When you begin a new paving project, you never know what the ground underneath has in store for you. Often times, people will come across highly unsteady soil conditions, bringing their work to a sudden halt. After all, you cannot properly pave over soil that is in poor or unstable condition. For paving, you want optimal ground reinforcement for best results. If your soil conditions are holding you back from making paving renovations or improvements, continue reading to learn some helpful trouble-shooting tips for treating and preventing soil instability.

What Causes Unstable Soil?

There are three common causes for soil instability: poor compaction, organics, and general composition. Let’s start with the presence of organics. When plants, dead insects, and living organisms within topsoil decay and break down, the soil becomes increasingly unstable. As for compaction, soil compaction is a top requirement for proper ground reinforcement.

However, soil can lose compaction as a result of a long list of potential facts, such as flooding, improper construction, poor water drainage, and more. When it comes to general composition, it plays a large role in how well soil can hold up against a topping of pavement. You see, soil maintains certain pH levels, and requires a healthy balance of air, water, and minerals. Without a proper balance, the soil will become exponentially unstable.

How to Stabilize Soil

To prevent soil instability, it is important to have your property inspected by professional Indianapolis paving contractors who understand the proper methods and techniques of laying pavement in unstable conditions. They can assess the current condition of your soil stability, and make modifications to improve it if you choose to move forward with work.

To treat soil instability, there are a few methods you can try:

➲ Use drainage tiles to rid excess water and moisture from your soil.
➲ Turn and till your soil routinely to promote drying.
➲ Excavate into the sub-grade and replace poor soil with good soil.
➲ Bridge the unstable soils with a suitable base material.
➲ Install a geo-grid (reinforcing grid).
➲ Change the chemical composition through chemical stabilization.
➲ Implement foamed asphalt injections.

Where to Get Trusted Commercial Paving Advice in Indianapolis

Call ACI Asphalt and Concrete at 317-549-1833 for commercial and industrial paving in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our licensed and qualified paving contractors provide several Indianapolis asphalt and concrete paving services, including pavement repair, sealcoating, road work, commercial paving, industrial paving, winter cold patching, and more. We are the industry veterans to trust for skilled craftsmanship and competitive prices! Request a free estimate, today.