abusementpark
Structural
- Dec 23, 2007
- 1,086
I've noticed that a significant number of structural engineers put a general note on their plans for shallow foundations like such: "Owner's geotechnical engineer shall verify bearing capacity and suitability of subgrade prior to placing foundations."
Does your firm put a statement like this on their plans? If so, what is the specific intent of the statement? Like the example I gave above, many times it isn't clear to me what specifically needs to be done (maybe the specs clarify, IDK). I'm not sure if this is just reiterating that the geotechnical engineer needs to be on site for proof-rolling and all the general site preparation, as I would imagine most earthwork specs already cover that. Or is it indicating that the geotechnical engineer needs to be there to verify the subgrade just prior to the shallow foundation pour?
My firm doesn't normally make the latter a requirement. However, there have been some instances where I been out on rebar inspections for a grade beam or footing pour and noticed that the superficial subgrade looked poor (i.e. very soft, mud-like). But I have been hesitant to question it with too much scrutiny, other than making them scrape off some really bad areas, since I think the geotechnical engineer is the one who should be making that call.
Thoughts??
Does your firm put a statement like this on their plans? If so, what is the specific intent of the statement? Like the example I gave above, many times it isn't clear to me what specifically needs to be done (maybe the specs clarify, IDK). I'm not sure if this is just reiterating that the geotechnical engineer needs to be on site for proof-rolling and all the general site preparation, as I would imagine most earthwork specs already cover that. Or is it indicating that the geotechnical engineer needs to be there to verify the subgrade just prior to the shallow foundation pour?
My firm doesn't normally make the latter a requirement. However, there have been some instances where I been out on rebar inspections for a grade beam or footing pour and noticed that the superficial subgrade looked poor (i.e. very soft, mud-like). But I have been hesitant to question it with too much scrutiny, other than making them scrape off some really bad areas, since I think the geotechnical engineer is the one who should be making that call.
Thoughts??