We run our rigs and hand augers right across Sydney, from the sandstone benches of the northern suburbs to the deep clay profiles in the Canterbury-Bankstown corridor. A typical day starts with a site walk-over to spot old fill, tree roots, or drainage lines that could compromise a footing. For shallow foundation design in Sydney, we rely on test pits and boreholes to get undisturbed samples, then run classification and strength tests in our NATA-accredited lab. Before setting the final bearing capacity, we often combine the data with a placa de carga plate load test to validate the modulus of subgrade reaction directly on the founding stratum.
A footing on loose fill in Sydney can settle 40 mm in two years; verifying the bearing stratum with in-situ testing is the only way to avoid that.