Soil Stabilization

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What is Involved in Soil Stabilization?
In construction, everyone knows that the stability and “health” of a building or roadbed is only as good as the soil it sits upon. Often when a new project breaks ground, the soil under the surface simply is not healthy enough to support the new building, roadway, or parking lot. Soil stabilization helps alter the soil to improve its characteristics, stability, and long term performance under the project. It is a cost effective method that compared to having to undercut and possibly haul in aggregate can save 35% on your project costs. It also helps eliminate weather delays and can even extend the construction season for your company, adding dollars to your bottom line and keeping your crews working longer.

Soil Stabilization Helps Your Job Site and Project Costs
Altering soil’s physical properties can increase the shear strength, improve the load bearing capacity, and help control the swell and shrink of soil due to moisture and organic factors. By doing careful analysis of the soil at an appropriate depth, Terra Firma Soil experts can determine the correct additives such as lime, Portland cement, or other chemicals as appropriate, or if they need to utilize other stabilization techniques including biological, physical, and other chemical processes. Since we service a wide territory from the area around Chattanooga TN to Mobile AL, we have experience in all soil types and ground conditions in the region, and can expertly treat accordingly.

How Does Soil Stabilization Work?
The first factor to determine is the type of soil your jobsite has, usually some combination of gravel, sand, silt, clay, or loam. It is important to determine especially the presence of clay or organic matter making up the nutrient components in loam. Clay has the challenge of changing plasticity when wet, causing it to deform and change shape, meaning what is built above it is subject to structural stress and movement. Loam, with its mixture of sand, clay, silt, and other organic matter, is prone to decomposition of the organic matter, with the potential of creating spaces between the compacted particles in the soil and thus settling, and in rare occasion, off-gassing.

There are a number of different methods for soil stabilization, including the addition of chlorides and polymers, lime and cement stabilization, fly ash soil stabilization, Calciment, enzymatic addition, geotextiles, and mechanical stabilization (generally some form of compaction). Depending on your soil’s makeup and jobsite requirements, our expert team will come to your site, sample, and have proper analisis done to determine what is the best and most time and cost effective method to stabilize the ground under your job. We will provide an accurate timeline, as we know time is money especially on bid projects. We know that once you utilize the years of experience and professional handling of your soil stabilization you will be glad you called Terra Firma Soil for a free estimate.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Kind of Stabilization
While the importance of choosing the right method and additive for your particular job cannot be understated, utilizing a soil contractor that is an expert in your area is just as important. Terra Firma Soils has been successfully preparing soil at job sites for many years. Our long history proves the cost effectiveness of the soil preparation processes we can provide, as well as the time savings for your job. A knowledgeable soil contractor is your edge to come in on bids lower, while providing a high quality product that lasts longer and is more stable. Call us for a free estimate on your next job. We travel all areas in and around southeastern Tennessee, north Georgia, greater Mobile Alabama, and all points between.

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