We’re just going to come out and say it – soil is not fun. We love what we do, it’s very rewarding to be able to go into the ground to help get construction projects off of it (a great tagline stolen from our sales and marketing coordinator Alex’s LinkedIn profile). But soil, and the classification of it, is not exciting.

How do you make ground conditions fun and/or relatable? You compare them to drinks of course! Below are just a few examples of how soil/ground types types compare to some of your favourite tipples down the local.

Bedrock – premium lager

Strong and dependable, not susceptible to being weakened by water. Must be level, or may get flattened.

Westminster Gravels – Champagne

Expensive, posh, and significantly stronger than you probably realise.

Assorted clays – craft beer

Really depends on the site, it can vary a lot geographically and whether it’s suitable is reliant on your requirements and how this specific one matches up to them.

Shale – Scrumpy

Common in the South-West, quite strong but can occasionally lead to breakdowns so caution must be exercised.

Silt – Jagermeister

It’s good to make up a part of your intake but you wouldn’t want to have a full glass/site of it.

London Clay – House lager

Remember pound a pint night as a student? It’s not great to start with but once you’re 6 deep (metres or pints) it considerably improves.

Alluvium – Alcohol Free Beer

Looks like the real thing at first glance but it’s weak as you like. Just have a coke.

Chalk – Milk

It’s rich in calcium but sometimes too soft, occasionally may require the addition of something stronger (eg. steel reinforced strip foundations, or vodka) to get the job done.

Made Ground – mystery pint

Your mate brings it back from the bar in an unbranded glass. It looks alright but you can’t be sure until you test it. You absolutely MUST check thoroughly for contaminants, even if the colour and consistency seem okay.

We’d love to hear any requests or suggestions you have for more – it doesn’t need to be a drink, have you ever had a site where the soil made you think of pork scratchings? Don’t forget, for an infinitely more scientific approach we can carry out thorough investigations of your site to help inform foundation design and a whole host of other factors – get in touch today and a member of our team can talk you through prices and lead times.