report - is as simple as…
1. Creating a company account with PSI
2. Selecting all the information you need
3. And that’s it - we take care of the rest!
We can either use your chosen provider or we’ll get in touch with a licensed geotechnical engineer for you and arrange a suitable time for an onsite inspection - they’ll do their thing and generate the report, which our system verifies before handing it back to you.
It doesn't matter whether all you need is a soil report or you need a soil report in addition to a bushfire attack level repor and a legal point of discharge report ( just to name a few).
Our system is dedicated to making your property information search:
- Straightforward
- Quick
- Effortless
Property information made easy
Any house needs to be built on a strong foundation.
And we aren’t just talking about the concrete slab, either - houses are heavy, and your parcel of land and type of foundation needs to be sound enough to take the weight of your construction.
Your soil report is a crucial part of this.
Long before construction begins or blueprints are designed, soil reports are needed to inform the rest of your plan to ensure your home doesn’t turn into the Leaning Tower of Pisa 2.0.
Whether you’re a first-time builder or an experienced developer looking for a better way of doing things, our automated document search can dramatically speed up the amount of prep work you need to do.
Get the property information you need today -start your search now.
Have questions? Get in touch with our team directly on(03) 8527 6300 or click here to get in touch online.
And we aren’t just talking about the concrete slab, either - houses are heavy, and your parcel of land and type of foundation needs to be sound enough to take the weight of your construction.
Your soil report is a crucial part of this.
Long before construction begins or blueprints are designed, soil reports are needed to inform the rest of your plan to ensure your home doesn’t turn into the Leaning Tower of Pisa 2.0.
Whether you’re a first-time builder or an experienced developer looking for a better way of doing things, our automated document search can dramatically speed up the amount of prep work you need to do.
Get the property information you need today -start your search now.
Have questions? Get in touch with our team directly on(03) 8527 6300 or click here to get in touch online.
The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. As with all things property, we strongly recommend consulting a professional to ensure that all stages of your building project (including the Title search) go smoothly.