Service

Factual & interpretative geotechnical reporting

Reports designers can build from — factual records of what was found, and interpretative recommendations converting that evidence into bearing capacities, settlement estimates and founding options.

Overview

A geotechnical report is the point at which field and laboratory work becomes a design input. Horema issues both parts of that chain: the factual report, which records what was drilled, sampled and tested without interpretation, and the interpretative report, which converts the evidence into foundation recommendations a structural engineer can carry into design.

Separating the two matters. The factual record must remain a permanent, auditable account of ground conditions as encountered, independent of any design assumption made later. The interpretative report then states its assumptions explicitly, so a reviewer can trace every recommendation back to the data behind it.

On phased developments, reporting is issued parcel by parcel or alignment by alignment to match the client's design programme — as it was across the Ras El-Hekma masterplan — rather than held back for a single delivery at the end of the campaign.

Large-scale Egyptian development supported by Horema geotechnical reporting and foundation recommendations

Methods & standards

Test methods and the standards they follow

Factual reporting

BS 5930 · ASTM D5434

Borehole logs, sample registers, in-situ test records, groundwater observations and laboratory certificates presented as an auditable record of ground conditions as encountered, with location plans and levels.

Allowable bearing capacity

Terzaghi, Meyerhof & Vesić bearing capacity theory

Net allowable bearing pressure for shallow foundations derived from strength parameters and SPT correlations, presented across founding depths and footing widths with the governing criterion — shear failure or settlement — identified.

Settlement analysis

Elastic and consolidation settlement methods

Immediate and consolidation settlement estimates from laboratory compressibility parameters, with time-rate assessment where soft compressible horizons control the design.

Pile design parameters

ASTM D1143 correlation basis · static capacity methods

Skin friction and end bearing parameters by stratum for bored and driven piles, with recommended founding levels, negative skin friction where fill or soft ground is present, and group considerations.

Excavation, dewatering & earth pressure

Rankine and Coulomb earth pressure theory

Recommended side slopes or support requirements, groundwater drawdown implications, and active, passive and at-rest earth pressure coefficients for retaining and basement structures.

Durability & concrete specification advice

BS 8500 exposure classes · chemical test results

Interpretation of sulphate, chloride and pH results into concrete exposure classification, cement type and protective measures for foundations and buried services.

Seismic site classification

Egyptian Code ECP 201 · IBC / ASCE 7 site classes

Site class assignment from the measured stiffness profile, supporting the seismic design parameters used in structural analysis.

Where it applies

Typical applications

Foundation option studies at concept and detailed design stage
Tender and construction documentation packages
Phased masterplan development, reported parcel by parcel
Transit alignments reported pier by pier
Third-party design review and verification support
Durability specification for aggressive ground

What you receive

Deliverables

Factual report with logs, test records and location plans
Interpretative report with stated assumptions and design parameters
Allowable bearing capacity tables across depths and footing widths
Settlement estimates with governing horizons identified
Pile capacity parameters by stratum and recommended founding levels
Excavation, dewatering and earth pressure guidance
AGS format digital data alongside the conventional report

Common questions

What engineers ask us about geotechnical reporting

What is the difference between a factual and an interpretative geotechnical report?

A factual report records what was found — borehole logs, sample details, in-situ test results, groundwater readings and laboratory certificates — with no design interpretation. An interpretative report takes that evidence and derives design guidance: allowable bearing capacities, settlement estimates, pile parameters and excavation recommendations, with the assumptions behind each stated openly.

What does a foundation recommendation include?

Typically the recommended foundation type, founding depth or level, net allowable bearing pressure or pile capacity parameters, expected settlement, groundwater and dewatering implications, excavation guidance, and concrete durability requirements based on the measured soil and groundwater chemistry.

Can borehole data be delivered in AGS format?

Yes. Field and laboratory records are held in structured digital form and can be issued in AGS format — including AGS 4.1 — alongside conventional reports, so data loads directly into client GIS, CAD and geotechnical software rather than being re-keyed from PDFs.

How quickly are reports issued?

Reporting is programmed with the field and laboratory work rather than after it. On phased projects, packages are issued parcel by parcel to match the design programme; on fast-track campaigns such as the Million Housing Units programme, full recommendations followed field completion within an overall six-week delivery.

Where we have done it