A requirement for some City of Calgary permits and the Alberta New Home Warranty is what is referred to as a “Soil Bearing Report” or as we like to call it, a Bearing Inspection. This is generally a simple inspection that typically does not take more than a hour, but can prove to be very worthwhile.
What Is A Soil Bearing Report?
A soil bearing report, or bearing inspection, is an inspection report that details the project’s site conditions, soil conditions, and bearing capacity of the foundation elevations subgrade, immediately prior to pouring shallow foundations.
Our soil bearing report process consists of review of your foundation plans, a single site visit (you can meet us on site if you’d like), on site recommendations if required, and a stamped letter stating that the site conditions immediately prior to pouring foundations were suitable for foundation construction.
It’s best for us to visit your site just before cribbers arrive – the entire foundation footprint should be excavated but no foundation forms should be in place yet.
How To Pass A Bearing Inspection on Your First Try
Water and Moisture
The number one most common reason for a failed bearing inspection is groundwater or precipitation being allowed to pool and remain at foundation grade.
If your foundation elevation subgrade is soft and wet, chances are we are going to ask you remove the soft material prior to proceeding. We do allow some leniency here as we realize that some sites are never going to be completely dry, but if you’ve got a considerable depth of soft and wet material, you should scrape it out before calling us. If you do need to scrape out some mud before calling us but keep getting water infiltrating your site you’ll need to grade your foundation level to a low point and use a sump pump to remove the water.
The number two reason for a failed bearing inspection?
Frozen Soil
As lucky as we are to live in Calgary, we do have to contend with freezing conditions for a considerable portion of each year, which is not ideal for foundation construction.
If you are planning on building in the winter or in freezing conditions, make sure you have insulated tarps to cover the base of your excavation when you’re not working on it to prevent it from freezing. They are not very expensive, do not require any power, and will prevent costly delays to your project.
Organics
If the soil at your foundation elevation looks organic – black, roots, rotting wood, smells – we will probably require that it be removed. While black soil is sometimes ok, we will probably want to run an organic content test on it before giving the go ahead to build on it.
Anything Else?
There are some unique situations outside those that are mentioned here that may result in a failed inspection, but for the most part, this covers the majority of failed inspections.
Conclusion
If you need a Calgary Soil Bearing Report fill out our contact form, or give us a call and we’ll be happy to help you. If you do decide to use us but you’re not sure if your site is ready for a bearing inspection we’re happy to review site photos prior to visiting, free of charge.
