Which foundation options work on peat? In practice, architects and designers have developed several approaches to solving the problem of building on peat soils. • Complete peat excavation. If the peat is up to 1.5 meters deep, it is completely removed and replaced with a sand and gravel bed. A strip foundation is laid on this base. This is reliable, but expensive and labor-intensive—tens, even hundreds, of cubic meters of soil must be removed by specialized vehicles, and the same amount of high-quality sand must be brought in and compacted. • Partial peat excavation. If the peat depth is 1.5-2 meters, trenches are dug to firm ground and a strip or columnar foundation is installed. Problem: excavation work in marshy areas is a battle against constantly incoming groundwater and collapsing wet walls. • Pile foundation. If the peat is more than 2-3 ...