A New Beginning on Site
Yesterday, I visited our new project site to check the setting-out for piling. This work has been a long time in the making, with several delays over the past few years. The site itself is in a very strategic location, but it comes with its own challenges — the area occasionally goes under water during major floods in Sri Lanka.
After the client purchased the land, we carried out a soil investigation and discovered that the soil was extremely weak. Following much deliberation, we decided to raise the building by 6 feet (2000 mm) above the existing ground level to stay above the general flood line, and to proceed with a piling foundation. We also considered a raft foundation, but based on the engineer’s recommendation, piling was the safer option. The foundation cost is considerably high, but given the ground conditions, it is a necessary investment.
I’m grateful that the client made the right decision after careful consideration. During the setting-out inspection, we also checked the accuracy on site — and the variation from the drawings was only 30 mm (just about 1 inch). I was very happy with that level of precision!
Hope we can complete this project smoothly. I’ll keep posting updates as we go. 😊
