The assessment of subsurface conditions for placement of footings or pile foundations which will transfer load to the ground with limited settlement is termed Foundation Engineering. Where soil or rock do not have adequate capacity to support the structure under static or dynamic loads, it is necessary to provide ground improvement such as soil densification, grouting or reinforcement through anchorages or geosynthetics. Practicing in this field requires a multi-disciplinary knowledge of local geology, soil and rock mechanics, and the ability to use analytical and numerical methods. Limit States Design is used to account for load and resistance uncertainties, requiring an in-depth knowledge of probabilistic methods.

Thurber provides services related to:

• site investigation (drilling, coring, test pitting, field mapping, CPT)
• foundation design (piles, spread footings, rafts)
• LFRD and WSD
• bearing capacity and settlement analysis
• lateral earth pressures
• shoring and underpinning design
• seismic design and liquefaction assessment
• construction dewatering
• forensic assessments
• construction inspection (piles, footings, caissons)
• materials testing (soils, rock, concrete, asphalt)