Our Services

GarBia Group offers technical services ranging from geotechnical engineering, sub-surface soil exploration, laboratory testing, and micro-piling for foundations, in support to engineering design of residential and institutional buildings, roads, and government infrastructures.

Geotechnical Engineering & Site Investigation — illustrative photo

Geotechnical Engineering & Site Investigation

  • Site Assessment
  • Soil Exploration
    • SPT / Coring
    • Test Pit
  • Geotechnical Testing
  • Detailed Geotechnical Reports
    • Laboratory Analysis
    • Liquefaction Analysis
    • Foundation Design Recommendation
  • Micropiling / Bored Piling Works
  • Jet Grouting / Cement Grouting Works
Soil Laboratory Testing — illustrative photo

Soil Laboratory Testing

  • Soil Sample Analysis
  • Moisture Content Testing
  • Specific Gravity Testing
  • Atterberg Limit Testing
  • Grain Size Distribution
  • Consolidation Test
  • Field Density Test
  • Maximum Dry Density Test
  • California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test
  • Los Angeles Abrasion Test
  • Permeability Testing
  • Unconfined Compression Test

What each service covers

A short guide to the geotechnical and construction services GarBia Group provides, what each one solves, and where it typically applies. If you are unsure which you need, describe the site and we will advise.

Site Assessment

Desk study and site reconnaissance that establish ground conditions, access, and the scope of investigation a project needs before drilling begins.

What it involves
A desk review of available geological and project information, followed by a walkover of the site. This establishes access for rigs, proximity of existing structures and services, surface conditions and any signs of past fill or instability — and from that, how many boreholes or test pits the investigation needs and how deep they should go.
Problem it addresses
Committing to a drilling programme before anyone has looked at the ground, access, or nearby structures.
Where it applies
All project types, before an investigation scope is agreed.

Soil Investigation & Sub-Surface Exploration

Standard Penetration Testing (SPT), coring, and test pits to recover samples and record sub-surface profiles for foundation and structural design.

What it involves
Boreholes advanced with Standard Penetration Testing to ASTM D1586, where a split-spoon sampler is driven by a 63.5 kg hammer falling 760 mm and the blows per 150 mm increment are logged as the N-value. Coring recovers continuous samples through rock or stiff strata; test pits expose shallow profiles directly. The output is a logged soil profile, the groundwater level, and samples recovered for laboratory testing.
Problem it addresses
Designing a foundation without knowing what the soil below it can actually carry.
Where it applies
Residential and institutional buildings, roads, and government infrastructure.

Geotechnical Testing

In-situ and laboratory testing of recovered soil samples to establish strength, classification, and settlement behaviour.

What it involves
In-situ measurements taken during drilling, combined with laboratory work on the recovered samples, to put numbers against each layer: density and consistency, shear strength, compressibility, and classification. These are the values the structural designer's bearing-capacity and settlement calculations are built on.
Problem it addresses
Sample descriptions alone cannot tell you strength, classification, or how much a layer will settle under load.
Where it applies
Any project where foundation loads must be justified numerically.

Detailed Geotechnical Reports

Laboratory analysis, liquefaction analysis, and foundation design recommendations issued as a geotechnical report for the design team.

What it involves
Borehole logs and the interpreted soil profile, groundwater conditions, laboratory results, and liquefaction analysis where saturated loose sands are present — carried through to foundation design recommendations: the recommended foundation type, founding depth, and allowable bearing or pile capacity.
Problem it addresses
Raw borehole and laboratory data that the structural designer still has to interpret.
Where it applies
Permit submissions and structural design that need a signed geotechnical basis.

Micropiling & Bored Piling Works

Deep foundation works for sites where shallow soils cannot carry the design load, including restricted-access and existing-structure conditions.

What it involves
Small-diameter drilled and grouted piles, reinforced to carry high loads relative to their size. Because the rigs are compact, they reach restricted-access and low-headroom locations that a full-size piling rig cannot — which also makes them the usual choice for underpinning and for work next to or beneath structures that must stay in service.
Problem it addresses
Shallow soils that cannot carry the design load, or sites too tight for conventional piling rigs.
Where it applies
Soft ground, sloping sites, and works alongside existing structures.

Jet Grouting & Cement Grouting Works

Ground improvement by grout injection to increase bearing capacity, reduce permeability, and stabilise weak or loose ground.

What it involves
Cement grouting injects grout into voids, fissures, and loose material to bind it and cut permeability. Jet grouting goes further, using a high-pressure jet to erode and mix the soil with grout into engineered soil-cement columns. Which one suits a site depends on whether the ground will accept grout by injection alone.
Problem it addresses
Loose or permeable ground that needs improving in place rather than being replaced.
Where it applies
Bearing capacity improvement, seepage control, and stabilising weak ground.

Soil Laboratory Testing

Moisture content, specific gravity, Atterberg limits, grain size distribution, consolidation, field density, maximum dry density, CBR, Los Angeles abrasion, permeability, and unconfined compression testing.

What it involves
Index and classification tests — moisture content, specific gravity, Atterberg limits to ASTM D4318, and grain size distribution — establish what the material is. Consolidation (ASTM D2435), unconfined compression, and permeability testing establish how it behaves under load and water. Field density, maximum dry density, CBR (ASTM D1883), and Los Angeles abrasion cover compaction control and pavement work.
Problem it addresses
Material properties that have to be measured to a recognised standard to be accepted.
Where it applies
Testing follows ASTM standards and specifications in our own laboratory.

How an engagement runs

  1. Tell us the location, structure type, and programme — by email or phone.
  2. We assess the site and agree the investigation scope and number of boreholes or test pits.
  3. Field work: SPT, coring, or test pits, with samples recovered for testing.
  4. Laboratory testing of the recovered samples to ASTM methods.
  5. A detailed geotechnical report, including foundation design recommendations, is issued to your design team.
  6. Where required, we carry out the foundation works themselves — micropiling, bored piling, or grouting.

Ready to start? Request a quote, email inquiries@garbiagroup.com, or call +63 (02) 8280-1763. You can also see completed projects or visit our Cainta office.

Geotechnical Services FAQs

Learn about site investigation, deep foundations, and how GarBia supports your project.