Eastmans Green is a residential subdivision of some 70 lots in the Launceston suburb of Newstead, northern Tasmania. The developer is Ecoast Homes Pty Ltd, based at St. Helens on Tasmania’s east coast.
I was commissioned by Ecoast Homes to conduct detailed geotechnical investigations of the proposed Newstead subdivision. The resulting 2009 geotechnical report (also available in 5 individual pdfs at the top of this page) was followed by my 2011 addendum report describing geotechnical drilling on the subdivision. Both reports have been freely available on Ecoast Homes’ website for several years.
More recently, as lots go on the market, Ecoast Homes asked me to do site-specific investigations, and provide individual AS2870 soil test reports, for each of the 50 or so remaining lots. These freely-available reports are being uploaded to the Eastmans Green website as they become available.
See an example of my Eastmans Green soil test reports. Each of these is accompanied by separate geotechnical notes describing conditions on the subdivision as a whole. For each individual lot, the two should be read together.
I have firm views on how AS2870 soil test reports should be done. Ecoast Homes has supported my approach. (See my Checklist for AS2870 site classification for classifiers and home owners.)
Making all the Eastmans Green geotechnical reports and soil tests publicly and freely available to everyone is “geotechnical transparency”. This approach by Ecoast Homes is a highly welcome innovation in residential subdivision in Tasmania, and I encourage consultants, local councils and other developers to participate in disseminating new geotechnical information to everyone. This enlightens all involved with the building industry, enhances the geotechnical database of the state, and improves the standard of geotechnical investigation and reporting.