What is an engineered soil report? Is a soils report required for the construction of a new house even if the house will not be located in the shrink-swell soil area?
For all new single-family residences and additions with habitable space located in the Triassic Area, Chesterfield County requires the homeowner or contractor to acquire the services of a soils scientist, geotechnical or civil engineer to do testing near the perimeter of the new house location and prepare a soil report and provide the findings of the soil borings. Even though the proposed dwelling may not be located in a known shrink-swell soil area, the report is still required because of the possibility of there being small amounts of shrink-swell soil potentials anywhere within Chesterfield County. The shrink-swell soil report is used by the Building Inspection Department to determine if the soil supporting the structure has potential for “shrink-swell” and to determine the capacity of the ground to support a structure. For all new houses and additions with habitable space in the Triassic Area, this soil test is required.
