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Tuscaloosa, Alabama

We are proud to serve West Alabama through our Tuscaloosa location. Our Tuscaloosa office is led by Robert Adams, P.E., a seasoned professional with more than 35 years of experience as a geotechnical engineer. Mr. Adams is one of the original founding partners at Building & Earth and serves as the Principal Materials Engineer and as a Senior Vice President.

Our Tuscaloosa team has an extensive knowledge of the area’s geology, enabling them to provide well-informed site knowledge to meet your project needs. We offer special inspection services to ensure compliance with International Building Code (IBC) requirements, such as floor flatness testing, StructureScan Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), thermal image scanning, and more. Our local team is experienced in performing the field work necessary to formulate the basis for our team of geotechnical engineers in Birmingham to provide analysis, and design recommendations specific to your site.

We would love to work with you—our team of professional engineers and CMT experts look forward to learning how we can help you build West Alabama. Visit our Services page to learn more about the solutions Building & Earth provides, and consider partnering with us—fill out our simple Request a Proposal form today.

What Tuscaloosa Has to Offer

Most well-known for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Tuscaloosa is a beautiful college town with a year-round population of almost 101,000. The University of Alabama draws thousands of students, alumni, tourists and sports fans to the city every year, but the town that surrounds the campus is charming in its own right. Tuscaloosa previously served as the state capitol of Alabama from 1826 to 1846.

The music and arts scene in Tuscaloosa is thriving. Students and residents congregate at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater regularly for open-air concerts, and each year Tuscaloosa is the host of both the Kentuck Art Festival and the Druid City Arts Festival. While you’re in town, make sure to stop in at one of the city’s many local restaurants and bars—especially fan favorites like Rama Jama’s, Nick’s in the Sticks, Gallette’s Bar and the world famous Dreamland BBQ. Don’t forget to visit one of Tuscaloosa’s multiple microbreweries for a taste of local beer, and stop by the Tuscaloosa River Market for fresh produce, artisan goods, and beautiful views of the Black Warrior River.

Interested in exploring a career with Building & Earth in Tuscaloosa? Visit our Careers page to see our job openings. Click the links below to find out why Tuscaloosa could be your next home:

What We Do

Construction Materials Testing

Building & Earth office provides a full range construction materials testing (CMT) services including Laboratory and Field Testing, Soil Testing, Asphalt Testing and Concrete Testing.

Field Testing

  • Compaction and Moisture Testing of Soil and Base
  • Foundation Observations
  • Concrete testing including Slump, Air Content, Compressive strength
  • Masonry Testing and Observation Services
  • Asphalt Testing Services

Soil Testing

  • Modified & Standard Proctor
  • Swell Testing of Plastic Soils
  • Classification Tests (Gradation/Atterberg Limit Tests)
  • California Bearing Ratio
  • Limerock Bearing Ratio

Asphalt Testing

  • Superpave Mix Evaluation
  • Stability & Flow
  • Marshall Density
  • Bulk Specific Gravity
  • Extraction/Gradation

Concrete Testing

  • Compressive Strength
  • Flexural Strength
  • Unit Weight
  • Mix Design
  • Splitting Tensile Test

Drilling and Coring Services

Our drilling and coring services team has vast knowledge of testing and evaluating subsurface conditions and materials.

  • Split Spoon and Shelby Tube Sampling
  • Rock Coring
  • Concrete Coring
  • Mineral Investigation
  • Borrow Pit Investigation
  • Well Monitoring
  • All-Terrain Drilling Capabilities

Environmental Services

To avoid the cost and stress of dealing with hazardous materials Building & Earth provides Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) as well as lead and asbestos surveys.

  • Geological Investigations
  • Site Selection Evaluation Studies
  • Phase I ESA
  • Phase II ESA
  • ESAs to comply with National Environmental Policy Act

Geotechnical Engineering Services

Our local team is experienced in performing the field work necessary to formulate the basis for our team of geotechnical engineers in Birmingham to provide analysis, and design recommendations specific to your site.

  • Geotechnical engineering
  • Geotechnical consulting
  • Geotechnical Engineers staffing
  • Subsurface exploration
  • Geophysical seismic site classification
  • Dynamic soils properties (seismic and cyclical)
  • Ground penetrating radar (GPR) studies
  • Site excavation planning including dewatering design
  • Engineering geology/geologic studies
  • Mechanically-stabilized earth fill design
  • Sinkhole exploration and remediation recommendations
  • Impoundment liner design
  • Field permeability testing
  • Field soil strength testing
  • Geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring

Inspection Services

We offer a broad array of special inspection services including: structured steel inspections, masonry inspections, coatings inspections, roofing inspections, pavement inspections and failure investigation and analysis.

Structural Steel Inspections

  • Certified Welding Inspectors
  • Audit of plant and field procedures to determine conformance
  • Destructive and nondestructive testing
  • Welder and procedure qualification
  • Prepare and evaluate welding procedures

Masonry Inspections

  • Reinforcing steel observation
  • Preparing and testing mortar and grout specimens
  • Concrete block, brick and masonry prism testing
  • Observation of conformance with construction documents
  • Absorption and Efflorescence

Coatings Inspections

  • Fireproofing-thickness, density, adhesion/cohesion
  • Intumescent Paint
  • Paint – wet and dry film thickness

Roofing Inspections

  • Roofing Inspectors
  • Evaluation of roofing materials and specifications
  • Application and conformance monitoring

Pavement Inspections

  • Pavement management services
  • Pavement Condition Surveys and tests for functional and structural distress

Failure Investigation and Analysis

  • Evaluate distress in architectural and structural materials
  • Provide litigation support and expert services

Special Services

  • Seismic Site Classification utilizing shear wave analysis (Re-Mi)
  • Non-invasive studies utililizing StructureScan/UtilityScan ground penetrating Radar (GPR)
  • Floor Flatness Profiling utilizing FACE Dipstick Device
  • Thermal Image Scanning utilizing FLIR
  • Slip Resistance Testing
  • Concrete Floor Gloss Testing (Static Coefficient of Friction)
  • Condition Survey of Structures