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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.

Yes. In most cases we can suggest what is normally specified once we understand the works, the material and the stage you are at. The requirement itself comes from whoever needs the evidence, usually the designer, building control, a warranty provider or the main contractor's quality plan, so confirm the method with them before testing is booked. Send us what you have been asked to provide and we will set out the options.

We work for private customers as well as contractors. Most domestic enquiries come from people who have been asked for a CBR or plate bearing result for a driveway, a garage base, a new hardstanding or an extension, usually by building control, an engineer or a warranty provider. The report is issued in your name and we are happy to talk the result through once you have it. Vehicle access and a clear test position are the main site requirements.

We need access to each test position with a vehicle, the position prepared and clear of loose material, and a safe working area around it for the duration of the test. Some methods need a reaction load, most often a loaded vehicle, excavator or similar plant provided by the site, which we confirm when the test is booked. On the highway or in trafficked areas, tell us who is arranging traffic management and any permits.

We can supply a risk assessment and method statement for the work, along with our CHAS certification through an SSIP approved scheme. Insurance details are available on request. Send any site-specific requirements with the booking, including induction arrangements, permit to dig or permit to work systems, PPE standards and welfare provision, so the paperwork is agreed before the technician arrives rather than at the gate.

Small excavations and core holes are backfilled or reinstated as agreed before the work starts. In-situ CBR and density testing usually leave a small hole in the layer being tested, and diamond coring leaves a clean opening, so tell us in advance if a particular standard of reinstatement is needed, for example in a finished slab, a trafficked surface or a private driveway. Spoil arisings normally stay on site unless you ask otherwise.

If conditions make a test unsafe or unrepresentative we will say so before starting, rather than produce a result that cannot be relied on. Standing water, saturated or frozen ground, an unfinished layer and blocked access are the usual reasons, and most can be spotted the day before with a quick call. We will rearrange the visit, though an aborted visit and standby time on site are chargeable, so it is worth confirming that the position will be ready.

Yes, provided the sampling method, quantity and containers suit the tests you need. Confirm the requirement with us before you collect the material, because an undersized or poorly protected sample often cannot be tested to the method. Label every sample clearly with a unique reference, the location or chainage, the depth and the date taken, and send the test schedule with the delivery so nothing has to be chased later.

Samples and tested specimens are held for an agreed period after the report is issued and then disposed of. If you need material retained for longer, for a possible retest, a dispute or a client audit, tell us when the work is booked and we will arrange it. Some tests consume or destroy the specimen, so retention is only possible where material is left over, and contaminated material is subject to its own disposal requirements.

A report identifies the site and the client, the sample or test position references, the dates of sampling and testing, the method used, the results and the accreditation status of each result, together with any deviations from the specified method. Reports are normally issued as a PDF by email, signed by an authorised signatory. Tell us at booking if your project needs a particular layout, job number or distribution list.

A report can be reissued where there is a factual error such as a wrong reference, location or date, and the amended version is clearly identified as replacing the original. A measured result is not changed because it is unwelcome. If a result is disputed, we can review the records for that test, retest where suitable material or an equivalent position is still available, and set out what a retest can and cannot tell you.

Ask us to confirm the accreditation status of the specific method before you book, or look up laboratory number 8996 on the UKAS website and read the schedule for yourself. The schedule lists the exact methods, materials and locations covered, and site and laboratory activities can carry different entries. Where the testing you need sits outside that scope we will tell you, and agree whether it is subcontracted to an accredited laboratory or reported as non-accredited.

Call 01908 505833 or your regional number, or send the enquiry form, and we will confirm availability, the method and the price before anything is booked. Same-day and next-day testing dates are available in many areas, though there is no single lead time for every service: laboratory work with conditioning or curing, larger programmes and out-of-hours visits need more notice. A date is held once the quotation is accepted and access is confirmed.