When and to what extent should a soil survey be conducted?

Hello everyone,

I am taking over a plot of land from my parents and am now wondering if I can already have the soil survey conducted. There was a building on the plot until about half a year ago, which was built around 1900 and has been demolished. The new one is supposed to be built in almost the same location (slightly larger, basically extended in all directions by 1-2 meters).

However, I currently have no plans where exactly the official and approved corner points for the house will be. Does it still make sense to have the soil survey done at the approximate corner points? And to what extent should the soil survey be carried out? There are price differences of about 1000 - 2500 €.

Thanks. Best regards

Did the old building have a basement and do you want a basement? Otherwise, I don’t understand why you need a soil survey. We didn’t have one done at all because the municipality near us had already drilled and all the neighbors also built basements without any problems. We had offers starting from just under €1000 and personally, I would never pay much more, unless for some reason it is a problematic area.

If it's already your property and you want to build there anyway - you basically have to take whatever comes out of it.

I think it makes more sense if you are still considering whether to buy the property or not.

We had one done before the property was purchased because the soil is structured differently and we couldn't afford several tens of thousands of euros more for earthworks.
We paid just under 500€, but that also varies greatly depending on the region.

How well do you know the requirements of the various authorities in the area/in the district? I am of the opinion that it might be better to wait a little longer to know exactly the scope the soil survey must have. Sometimes an additional hydrological survey or an infiltration test is required. It becomes more cost-effective if you commission everything at once.

Alternatively, you can already check on the various websites of the offices (possibly also [Umweltamt]) to see the scope the soil survey must have and what is absolutely necessary.

Although it might only be a matter of a few hundred euros more or less anyway.

Do you really mean a soil contamination report? Like where the soil is tested for its chemical contamination (important if you want to have excavation waste disposed of) Or do you mean a geotechnical report, where the soil is tested for its load-bearing capacity and a foundation recommendation for a possible new building is provided? (if you want to build there, definitely do it, I hardly believe any reputable construction company would start without it...).