Soil conditions, groundwater and possible contamination are significant risk elements of building and construction projects, and unforeseen conditions and obstacles in the ground may cause delay and unexpected costs.
Geotechnical investigations - combined with environmental investigations and analyses – performed at an early stage of a building or construction project may entail that design, planning and execution of a project are carried out according to plan. The reason for this is that the major risks related to foundation, groundwater and contamination can be assessed and handled in due time. Unforeseen soil and water conditions are almost always expensive and time-consuming, and may well exceed the time and costs of geotechnical and environmental investigations.
Early contractor involvement – on a small and large scale
We also offer practical knowledge during design and planning of building and construction projects. Acting as a specialist contractor during early contractor involvement allows us to enter into a dialogue with clients and consultants about challenges as well as buildable solutions, which results in reduced time and costs.
When the soil conditions and groundwater conditions are to be investigated, Aarsleff has our own staff of technicians, engineers and geotechnical engineers who are experienced in small as well as large geotechnical and environmental investigations. We have 10 drilling rigs for execution of drillings and/or CPTs, and we are able to execute CPTs with a push capacity of up to 20 tons.
Some of our machines are small drilling plants for execution of traditional geotechnical and environmental drillings of small dimensions, and others are bigger machines for execution of e.g. core drillings or filter wells of large dimensions.
If the job requires that the soil conditions or groundwater are examined in areas that cannot be accessed by road, we have our own rail-bound equipment as wells as floating equipment such as barges and jack-ups. We can also establish an access road, if required.
Special investigation
The geotechnical investigation can be supplemented with special geotechnical laboratory tests (e.g. triax or consolidation tests), and the project will benefit from the documented optimisation of the geotechnical design parameters.
When it is relevant to consider groundwater lowering at design, tendering and execution, we are also able to examine groundwater flow and groundwater chemistry. Groundwater lowering can affect the costs of a building project, as it may damage the neighboring buildings and structures. For this reason, the neighboring areas must always be considered at the geotechnical investigation, in order to plan the design of the construction pit and the groundwater lowering correctly.
As a specialist contractor we are used to working closely together with authorities about an efficient and smooth execution of the work – also about groundwater lowering. We know where to pay attention in relation to authority requirements, and we can assist with obtaining permits for drilling work or permits for water catchment and discharge in relation to pumping tests and groundwater lowering.
Our employees operating our drilling rigs, pumps and other equipment are of coursed trained in accordance with Danish legislation. This is our guarantee for working safely and taking the necessary measures for protecting the underground and the groundwater reservoirs.
Do you need a price on a geotechnical investigation or more information?