Great comments Big H. We have collapsible soils in some locations here in Utah and I am a big fan of having the excavator pot-hole down below the footing grade when I do observations.In the areas with known collapsible soils I take samples and run collapse tests frequently as well.
Thanks everybody. I appreciate the advice on word-smithing. Ron, I'll look into my states "responsible charge" clauses to make sure but from all of the comments, it seems fairly common for technicians to perform observations with proper oversight.
Thanks Oldestguy. Most of what we are doing is what you first explained. A soils report for the site or subdivision already exists and we are performing an observation to ensure that foundation subgrade soils are the same as those encountered in the original soils report. If there are no...
Are there particular guidelines on who can perform a residential foundation observation? I was trained and sent out to do them as an E.I.T. but I am wondering if it is something that could be done by an experienced soils technician, or is it something that should be done by a P.E.?
For example...
