We always say that the foundation must be strong in order to achieve greater development. If the house is to be strong, the foundation will be well laid. However, building the ground is not the first step in building a house. So what is the first step in building a house? Strictly speaking, soil testing (Soil Test) is the first stage of building a new house. According to Australian law (National Building Code), every time a house is built, a professional Land surveyor is required to do a soil test on the land to be developed.
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1. Important reasons for soil testing
2. How does Australia classify the soil?
Third, how to carry out soil testing
4. Analysis of land outline
At this stage, test engineers collect a series of soil samples from the land. The soil condition varies from site to site, so before the building starts and when the villa is designed, we start testing the soil and get the soil report. Soil testing is a very important step, which not only affects the construction cost, but also affects the life span of the building.
Important reasons for soil testing
The main reason is that the soil is the ultimate carrier to bear the weight of your villa, so the load bearing of the soil directly leads to the life and safety of the villa. Only understand how the land you buy is "passive" and make sure that there are no chemical or physical conditions at the site that may damage the villa you need to add to it before you can begin the next process of building it.
Among them, soil reactive (Soil Reactivity) refers to the amount of slight movement, expansion, and shrinkage of soil (usually caused by changes in moisture content) in the soil, and is classified according to the category. And soil carrying capacity (Soil Bearing Capacity) tells us the weight of the unit area that the soil can support and determines the type of foundation that can be built on this piece of land. If the soil is unstable, the foundation needs to be thicker and deeper and more expensive.
How to classify soil in Australia
The Australian soil classification can be grouped into the following categories:
Class A: stable, non-reactive; having a change in humidity (usually sandstone and rock locations), with little or no possibility of ground movement.
Class S: The possibility of slight ground movement (usually clay ground).
Class M: the possibility of moderate ground movement (usually of clay or silty land).
Degree H: the possibility of highly moving (usually clayey land).
Class E: possibility of extreme ground movement.
Level P: ground movement caused by humidity changes can be very serious and a structural engineer needs to be consulted before building a new house.
In general, classes A and S need only one base plate with foundation to solve the problem, but all other levels may require further reinforcement. The price difference between H and M will be about $4000 to $8000.
How to test soil
The Soil Test Engineer uses a special device to drill into the ground and to extract the soil. By determining the type of soil at different depths, they will be able to classify the soil and determine the bearing capacity of the soil.
If you buy an old house that needs to be rebuilt, soil testing is required before and before it is rebuilt. After removal, you also need an asbestos clearance certificate. The asbestos assessor will be responsible for the removal of personnel or operations at the site and ensure that the old house is free of asbestos.
Land contour analysis
In addition to soil testing, analysis of the overall profile of the land helps to understand the limitations of the land before building a house. For example, the slope of your driveway and land can affect the cost of building.
The most important thing is to make sure the garage and driveway are aligned before the pavement is paved, otherwise it will cost a lot of money to adjust it once the pavement is finished.
The angle of the other room beam also depends on the slope of the plot. It is only possible to determine what angle and what type of room beam is to be established in the event of an understanding of the extent of the land slope.
In Australia, land purchase is a very common and popular way of buying houses. Not only can buyers participate in the design and construction of their dream houses according to their preferences, but also because land in Australia is a permanent property that can be passed down from generation to generation. So buying land to build a house is also a wise move for investors. Being able to live in a carefully chosen and designed house is a blissful thing.
