Hamilton Drilling Corp provides geotechnical and environmental drilling and sampling, installation of specialty geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring well/piezometer installation. Whenever necessary HDC will partner with selected specialty firms in pursuit of projects with a uniquely complex field logistics and/or necessitating a very large and rapid deployment of resources to meet either stablished deadlines and objectives or cutting-edge technology requirements.

GEOTECHNICAL DRILLING & SAMPLING

We offer a variety of drilling methods including;

Hollow Stem Auger (HSA) Drilling Method is frequently used for geotechnical exploration. One reason they are used is that the method is considered a “dry” drilling method where drill fluids are not needed to advance the borehole in unstable formations. Often, hollow-stem augers are used with other sampling systems, such as split barrel penetration resistance testing, Test Method D1586, or thin-wall tube sampling. HSA may be used to advance a drill hole without sampling using a pilot bit assembly, or they may be equipped with a sampling system for obtaining soil cores. (ASTM D5161)

Rotary Wash Drilling Method advances a test hole by mechanical rotation of the drilling bit (e.g., blade, tricone, and/or coring bits), which is made of carbide, tungsten, casehardened steel, and diamonds. The bit cuts, chips, and grinds the material at the bottom of the hole into small particles. The cuttings are normally removed by pumping water or drilling fluid from a sump down through the drill rods and bit and up through the annular spacing into a settling pit and back to the sump. Rotary-drilling methods can advance test holes in a wide variety of materials, including hard rock. Rotary drilling is a practical method of advancing holes and obtaining undisturbed core samples from certain types of soil and rock materials. (USDA, National Engineering Handbook)

Limited access hollow stem and flight auger using the Big Beaver rig is ideally suited in areas inaccessible to truck-mounted units for drilling test wells, soil sampling and foundation repair.

MONITORING WELL/PIEZOMETER INSTALLATION

Consisting of PVC or Stainless steel casing, in a clustered, nested or spaced configuration, with professional surface completion.

GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENTATION & MONITORING

Consisting of inclinometer casing, down-hole wire-line piezometers, extensometers, and other downhole-instrumentation.