The whole point of earthworks is to make a site suitable for the construction project it is earmarked for. You will hear words such as topography and may wonder what that is exactly: it means the physical features of the land including the ‘relief’ which means ups and downs: an area of high relief if mountainous or at least hilly, while low relief indicates it is flat.
Do you Want it Flat?
The physical layout is important because if your site is not fairly flat, you will need to make it so if you want to have a building and its grounds (car park and so on) on the level. This may require earthworks, which basically means moving soil.
This is the opposite of what is often called landscaping, which can mean introducing interesting features to a garden or park. For most construction projects, these ‘interesting’ features are the last step. Builders are more concerned with having a no-nonsense flat area that can support the weight they are about to place on it.
In addition to the topography, there is the matter of the type of soil.
How Stable is the Subsoil?
When putting a large, heavy building on land that has been left to its own devices for a long time, we cannot simply assume that all will be well. Gravity and the soil’s own weight are always pressing down, of course, but in some instances, measures will need to be taken to improve stability, possibly by physically compacting certain areas. Other methods include chemical stabilisation, which is done by mixing in lime or cement, and deep mixing, which involves injecting substances into lower levels.
In some instances, it may be necessary to insert piling into the ground, which means driving concrete posts deep down, essentially providing foundations for the foundations.
Is the Construction Going to Include Underground Areas?
If you intend to use the area below ground level for extra space, perhaps for storage or a car park (or a swimming pool/spa area, if it is that kind of project) earthworks will be needed to gouge this space out and create a new bottom floor. In this case you will be left with the issue of what to do with the subsoil, and one answer will be to have it removed from the site and perhaps used somewhere else on a project that has the opposite requirement, so they need more soil.
Earthworks, then, doesn’t simply mean excavation. It means repositioning and repurposing, which is a very 21st century way of doing things.
Earthworks for Access
In addition to the site of the building itself there is always the matter of access, and this need kicks in before construction can even begin. In order to start the project, you will need good, stable roads to take the construction vehicles in and out, and these are heavy in themselves, with any materials they are carrying only adding to the weight.
The first stage of construction, then, may be to build roads, and when the project is finished, they may be all you need for access to the site once it is serving its new purpose. If not, the roads may need to be enhanced to suit the expectations of the site occupiers and visitors.
Water, Drainage and Utilities
If there is water on the site naturally, it will need to be managed so that it doesn’t threaten the integrity of the buildings. Conversely, if there is no water supply, it will have to be added, which will involve digging trenches. The same goes for electricity, gas and for taking wastewater off the site via drainage and sewers.
All these things require earthworks, with different activities and equipment. At Fraser Earthworks & Co, we can do all of it and more. Get in touch with our team here for a quote for your next project.
