Besant Hill School – Geotechnical Services

Besant Hill School was impacted by the Thomas Fire (December 2017) which destroyed faculty housing, a maintenance facility, and other structures on the campus. As part of the reconstruction effort, Padre was retained to provide the following services:

• Perform geotechnical studies to evaluate subsurface conditions for one bridge abutment and development of the proposed building reconstruction sites;
• Prepare reports presenting findings from field and laboratory results and recommendations for the design and construction of mitigation measures for the bridge abutment and for site grading, retaining walls, and building foundations;
• Perform and evaluate percolation rates at the site; and
• Provide engineering design of onsite wastewater disposal systems for the faculty residences, ceramics studio, and maintenance building.

The subsurface condition evaluation conducted by Padre included the advancement of drill holes using a hollow-stem auger, collection of relatively undisturbed soil samples, geologic logging of soil samples and drill cuttings encountered, and laboratory testing of selected soil samples for classification, strength, compressibility, expansion, and corrosion. Padre evaluated the data obtained from the efforts outlined above and prepared a geotechnical report for the design and construction of projects which included findings and recommendations.  

Padre also conducted percolation testing in both drill holes and backhoe test pits, and preliminary seepage pit tests in an effort to identify suitable disposal areas for the proposed onsite wastewater systems. Padre is currently working with the client to develop the onsite wastewater disposal systems for the proposed structures.