Are you building a custom-designed home on hand picked acreage? An essential step is testing the soil, which will determine the composition of the ground that must provide a stable foundation for your new home.

The soil could have a combination of various conditions and characteristics. It might be fine, silt-laden soil that collapses when it absorbs excessive water, or soil with a high clay content that sucks up water and then expands under a building, causing it to buckle or shift. Such soil is easy to excavate but unstable to build on. It must be replaced in compacted layers until it achieves suitable density to provide a stable foundation for the house.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, your land might sit on a layer of hard rock, which is wonderfully stable, but extremely hard to penetrate. Excavation costs will be higher if your builder has to bring in heavy equipment to dig out the rock. A professional soil report will help your builder determine the best approach to engineering your site.