Just realized I was spec'ing soil compaction tests all wrong on our site jobs

For the last 6 months on a project near Austin, I was ordering compaction tests right after we graded. A geotech engineer walked by last Thursday and asked if I was testing before or after the final lift. I told him after, and he just shook his head. Turns out you need to test after each lift, not just the top layer. I've been signing off on bad compaction this whole time. Anyone else make this mistake or have a system to track lift testing?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesf4119d ago

Funny you mention Austin, I had a guy out there tell me he'd been testing soil moisture by licking it, thought he had a system down until the lab results came back and everyone lost their minds.

-1

the_sam19d ago

@jamesf41 that guy probably thinks his tongue is a more reliable tool than a $500 moisture meter. Nothing says "trust the process" like getting results that make a lab tech question their career choices.