Construction materials testing across England & Wales. Reported the same day.

We provide on-site and laboratory testing for soils, aggregates and concrete. Services include plate bearing and CBR testing, compaction testing, soil classification, aggregate testing, concrete cube testing and diamond coring. Tell us what your project specification requires and we’ll help identify the relevant service.

Yes, in most cases. Hixtra works across England and Wales through eight regional contact routes, with testing coordinated centrally. Send us your site postcode, the tests you need and your preferred dates, and we will confirm access, availability and the arrangements for your project.

The right method depends on the material, project specification and information your designer requires. Plate bearing testing measures load and settlement; direct CBR testing and laboratory CBR testing are different methods. LWD and DCP testing also have distinct applications. Share your specification with us before booking.

Hixtra holds UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for the tests listed in its schedule of accreditation, number 8996. Accreditation is specific to the listed methods and scope. Ask us to confirm whether the test you need is covered.

Please provide your name and contact details, site postcode, the tests or materials involved, approximate quantities and preferred dates. A project specification or testing schedule helps us understand the requirements. You can select more than one service in the enquiry form.

Availability and reporting times depend on your location, the test method and the number of samples. Some laboratory tests require conditioning or curing, so there is no single turnaround time for every service. Tell us your programme and we’ll confirm the relevant timescales before you book.

Most of our work is for main contractors, groundworkers and civil engineering contractors, together with consulting engineers, developers and house builders. Projects range from housing and commercial developments to highways, industrial slabs, earthworks and geotechnical schemes. The common thread is a specification, a designer or a building control officer asking for measured evidence about the ground, the fill or the concrete.

We are a materials testing company, so we carry out the testing and sampling rather than a full intrusive ground investigation. We support site investigations with field and laboratory testing, including soil classification, compaction and strength measurements. If your project needs boreholes, trial pit logging and a factual ground investigation report, that is usually a separate appointment, and we can tell you which parts of the schedule we cover.

Yes. We regularly carry out single-visit testing for driveways, extensions and small developments, as well as programmes that run for the length of a major contract. The arrangements are the same at either scale: we agree the method, access and reporting before the visit. Travel and the number of test positions affect the cost, so grouping positions into one visit usually helps.

Yes. Send the specification or testing schedule and we will work to the method it names, or tell you plainly if it sits outside what we offer. Specifications vary, so it is worth flagging the clause or schedule reference rather than the test name alone, particularly where a method has options such as test age, plate size or moisture condition. The report states the method used and any deviations from it.

Yes. Most of our testing is done on live sites, working around groundworks, plant movements and other trades. We need the test positions available and safe at the agreed time, with a clear working area around each one and somewhere to park close by. Where a position is only free at a particular point in the programme, tell us when you book so the visit lands at the right moment.

We can carry out the sampling ourselves, or test material that you have sampled and sent in. Sampling and testing are separate operations, and a result is only as good as the sample it came from, so the method, container and quantity need to suit the tests being carried out. Call us before material is collected and we will confirm the quantity, container and labelling each test needs.

We report what was measured, and the result stands as recorded. A result below the specified value is not automatically a failure of the works: it may reflect the material, the moisture condition, the level tested or how recently the layer was placed, and the decision on what to do next belongs to your designer or engineer. Where remedial work is carried out, we can retest the same positions once it is complete.

Yes, evening, night and weekend attendance can be arranged where the programme requires it, for example a night pour, a weekend possession or a road closure. It needs more notice than a weekday visit because it depends on technician availability in your area, and out-of-hours working is a cost factor we will set out in the quotation. Tell us the window you need when you enquire on 01908 505833.