Site Testing Services (Nationwide) Limited offers a number of site investigation services, including construction materials testing services. Construction testing is used to ensure that structural materials to be used in construction projects will safely support the buildings and comply with the full range of European standards.
This is essential, not only to ensure compliance to construction industry standards, but also to ensure the quality, safety and longevity of the buildings. Construction materials testing helps to reassure clients and stakeholders of the quality of their materials and the safety of their investment.
Construction materials testing is a thorough inspection of the construction materials in projects, before they are implemented to support the buildings. This is imperative to avoiding safety breaches, accidents and damage to property.
The materials testing process involves sampling some of the construction materials to be used in the project, such as steel, concrete, asphalt, soil, natural and recycled aggregates.
Testing is then conducted on the materials, including chemical analysis, soil testing, asphalt testing, durability, compaction and strength testing. Inspection and testing ensures that your business is using high-quality materials that are fit for purpose.
Contact usConstruction materials testing services are crucial in helping construction companies, insurance companies and property owners avoid unwanted incidents, safely complete the project and ensure project compliance with relevant regulations.
Here is the comprehensive range of testing solutions that we offer at STS:
Our certification and reporting service is used to assess the quality and safety of concrete, steel and any other materials used in construction projects. Following the inspection and testing, our team will produce a report offering an evaluation of the mechanical properties of the material selection.
The team will award a certificate to verify that their tests on the material selection indicate that the materials for the project are of suitable quality and integrity. This can then be presented to insurance companies and stakeholders as proof of material quality.
At STS, our team of geotechnical and structural engineers have decades of expertise in materials testing, inspection and evaluation. As a result, we can confidently assure our clients that all materials testing is carried out according to the highest standards.
To benefit from the support of our full range of materials testing services throughout your project, take advantage of our monitoring and quality assurance systems. Our team will remain on site to support your projects with material selection and testing to ensure the quality of all materials used.
Thorough tests and inspection will be carried out wherever necessary to offer assurance of the quality of all building material. You’ll have full access to our material testing facilities and the expertise of our veteran team.
Contact usThere are five primary categories of materials testing. These include mechanical testing (the most common in construction); thermal testing; corrosion, radiation, and biological deterioration resistance testing; testing for electrical properties; and non-destructive testing.
There are a number of methods used by materials testing services, which vary greatly depending on the material in question. Concrete, steel, asphalt and soil all have vastly different ways of testing for strength and durability. Generally speaking however, a combination of lab and field testing is used to measure material properties including its resistance to compression, fatigue, impact, bending, shear and tensile force. This will indicate how suitable the materials are for the projects in question.
An incredibly wide range of testing is carried out in the construction industry, however most testing can be narrowed down to test material properties such as strength, compaction, penetration, elasticity, shear, tensile, bending, compression, fatigue and impact resistance.
Material testing uses a number of field tests to determine the quality and strength of building materials. These include compaction and density testing, concrete slump tests and the asphalt test.
Compaction and density testing is done by gradually increasing the water content of a soil sample and testing its compaction and density at each interval using a proctor hammer or mechanical soil compactor.
Concrete slump tests are completed by pouring the concrete mix in to a conical mould until filled. The cone is then removed and the slump measured – this is the reduction in the top level of the concrete. This test is imperative to ensuring foundation quality and avoiding concrete cracking wherever possible.
Finally, asphalt testing includes multiple steps to measure asphalt density, viscosity, ductility, strength, volatility and resistance. Inspection of asphalt is a lengthy process but is crucial to determining the properties of the asphalt and whether it is fit for purpose.