Trial Pitting
Trial Pitting/Foundation Exposure
When existing structures with shallow foundations are due for internal remodelling, it is often necessary to determine the extent and compositional properties of its foundations. Trial Pitting is required to achieve this.
Hand-excavated trial pits are typically placed external to the building, to determine the vertical and lateral extent of any existing foundations and gather shallow samples of its founding material for geo-environmental screening. Diamond Coring may be used internally to the building to determine the vertical extent of buried foundations.
Where shallow foundations are buried in excess of 1.2 metres depth, temporary support (shoring) may be used to allow deeper excavations in restricted access environments that are un-suitable for mechanical excavators.
Mechanically Excavated Pits
Mechanically excavated pits provide a tool for rapid assessment of widespread, shallow soil conditions up to 4 metres depth and are often the most suitable investigation method for multi-plot housing developments.
In-situ testing allows testing and sampling of the shallow soils for geotechnical parameters, or alternatively for permeability testing in accordance with BRE-Digest 365.
Please contact us to discuss any trial pitting requirements.
