The three soil borings taken at the Austin, TX, church were located in a grassy area with flower beds, utilities, and drain lines. The Field Crew used a Macro-Core® soil sampler to retrieve samples and information for construction of the church’s new worship center.

GeoTest Services of San Antonio, TX, took delivery of a new Geoprobe® Model 54LT on December 28, and on the very next day put the machine to work at the Covenant Church in Austin.

The project called for three soil borings to be taken at the church in a limited access area where a new worship center is planned. However, the courtyard area, which is the proposed construction site, is a quadrangle of buildings on three sides and a retaining wall on the fourth, which clearly limited the type of machine coming in to do the work. The job had to be scheduled around the holidays so not to

The GeoTest Field Crew used a carbide-tipped drill bit and drill steel under the Model 54LT to break through the concrete to obtain one of the soil samples.

disrupt the live Christmas Nativity held in the courtyard with children, goats, sheep, and the Baby Jesus just a day or two before!

An Austin engineering firm called on GeoTest Services to do the work. Since the only access to the courtyard was an ADA handicap ramp, Raymond Meinhardt, machine operator, carefully maneuvered the brand new 54LT around the site.

Three soil borings were taken in very stiff expansive clay soils to a depth of 22 ft. using the closed-piston Macro-Core® sampler. Paul Wolf, owner of GeoTest, liked what he saw. “We were extremely impressed,” Paul stated, “with the ease and speed with which the samples were obtained.” The lab technicians were also impressed with the MC liners and the quality of the samples. John Brenneman, Geoprobe® Customer Service, who was there to deliver the machine and train the GeoTest field crew, knew GeoTest had the right machine for the project after he arrived at the church. “They maybe could have squeezed a 54DT onto the site,” John said, “but getting it down the sidewalk between the railings ... . The LT was the perfect machine for this job.”

“Purchasing the Model 54LT has provided new and better ways for us to obtain soil samples,” Paul added, “even at the most remote and limited access sites. “ According to Raymond, the 54LT proved itself so efficient that after the samples were dropped off at the clients’ office in Austin, “we drove back to San Antonio and were home in time for dinner!”

	Raymond Meinhardt, GeoTest Field Technician, gained access to the project site by driving the Geoprobe 54LT on the elevated ADA handicap ramp to the church's enclosed courtyard area. He successfully guided the Model 54LT into the senstive work area, took the soil samples, and drove out of the work area without disturbing a single flower in the beds!

GeoTest Services specializes in limited access soil sampling in San Antonio and the surrounding areas.