Southern Engineering provides construction materials testing and special inspection services.  Our attentive and responsive client service, along with our qualified and experienced engineers and engineering technicians, provides reliable and practical solutions for your project.  We understand our clients needs and we develop a sensible scope for testing.   Our service bolsters confidence in the contractor’s product and provides assurance that the designers’ intent is achieved.  We help contractors complete their jobs right, the first time, saving time, money and headaches.  

Southern Engineering services a wide-variety of projects.  Our services can be provided on periodic (call-out) basis or continuous (full-time) basis.  Principal involvement ensures that projects progress effectively and minimizes contractor delays waiting on recommendations and decisions in the field.  Our field reporting utilizes hand-held smartphones and PC tablets that upload data continuously to cloud-based secure storage that is reviewed by a professional engineer and released for project email distribution, normally in less than 24 hours. 

Southern Engineering maintains complete facilities and equipment for observations and testing of soils and foundations, concrete, pavements, masonry, structural, metals and specialty areas.  Our full service soil and concrete testing laboratory is located in Charlotte, NC.  Typical laboratory turn-around times are less than one to two days for most tests.  

Soils & Foundations

  • Soil density and compaction testing
  • Earthwork observations
  • Proofrolling observations
  • Structural fill and backfill
  • Soil classification
  • Foundation bearing capacity
  • Soil stabilization with lime and cement
  • Laboratory testing and analysis
  • Field testing, observation and control
  • Grout stabilization observations
  • Deep foundations testing and observations
  • Reinforced earth construction
  • Retaining wall construction observations
  • Foundation and wall drainage
  • Foundation load testing
  • Storm and sanitary sewer line installation observations

Concrete

  • Strength testing compressive, flexural and split tensile
  • Field testing and observation, slump, temperature, air content
  • Concrete test specimen fabrication and curing
  • Reinforcement placement observation
  • Cement physical and chemical testing
  • Concrete formwork observations
  • Shoring and re-shoring observations
  • Cold weather temperature monitoring
  • In-situ strength evaluation, Windsor probe & impact hammer methods
  • Petrographic analysis
  • Corrosion studies, half-cell potential surveys
  • Rebar location, magnetic induction and GPR methods
  • Pre-stressed and precast concrete testing and observation
  • Aggregate unit weight and gradation
  • Concrete coring and sampling

Pavements

  • Pavement thickness design services, rigid and flexible pavements
  • Aggregate base course thickness and density testing
  • Geotextile and geogrid stabilization
  • Aggregate stabilization
  • Asphalt thickness, specific gravity and compaction
  • Laboratory testing of hot-mix asphalt
  • Field testing and observation
  • Concrete pavement testing and observation
  • Concrete curb and gutter testing
  • Pavement evaluation and failure observation
  • Pavement underdrains

Masonry

  • Masonry construction observation
  • Concrete masonry unit testing
  • Mortar testing & observations
  • Grout testing & observations
  • Masonry prisms
  • Reinforcing steel placement observation
  • Thermal imaging studies
  • Efflorescence and salt deposits
  • EIFS observations

Structural

  • Reinforcing steel observation
  • Post-tensioning installation, calibration and observations
  • Fireproofing thickness, density and adhesion/cohesion
  • Wood, engineered wood and timber framing observations
  • Light gauge metal and metal-stud framing observations
  • Load testing services
  • Concrete pull-out testing
  • Threshold inspections

Metals

  • Structural steel fabrication observation & certification
  • Structural steel field erection observation
  • Bolt tightness and torque
  • Column plumbness
  • Weld visual examination
  • Nondestructive examination
  • X-ray examination
  • Laboratory testing
  • Steel coupon testing
  • Field welding inspection

Specialty

  • Floor flatness profiling
  • Vibration monitoring
  • Load tests
  • Failure surveys
  • Pre-construction and existing conditions surveys
  • Earthwork and specialty geotechnical system specifications
  • Monitoring of waterproofing application
  • Concrete corrosion testing
  • EIFS construction observation