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Engineering Insights
Clear engineering thinking for the decisions that shape projects in New Zealand. Our team shares practical knowledge on ground risk, natural hazards, consenting, geotechnical testing, geophysics, structural design, civil design and land development.
These insights are written for owners, developers, builders and fellow professionals who need to understand risk early and make better project decisions.
Geotechnical Engineering
Learn about Geotechnical engineering with us.
Two Seismic Design Standards, One Decision: What It Means for Your Project
New Zealand is in a transition between NZS 1170.5:2004 and TS 1170.5:2025 for seismic design. This article explains how the choice can affect earthquake performance, project cost, consent pathway, site classification, Vs30 testing, long-term asset value and design decisions.
8 min read
Earthing Design on Difficult Ground: Why Your Electrical Engineers Deserve a Better Ground Model
Earthing systems depend on the ground they discharge into. This article explains how resistivity testing, geotechnical investigation and better ground models help electrical designers understand soil and rock layers, groundwater, chemistry and seismic behaviour on difficult sites.
5 min read
Engineering for Tourism Infrastructure: Building in the Places People Visit
Tourism infrastructure is often built in dramatic but difficult places. This article explains how engineering supports walkways, viewing platforms, coastal structures, visitor buildings, access roads, carparks and servicing by assessing ground conditions, hazards, durability, build practicality and visitor safety early.
4 min read
Do I need a consent for my retaining wall, and why do retaining walls fail?
Retaining walls are common on New Zealand properties, but the consent rules are often misunderstood. This guide explains when a retaining wall may need building consent, what surcharge means, why walls fail and the warning signs to watch for, including leaning, bowing, cracking, poor drainage and ground movement.
6 min read
Why Is My Concrete Cracking? What Floor, Driveway and Wall Cracks Mean, and When to Worry
Concrete cracks are common, and many are minor. This guide explains why floors, driveways, walls and slabs crack, what different crack patterns can mean, and when cracking may point to ground movement, settlement, reactive clay, water issues or structural movement that should be assessed.
5 min read
My house is on a slope that’s moving. What are my options?
Noticing slope movement around your home can be unsettling. This guide explains the warning signs to watch for, when to treat movement as urgent, what causes slopes to move, what a geotechnical assessment involves and the options available, from drainage and monitoring to stabilisation or repair.
5 min read
The True Cost of a Cheap Geotech Report
A cheap geotech report is not always a bad choice, but the saving depends on what is being left unknown. This article explains why geotechnical quotes vary, what investigation scope really covers, when a modest report is enough and when a thin report can lead to higher foundation, consent or construction costs.
6 min read
The Building Costs Nobody Budgets For, and How to Avoid Them
Many building cost overruns come from ground conditions, structural assumptions and design decisions made before construction starts. This article explains how pre-purchase advice, targeted ground investigation, early optioneering and integrated geotechnical and structural design can help reduce hidden costs.
5 min read
There's a Geotech Report in the Property File. How Do I Read It, and What Are the Red Flags?
Found a geotechnical report in a LIM, property file or vendor pack? This guide explains what buyers should check, including the report’s purpose, recommendations, limitations, ground conditions, natural hazards and red flags such as uncertified fill, unresolved slope stability issues and missing close-out evidence.
6 min read
Building New Zealand's Energy Infrastructure on Solid Ground
Energy infrastructure depends on the ground beneath it. This article explains how geotechnical investigation and geophysics help reduce risk on wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, transmission and substation projects by identifying ground conditions, natural hazards and earthing design constraints early.
7 min read
Why Temporary Working Platforms Need Real Engineering
Temporary working platforms are essential for the safe operation of cranes, piling rigs, and heavy plant, yet they often receive limited engineering attention. Cook Costello analysed 41 Plate Load Tests across seven New Zealand sites to develop locally relevant acceptance criteria, confirming that stiffness and strength must be verified independently to achieve safer, evidence-based platform design.
4 min read
What You Can't See: Why the Ground Beneath Your Development Needs Testing, Not Just a Look
The article explains why accurate soil classification, strength and compaction testing improve foundation design, reduce risk and support sustainable, cost‑effective construction.
3 min read
Lightweight Deflectometer Testing: Powerful, Portable and Precise
Shows how the lightweight deflectometer provides fast, accurate soil stiffness measurement for earthworks, roading and remote sites, with tips on standards and data interpretation.
2 min read
Landslide Damage: What to Do and How It Gets Fixed
Describes common landslide triggers in New Zealand and outlines geotechnical assessment and remediation options like retaining walls, palisades and soil nails to stabilise slopes.
4 min read
What a Geotechnical Assessment Tells You, and Why Every Project Needs One
Explains how early geotechnical assessments identify hazards such as liquefaction and swelling clays, inform foundation design and save time and money on building projects.
6 min read
Soakage Testing and Soak Pit Design: Managing Stormwater On-Site
Describes site assessment and percolation tests for designing soak pits under Greater Wellington’s stormwater rules, enabling compliance, sustainability and cost certainty.
4 min read
Finding the Voids Before They Find You: Detecting Cavities in Karst Ground
Explains how electrical resistivity tomography and targeted drilling mapped karstic voids beneath a quarry floor, allowing safe extraction planning and hazard mitigation.
4 min read
Checking for Voids Beneath a Dam Spillway, Before They Become a Dam Safety Issue
Learn how advanced geophysics, when integrated with targeted invasive testing, provides dam operators with a reliable, efficient, and non-disruptive method for safeguarding critical spillway infrastructure.
4 min read
Static Plate Load Testing: Measuring Ground Performance Under Load
Explains why static plate load tests provide direct measurement of ground stiffness for crane pads, roads and subdivisions, and lists key questions to scope your PLT.
3 min read
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