“Soil Compaction” is the the practice of applying mechanical compactive pressure to increase the density of the soil. This removes void spaces between particles and is a an important part of the construction process weither it be underground plumbing work or building a home.
Most of our projects require some digging. Whenever we dig, we eventaully need to backfill. Backfill is the process of returning material to the hole. As we backfill, we usually compact the returned material in layers so that the end result is a solid surface that can be used in the same manner as before we dug.
The level of compaction will depend on the project and what the ground will be used for. A leach field line, part of a septic tank system, will get no compaction as its purpose is to drain water into the surrounding soil. Ground that a property owner wants to be buildable upon will get a high level of compaction and an engineer’s test to ensure the required compaction level was met.