Any geology survey experts here? Got geotech report I cannot intepret

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Batman

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#148988 7-Jul-2014 18:58

Hi say I'm interested in a plot of land on some hills.

I cannot make any sense out of the geotech report - as in, good/bad, go for it/stay away.

Thanks

gzt

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#1082704 7-Jul-2014 19:40

Not me. Personally I would call and ask.

Oncop53

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#1082705 7-Jul-2014 19:43

Get back to whoever did this report for you. It is pretty poor customer service to give a client a report that they cannot understand.

Batman

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#1082713 7-Jul-2014 19:57

That was the first thought. No I wasn't the client. Yes am definitely going to ask the engineer.

driller2000

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#1083782 7-Jul-2014 23:05

joker97: That was the first thought. No I wasn't the client. Yes am definitely going to ask the engineer.

yeah its worth a crack

depending on whether its a factual or interpretive report will vary the content

the latter is more use when it comes to building on the site as it should have a commentary on what the site investigations have shown and comments on any potential issues on site e.g. soil strengths (bearing capacity), weak soils, stability issues, expansive soils, building line limitations, groundwater issues etc

a better option would be to get your own CPEng Engineer to read and interpret it for you in the context of what you may be thinking of doing on the site, as the original geotechnical engineer only has an obligation to the original client ie the party that paid them to do the work

ps: just because there may be issues dosen't mean they can't be solved - but if there are issues it may increase the cost to do so, or limit the ability to develop the site - so you just need to factor these in to any plans / budget estimates you are preparing

driller2000

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#1083785 7-Jul-2014 23:08

Oncop53: Get back to whoever did this report for you. It is pretty poor customer service to give a client a report that they cannot understand.

not really

it's a technical report written to be understood by other qualified technically trained people - in this case form the geo engineer to the structural engineer

it is not neccesary for it be understood by an untrained layman

if you want to understand it go get a civil / geo degree - or pay someone who has : )

Fred99

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#1083883 8-Jul-2014 08:52

Presumably the geotech report would have been based on visual observation of soil types, scala penetrometer testing of soil density / shallow load bearing. They'd also look for other land stability issues.
What happens next is a structural engineer uses that data to design foundations. You could talk to them now, and see if anything in particular will limit what can be done with the site. Personally, I'd talk to the geotech first though, they must have an opinion on whether the site is okay to build on - or is going to present significant issues. However, if the report has been given to you by someone else, then you'll need to get that person to confirm to the geotech that they can discuss the report with you. (they can't answer questions about a report done for a client asked by random people phoning up etc).
It may be that for some structures, standard design (ie to NZS 3604) is adequate. On the other hand something special may need to be designed.
In the case of something special being designed, then don't expect to understand the technical details of that either - the engineer will likely include pages of sketches and calculations which make little sense even to a builder - so long as the (consented) plans are clear - that's what matters.
So, what it means depends on what you plan to do. Once you have a basic idea of what you're going to build, then involve a builder - as they will have some idea of what this is all going to cost.

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xpd

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#1083946 8-Jul-2014 10:14

I might be able to help... work for an environmental consulting company, so someone here would be able to read it :)

But the person who supplied it should really be doing it...

XPD / Gavin

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#1090352 17-Jul-2014 08:24

thanks XPD, i've decided that semi rural is not where we want to live, well not there anyway after driving past. so i didn't want to waste people's time