Why Soil Testing Matters Before You Build.

Quick question for you.

How do you know someone has high blood pressure? Unless they do a blood test in the hospital — right?

Sameway, if you want your property to last longer without unexpected structural failure, soil testing is one of the important test I recommend every home owner to do.

All you have to do is… bring a soil sample in the lab at number 2, after testing, technicians will give the report. That’s it.

Here’s why it’s crucial.

1. Prevent Future Settlement.

And you probably know, low blood pressure is not healthy either. The ground in which you’re going to build on, needs to be strong. Soft soil has low bearing pressure. And so your foundation must be designed accordingly to prevent longterm settlement.

2. Prevent Crack

Believe it or not, poor foundation causes most cracks in walls and joints. And from experience, poor foundation comes as a result of not doing soil testing.

In other words, we just build by assumption. “Oh the ground is safe”. How do you know? Are you really sure?

3. Safe Foundation

Different soils require different foundations. Testing prevents improper use of strip footings on soft, reactive, or unstable ground, avoiding future structural failures.

4. Earthquake

Vanuatu experiences frequent earthquakes.

Soil testing reveals liquefaction risks and determines the exact structural requirements to prevent the building from shifting or sinking.

Don’t believe me?

5. Regulation Safety

It’s just a smart thing to do — just take a sample of soil in a bag, bring it to Public Works Lab in number two.

After a few days, you’ll get a certified report. Now you have the facts and proof to stand on.

And if you’re in the island, ship it over. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself 30 years from now.

It’s not a big investment, but it’s worth it.

Okay, so these are the 5 reasons why you shouldn’t skip ground testing before construction.

— Obed Nomo