Services

Site classifications, soil tests and geotechnical reports

Seven reports that cover nearly every small job across NSW. A site classification, for small structures on simple ground, is a fixed fee from $690 + GST with an instant quote. Geotechnical, retaining wall, pool and investigation reports are for everything else and need a custom quote.

Site classification quote Geotechnical report quote

Which one do you need?

Site classification

Typical for small structures on simple ground. Fixed fee, instant quote.

A house, extension, second storey, granny flat, garage, shed or studio
A flat or gently sloping block, on ground with no known problems
No basement or deep excavation, no large retaining walls
Nobody has asked for a “geotechnical report” by name

Geotechnical report

For everything else. Custom quote from your address; not available as an instant quote.

A council DA or CC condition asks for a geotechnical report or assessment
A steep or sloping site, or a known landslide-risk area
A basement, deep excavation, shoring or piling
Retaining walls, a pool near a boundary, or building close to an existing structure
Fill, soft ground, rock, groundwater or otherwise complex geology
A duplex, townhouses, or anything bigger than a single house

Not sure which you have been asked for? Ask your architect, designer, structural engineer or certifier. Or send us the wording and we will tell you. Send the wording.

from $690 + GST

Site classification report (AS 2870)

The soil report for small structures on simple ground: a house, extension, granny flat or garage. Two boreholes, lab testing where needed, a signed AS 2870 classification.

Fixed fee for a standard residential site

What's included

from $690 + GST

Soil testing for building

Boreholes, in-situ tests and laboratory classification on your block, reported by an engineer so the numbers can actually be used in a design.

Fixed fee when the test is a standard classification; scoped tests are quoted

What's included

Quoted

Geotechnical report for a CDC or DA

For everything a classification does not cover: council conditions, steep sites, basements, retaining walls, complex ground. A CDC-suitable job is a fixed fee — double the site classification fee. A DA is a custom quote, because a council condition can ask for almost anything.

Fixed fee for a CDC job (double the site classification fee) — custom quote for a DA

What's included

Quoted

Small-site geotechnical investigation

For duplexes, townhouses, small commercial and difficult blocks: enough boreholes, testing and analysis to design the footings and excavation without surprises.

Custom quote from your address — not the fixed fee, not an instant quote

What's included

Quoted

Retaining wall geotechnical report

Soil parameters, founding conditions, surcharge and drainage advice so a retaining wall can be designed properly, and certified.

Custom quote from your address — not the fixed fee, not an instant quote

What's included

Quoted

Pool soil test and geotechnical report

Ground and groundwater conditions where the pool is going, so the shell and the excavation can be designed without surprises.

Custom quote from your address — not the fixed fee, not an instant quote

What's included

from $690 + GST

Granny flat site classification

The AS 2870 classification a secondary dwelling needs before the slab can be designed, priced the same as a house.

Fixed fee for a standard residential site

What's included

Sydney site classifications: 5 business days or free

Five business days, or the report is free

A site classification in Sydney is finished within five business days of you accepting the quote, or you don't pay for it. All we ask is that we can get onto the block.

Need it sooner? Three business days or less for $300 + GST.

What the guarantee assumes

It covers a standard site classification. Geotechnical reports, investigations and retaining-wall work are scoped site by site and get a timeframe with the quote instead.
The site is in the Sydney metropolitan area — the Sydney Metro zone on the pricing page. Other zones get a timeframe with the quote too.
The five business days run from when you accept the quote. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding NSW public holidays.
We can get onto the site. If access is not available on the day we book, or we are turned away, the clock pauses until we can drill.
The invoice is paid before the site visit, as it is on every job. Days an invoice is outstanding are not counted.
The scope is the one you accepted. If the ground turns out to need more holes, deeper holes or extra laboratory testing, we quote that first and the clock restarts when you accept it.
If we miss it, the report is free: we do not invoice it, and where it has already been paid we refund it.

The full wording is in the service terms.

Which report do I need?

Match what you have been asked for to the report that answers it

Builders, certifiers and councils use different words for the same thing. This table is the translation.

You have been asked for…	The report
A soil test for a new house, extension or garage	Site classification report (AS 2870)from $690 + GST
A site classification, soil class or 'AS 2870 report'	Site classification report (AS 2870)from $690 + GST
A soil report for a granny flat or secondary dwelling	Granny flat site classificationfrom $690 + GST
A geotechnical report as a DA or CC condition	Geotechnical report for a CDC or DACustom quote from your site address
Geotechnical parameters for a retaining wall	Retaining wall geotechnical reportCustom quote from your site address
A soil test for a pool	Pool soil test and geotechnical reportCustom quote from your site address
Bearing capacity for a footing or pier	Soil testing for buildingfrom $690 + GST
A geotechnical investigation for a duplex, townhouses or a basement	Small-site geotechnical investigationCustom quote from your site address

Contaminated land assessments, monitoring, pavement and infrastructure investigations are not offered under Ground Check. Those are a separate specialty; ask and we will point you towards a consultancy that does them.

Need a soil report? Start here.

Site classification (small structures, simple ground): check your postcode and accept the fixed fee online. Geotechnical report (steep sites, basements, walls, complex ground, council conditions): send the address and we quote it, usually the same day.

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote Request a Custom Quote

Five business days, or the report is free

A site classification in Sydney is finished within five business days of you accepting the quote, or you don't pay for it. All we ask is that we can get onto the block.

Need it sooner? Three business days or less for $300 + GST.

What the guarantee assumes

It covers a standard site classification. Geotechnical reports, investigations and retaining-wall work are scoped site by site and get a timeframe with the quote instead.
The site is in the Sydney metropolitan area — the Sydney Metro zone on the pricing page. Other zones get a timeframe with the quote too.
The five business days run from when you accept the quote. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding NSW public holidays.
We can get onto the site. If access is not available on the day we book, or we are turned away, the clock pauses until we can drill.
The invoice is paid before the site visit, as it is on every job. Days an invoice is outstanding are not counted.
The scope is the one you accepted. If the ground turns out to need more holes, deeper holes or extra laboratory testing, we quote that first and the clock restarts when you accept it.
If we miss it, the report is free: we do not invoice it, and where it has already been paid we refund it.