Site Works

By:
Sherzad Q. Hakkari
Department of Civil Engineering
sherzadq@live.com
Lecture 3
SITE WORKS
Basically the works carry out on site are:

1. Site Evaluation (Investigation)

2. Excavation
3. Compacting
4. Grading
5. Finish Grading (Finishing)
SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)

There are two evaluation must perform for any

construction site:

1. Surface investigation of the site

2. Subsurface (i.e., below-surface) investigation

of the site
 SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)
1. Surface investigation:
It is a preliminary judgment about the site’s suitability
for the proposed building
First Part
It is a visual assessment of
the site’s:
topography, vegetation,
storm water drainage
pattern, foundation
systems used in nearby
buildings
Second Part
It is an engineering land
survey:
It provides physical
measurement of the site’s:
Boundaries, topography,
drainage pattern,
ownership
SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)
2. Subsurface investigation:
It deals with conditions below the ground surface to
determine the requirements for the foundations and
excavations such as:

 Type of soil, whether it is gravel, sand, silt, or clay

 Bearing capacity of soil

SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)

• Soil Samples ~ these can be obtained as disturbed

or as undisturbed samples.

• Disturbed Soil Samples ~ these are soil samples

obtained from bore holes and trial pits. Is suitable for
visual grading, establishing the moisture content and
some laboratory tests

• Undisturbed Soil Samples ~ these are soil samples

obtained using coring tools which preserve the natural
structure and properties of the subsoil. Is suitable for
rock and clay subsoil
SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)

• There are three different method of subsurface

exploration:

1. borings,
2. Test pits, and
3. Trenches
SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)
SITE EVALUATION (INVESTIGATION)
• The purpose of the site evaluation is to obtain:

1. Knowledge of the general topography of the site

2. The location of buried utilities such as electric power and
telephone cables, water mains, and sewers
3. The availability and quality of local construction materials such
as concrete aggregates, building and road stone, and water for
construction purposes
4. A detailed record of the soil and rock level and groundwater
conditions.
5. Results of laboratory tests on soil and rock samples appropriate
to the particular foundation design or construction problems
6. Results of chemical analyses on soil or groundwater to
determine possible deleterious effects of foundation structures
BEARING CAPACITY OF SOIL
• One of the most important properties of a soil derived from
laboratory tests is the soil’s bearing capacity

• The bearing capacity of a soil is its strength to bear loads

imposed on it by the structure, it is expressed in (psf ) or (ksf ) or
(MPa) or (Kg/cm2)

• Allowable bearing capacity is smaller than the failure (ultimate)

bearing capacity and includes the safety factor (generally 3.0)

• The allowable bearing capacity of soil generally increases with

increasing depth below ground because the deeper level of the
soil are generally more densely compacted
 EXCAVATION
 It refers to the process of removing soil or rock from its
original location, typically in preparation for constructing
foundations, basements, and underground utility lines and
for grading of the ground surface

 Excavated material required for backfill or grading fill is

stockpiled on the site for subsequent use

 Excavations are generally classified as:

 Open excavations
 Trenches
 Pits
 EXCAVATION
 Open excavations refer to large (and often deep)
excavations, such as for a basement
 EXCAVATION
 Trenches generally refer to long, narrow
excavations, such as for footings under a wall or
utility pipes

Trenching Machine

Trench
 EXCAVATION
 Pits are excavations for the footing of an individual
column, elevator shaft

Pits
SUPPORTS FOR OPEN EXCAVATIONS
 To prevent cave-ins (slipping) of soil while the
foundation system or basement walls are constructed,
the soil generally require some type of support

 providing adequate slope in the excavated (cut) face,

depending on type of soil

 A sloped excavation may either be uniformly sloped

or stair-stepped, called a benched excavation, it
increases slope stability. They are also easier to
compact. Compacted benches further enhance slope
stability
SUPPORTS FOR OPEN EXCAVATIONS
 SUPPORTS FOR DEEP EXCAVATIONS
Other methods of supporting deep excavation sides
 Excavation Support Using Sheet Pile

 Excavation Support Using Cantilevered Soldier

Piles Do
further
 Excavation Support Using Contiguous Bored
Concrete Piles
reading in
given
 Excavation Support Using Secant Piles reference

 Excavation Support Using Soil Nailing

 Excavation Support Using Bentonite Slurry As

Trench Support
 KEEPING EXCAVATIONS DRY
 Keep excavations free from groundwater because it
is :
 Delaying further excavation,
 Unsafe for workers, and
 Harmful to equipment and machines

 This is done by:

 Preventing surface water from entering the excavation
through runoff

 Draining (dewatering) the soil around the excavations so

that the groundwater level falls below the elevation of
proposed excavation
 COMPACTION
 Compaction is the process of increasing the density of a soil
by mechanically forcing the soil particles closer together, by
that, expelling (drive out) air from the void spaces in the
soil

 Compaction has been employed for centuries to improve the

engineering properties of soil

 Improvements include increased bearing strength, reduced

compressibility, improved volume-change characteristics,
and reduced permeability

 It prevents later settlement of soils.

COMPACTION
COMPACTION
 GRADING AND FINISHING
 Grading is the process of bringing earthwork to the desired
shape and elevation (or grade)

 Finish grading, or simply finishing, involves smoothing

slopes, shaping ditches, and bringing the earthwork to the
elevation required by the plans and specification

 Finishing usually follows closely behind excavation and

grading, then the compaction will carry out

 The equipment used for grading and finishing is the motor

grader
GRADING AND FINISHING
References:

1. Building Construction, Principles,

Materials, and Systems, Madan Mehta,
Walter Scarborough, Diane Armpriest, 2009
update

2. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION HANDBOOK,

Roy Chudley, and Roger Greeno,
9th edition. 2013