Mar 21 2005
A new book, 'Geotechnics for building professionals', provides geotechnical engineering guidance for non-specialists - particularly those needing to make decisions about foundations.
It simplifies this complex topic by bringing together years of published guidance from experts at BRE into a single, unified format and approach. Foundations affect how the main structure of a building behaves and can be a major factor in determining its long term performance.
'Lack of attention to foundation design and construction can have undesirable and expensive consequences', says the new book's author Andrew Charles. 'But decisions about foundations for low-rise buildings are often made by people with a relatively limited understanding of the engineering of the ground'. 'Geotechnics for building professionals' has been written for such people - and their professional advisors - who may include architects, surveyors, loss adjusters, planners, insurance underwriters and property developers.
The new guidance will give building professionals a better understanding of the most important elements of geotechnics. It will enable them to ask the geotechnical specialist informed questions, and to have greater confidence in the answers they receive. As well as giving an overview of ground behaviour and geotechnics, the publication focuses principally on shallow foundations for low-rise buildings - an area that is often overlooked - and discusses the physical and chemical hazards of building on brownfield sites in simple terms.
It also gives guidance on the various solutions offered by geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering.
'Geotechnics for building professionals' can be purchased at www.brebookshop.com or by contacting BRE Bookshop, Tel: 01344 404407, Email: [email protected]