All four survey disciplines under a single contract and a unified set of reports for expert review.
A brief introduction to building surveys and a guide to the right service.
Describe your site and objective — we will advise which documents you need.
All four survey disciplines under a single contract and a unified set of reports for expert review.
A brief introduction to building surveys and a guide to the right service.
Describe your site and objective — we will advise which documents you need.
We will carry out geotechnical surveys of your plot for the foundation: we will mobilise within 3 days, drill 1 to 3 boreholes depending on the house footprint, and prepare a report within 2 weeks so that you can build a reliable foundation without cracks or overpaying for materials.
Site geotechnical survey — is a geotechnical survey for house construction: an investigation of soils and groundwater before works begin. At the footprint of the future house, a drilling crew and an engineering geologist drill boreholes and inspect the site to identify adverse geological processes. The geologist logs the soil layers, takes samples and measures the water table. The samples are tested in a laboratory, and the findings are compiled into a technical report.
A house rests not on concrete, but on the ground beneath it. Sand, clay, peat and made ground carry loads differently, compress differently and behave differently when frozen. High groundwater can flood a basement and deteriorate concrete over time. None of this is visible from the surface: even neighbouring plots can have very different ground conditions, and drilling is the only way to find out.
Without surveys without survey data, the structural engineer normally over-designs the foundation with excess concrete and reinforcement — so you overpay for materials. The opposite also happens: the ground turns out weaker or the water table higher than assumed, and the building cracks. A geotechnical survey removes both risks: the foundation is designed for the actual ground conditions on your plot.
Using the report, the designer or builder selects the foundation type — strip, raft or piles — and its depth. A geotechnical survey costs noticeably less than extra concrete and reinforcement added 'just in case', and incomparably less than repairing a house after cracking.
Interesting factEngineering geology
Deposits at a depth of 10 or 20 metres can have very different ages at different sites. Layers accumulated, eroded and shifted. Their age is established from geological evidence: there is no universal conversion from metres to years.
Source: USGS
Some clay soils expand as they absorb water and shrink as they dry. These movements can deform foundations, roads and pipelines, even without an earthquake or landslide.
Source: Colorado Geological Survey
As soil freezes, water can migrate towards the freezing zone and form ice lenses. Growing lenses push soil particles apart and lift the ground. This is a mechanism of frost heave that affects roads and foundations.
Source: US Army ERDC / CRREL
Groundwater usually occupies spaces between soil particles and fractures in rock. An aquifer can be imagined as a water-saturated sponge. Underground rivers occur in special settings, such as karst caves.
Source: USGS
The same stages as for major projects, just on a smaller scale.
Message us or call: tell us where the plot is, what kind of house you are planning, and whether there will be a basement. That is enough.
We specify the scope of work in accordance with SP 446.1325800 — for a private house it is much smaller than for commercial developments. We then confirm the price and mobilisation date.
Stage outcome: a clear price and drilling rig mobilisation date.
Geotechnical fieldwork on the plot begins with mobilisation: a drilling crew and an engineering geologist arrive on site and drill a cored borehole within the footprint of the future house. If there is no lorry access or the plot has a lawn, we bring a compact drilling rig.
The geotechnical engineer logs the soil profile by depth, collects undisturbed core samples (monoliths) and disturbed samples for the laboratory, and measures the groundwater level. Upon completion, the borehole is backfilled.
Stage outcome: soil profile description by depth, laboratory samples, water table level.
Samples are tested in an accredited laboratory for density, moisture content, strength, compressibility, frost susceptibility and soil aggressiveness.
Stage outcome: soil parameters for foundation design.
| Density and moisture content | soil unit weight and how it will behave beneath the house |
| Angle of internal friction and cohesion | what load the foundation soil can support |
| Deformation modulus | how much the foundation will settle |
| Frost susceptibility | at what depth to found the structure |
| Water table | whether a basement is feasible and whether waterproofing is required |
| Soil aggressiveness | whether concrete and metal protection is required |
A report for a private house is shorter than for a commercial property, but follows the same standards. Browse our report for a detached residential house:
Survey deliverables: technical report on geotechnical surveys — used by the designer or builder to select the right foundation.
27 sheets of this report. Client details, signatures and stamps have been redacted.
Without a geotechnical survey, foundations are either over-designed (wasting money on concrete and reinforcement) or left exposed to cracking and basement flooding.
For the vast majority of private houses, a concise technical report is sufficient.
Single house — 60,000 ₽. When commissioning work jointly with neighbours, each additional house in the same instruction is 40,000 ₽.
Turnaround time — 2 weeks. For multiple houses in a single order, the timeframe is the same 2 weeks: work on the plots runs in parallel and finishes at the same time.
Based on your inputs, without registration or submitting an enquiry.Calculate for my plotTo properly select and design the foundation: its type — strip, raft, or pile — founding depth, and reinforcement. Without soil data, the designer either overdesigns the foundation with a large safety margin or risks cracking and basement flooding if the soils turn out to be weaker or the groundwater higher than expected.
For the vast majority of private houses, 1 to 3 boreholes are sufficient. Under the standards, this depends on the building footprint: if the longest side of your house does not exceed 12 metres, 1 borehole is enough. If the longest side exceeds 12 metres, we drill 2 or 3 boreholes. Upon completion, you will receive a concise technical report.
We bring a compact portable drilling rig — it fits through narrow gates and will not damage your lawn.
Before foundation design: the results are used to select the foundation type and depth. If you already have a design, the geotechnical survey will show whether it suits the site's soils.
Yes, we drill all year round. In winter, access may need to be cleared of snow.
Technical report on geotechnical surveys: description of soils and groundwater by borehole, soil parameters for foundation calculation, frost penetration depth, laboratory test schedules, factual material map, and borehole logs.
If you do not have a technical brief, describe the project: site location, planned construction, and whether a design exists. We will reply with a scope of work and cost.
