Before You Dig: Earthworks, Geotech & Stripping Plans

You want me to strip what?

Some of the biggest financial risks on a construction project happen before the building ever gets out of the ground.

In Episode 46 of What the RFI?, Matt Brennan digs into earthworks, geotechnical reports, test holes, stripping plans, and the steps architects and owners can take to reduce the risk of costly surprises underground.

Because a $100,000 earthworks budget can turn into $1 million in extras remarkably quickly when actual site conditions don’t match what everyone expected.

In this episode, we cover who should retain the geotechnical engineer, why a couple of test holes may not tell the whole story, when additional targeted testing makes sense, and how the civil engineer can turn geotechnical information into a stripping plan contractors can actually price.

We also get into one of the most important parts of earthworks tendering: establishing unit rates before construction begins. And when excavation still goes sideways? We look at Change Directives, truck counts, quantity tracking, documentation, and the inevitable argument over whether the tendered unit rate still applies.

You can’t eliminate every underground unknown.

But you can do a hell of a lot more before the excavator arrives.

In this episode:

Geotechnical investigations and test holes

• Who should retain the geotechnical engineer
• Reducing earthworks risk before tender
• What a stripping plan is and why it matters
• Earthworks tender packages
• Excavation and fill unit rates
• Differing site conditions
• Change Directives for unexpected earthworks
• Tracking trucks and excavation quantities
• Reviewing earthworks extras
• Construction Administration during excavation

Chapters

• 00:00 – You Want Me to Strip What?
• 00:29 – Welcome to What the RFI?
• 02:31 – Who Should Hire the Geotechnical Engineer?
• 05:03 – The Initial Geotechnical Investigation
• 08:00 – Why You Should Bring the Geotech Back
• 10:00 – What Is a Stripping Plan?
• 12:59 – Building the Earthworks Tender Package
• 14:00 – Why Unit Rates Matter
• 15:55 – Construction Starts… and Things Go Sideways
• 16:49 – The Emergency Site Meeting
• 18:26 – When It Becomes a Change Directive
• 20:09 – Track Every Truck
• 22:38 – The Unit Rate Argument
• 24:30 – Closing Out the Earthworks Costs
• 26:28 – Key Takeaways
• 28:23 – You Make or Lose Your Money in the Ground

What the RFI? is a podcast about Construction Administration for architects, consultants, contractors, owners, and anyone trying to make construction projects run a little smoother.

Got an RFI for Matt? Send it here!

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