House site preparation and building platforms

Everything above ground inherits this

The platform is the first thing done on a build and the one thing that cannot be corrected later without real cost. If the level is out, the foundation crew wears it. If the fill was not compacted properly, the slab can settle and crack, and that is a structural problem rather than a cosmetic one.

It is also the item most likely to hold up a build. A platform that fails a compaction test or does not match the drawings means the concrete crew stands down and the whole programme moves right. We build to the levels and the spec so the next trade can start on the day they said they would.

Cut, fill and compaction

On a flat site the work is mostly strip, level and compact. On a sloping or lifestyle section it becomes cut and fill: taking material off the high side and building up the low side to create a level bench, then compacting that fill in layers so it behaves as solid ground.

Engineered fill is placed in controlled layers and compacted as it goes, because deep uncompacted fill is exactly what causes settlement under a slab. Where a geotechnical report specifies testing, we build so it passes and work in with the testing crew.

Working to the engineer and the report

Most new builds come with a geotechnical report and a set of levels. We work off those documents rather than around them, and we would rather read them before we quote than discover a requirement halfway through.

If you have a geotech report, a site plan or a set of foundation drawings, send them through with your enquiry. If you have not got that far yet, we can still look at the section and give you a realistic idea of what the earthworks will involve before you commit.

What the job includes

• Set out and levels from your site plan or surveyor’s pegs
• Vegetation clearing and topsoil strip, stockpiled for reuse
• Bulk cut and fill to form the building platform
• Engineered fill placed and compacted in layers
• Benching into slopes and batter shaping
• Excavation for foundations, footings and services
• Bases and cut for retaining where the design needs it
• Spoil removal or on site placement
• Platform trimmed to level and handed over ready for the next trade