Footing Inspection 2

[visitor]

My company is active in performing roadway inspection so we have many nuclear gauges and DCPs. We are now getting into building inspection. My question is regarding equipment for footing inspections. It seems that in our region, the pocket penetrometers are typically used for this test. From what I have read, it seems that the static cone penetrometer is used less often but is actually more accurate. Do these two pieces of equipment give roughly the same results? From what I have seen, there is no ASTM standard for footing inspection and therefore no specified equipment (unless specifically sited in specs). Are there any sources of info out there on standard procedures for this testing. We have people who have done this work at other companies, I am just looking for some documentation of the proper procedures and equipment.

 

[dirtdoctor]

I believe Mr. Laude must work in North Carolina - they have a new building code standard that all footings must be observed and 'signed off' by a geotech. Don't jump the gun and don't accuse non-PE's of knowing nothing about foundations. I have come in contact with 6 senior technicians over the years that know just as much about footing inspections as many PEs that I have come across.

HAS ANYONE EVER HEARD OF A NICE LITTLE TOY CALLED A HAND AUGER??? Pop some holes, find residual soils, perform DCP or SCP testing at one foot intervals, bag the samples for review by a staff engineer, look for organic matter, peruse the surrounding topography to see if it's a big fill pad, etc. Or, better yet, be on site during excavation operations and dig a test pit just outside of the pad to find out what's really down there - if you see it, you can judge it.

SirAl is dead on the money about dry-packed fill. As a general rule, if we find it, we take it out, particularly if it's plastic (PI>15) - EXCELLENT POINT that's often forgotten.

From what I've seen lately, the local building inspectors are no longer signing off on footings and have become even more viligant about requiring 'compaction tests for footings.' They don't know the proper term to describe what they want, but at least they are on the way to helping the consultant market out tremendously.

 

[BigH]

Dirtdoctor - glad to have you back again. You are right in that senior technicians who have worked years in the field probably do know more than many geotechnical engineers who are "designers". But, what the 'ell good is a compaction test at the level of the footing - compaction, fine, a couple of feet at the most but what about below? Footing influence goes deeper. The key is to do a proper investigation, know the stratigraphy, confirm that you are in the rignt stratigraphy and that it hasn't been disturbed. Then pour the darned footing. Seems like professionals are being ordered about by non-professionals to me!

 

[Focht3]

[blue]BigH[/blue] -

I don't think this is the same fellow we interacted with in the Soil Testing forum; it appears s/he signed up with [green]Eng-Tips[/green] on September 8, 2003 - so s/he is fairly new to the threads -

But perhaps this is our old friend, risen like the phoenix from the ashes...

What say you, [blue]dirtdoctor[/blue]?



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