SiC BLAST – Soil Special Inspections

soil special inspections

According to the IBC CODE

Section 1705.6 of chapter 17 of the IBC code requires that “special inspections and tests of existing site soil conditions, fill placement and load-bearing requirements be performed.” Code also requires that the soils special inspector be present, continuously, during the placement of compacted fill. During fill placement, the special inspector shall verify that proper materials and procedures are used in accordance with the provisions of the geotechnical report.

Tabular formatting of required special inspections (in Table 1705.6) clearly conveys the requirements for determining soil-bearing capacity and for testing/inspection of soils for controlled fill. Code required inspections and tests prior to fill placement include verifying that site preparation meets specified requirements, including proper excavation depth, removal of all deleterious material and any other special requirements that the (geotechnical) soils engineer deems necessary for fill and foundation design. Without observing and documenting that the proper material is used and specified compaction techniques and lifts are employed, the specified load-bearing capacity may not be achieved. A major factor in the design of the fill is the in-place density; therefore density evaluation during construction phases is necessary to properly evaluate adequate soil-bearing capacity.

If the project does not have a geotechnical report (or required maximum dry density), code requires that the special inspector verify that the in-place dry density of the compacted fill is not less than 90% of the maximum dry density at optimum moisture content as determined in accordance with ASTM D 1557 (Chapter 17, section 1705.6 exception).