Foundation Construction Support

The testing of foundations and their observation during construction are critically important geotechnical tasks and S&ME routinely provides these services. For shallow foundations, the subgrade needs to be evaluated prior to concrete or fill placement.  This may include probing, dynamic cone penetration testing, plate load testing, etc.  For driven piles, S&ME performs high strain dynamic pile testing with a Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) for evaluation of hammer performance, driving stresses, pile integrity, and capacity.  For bored piles, we offer crosshole sonic logging (CSL) and thermal integrity profiling (TIP) for integrity evaluation.  For all foundation types, we perform static load testing, frequently with instrumentation for load distribution.  We also observe and document foundation installation for quality control and perform wave equation analyses for pile driving hammer selection, approval, and development of production pile installation criteria.