tayv

I am not sure why D&B contract excludes foundation works. The potential builder can just hire a soil investigation firm to do the soil investigation and include the foundation cost in the contract. Even the potential builder does not get the job in the end, he can always claim back the soil investigation cost from the owner. Very strange. If the soil Investigation report recommends piling (the report is endorsed by a PE), I am not sure why the builder’s PE would choose to adopt shallow foundation. If the site is next to a river, chances are that there are soft soil with low SPT at the uppermost layers closer to existing ground level. Hence, bearing soil will yield lower bearing resistance which gives rise to the need to have big shallow foundation. As for piles, bored micropiles are the more expensive piling system. Precast concrete pIles or steel H-piles can be installed using jacked-in system which is much more affordable. Just my 2-cent worth of opinion

It is so strange that the contractor can just quote for the structure above the foundation only. Just like buying a brand new car without the wheels. Very strange.

I don’t think one can obtain approval from MCST to install lift in a cluster development.