Different Types of Soil Testing and Why It’s Important

While this might not seem to be something you might need, soil testing is important to know if you are building anything on your property. Soil needs to be sturdy for it to support the wait of any structure build on top of it. If the water is too wet or too dry, it could be unstable and cause you problems- even years down the road.

To do a soil test before you start construction, you need to get in contact with a California engineering and consulting firm. They have many types of tests that they can do on the soil of your property.

Moisture Content Test

This is the test to see how much or little water there is in the soil. To support a structure, the water level needs to be an even level of water in the soil with good absorption rates. This test is often down by taking a soil sample and baking it in the oven for a day then weighing the changes.

Specific Gravity of Soil Test

This test is done to see the ratio between soil density and water density. Having a good ratio between the two will give the soil a good base for your structure. After a California soil testing company makes a mold of the soil, the water content is tested.

Dry Density Test

This test the density of the soil. Soil is often loose, medium-dense, and dense. Engineers who run this test often use a core cutter to take a round slice of the soil where they will test the density of the sample.

Atterberg Limits Testing

Swedish scientist Albert Atterberg created this test to measure the liquid limit, plastic limit, and shrinkage limit in fine-grained soils. Engineers in the construction industry use this test to determine the state of the soil: solid, semi-solid, liquid, and plastic. Knowing the state of the soil is important in construction.