Soils in Construction in Virginia
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Webinar instructions will be emailed before the date of the webinar.
Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.
Log into Webinar
8:00 – 8:30 am EST
Morning Session
8:30 am – 12:10 pm EST
Break
12:10 – 12:40 pm EST
Afternoon Session
12:40 – 4:20 pm EST
Presented by
David Harmanos
Soil Investigation and Classification
Soil classification
• Importance of recognizing soil properties
• Virginia geology
• Types of soils
Soil investigation
• Site reconnaissance
• Geology and visual observations
• Drilling and boring
• Test pits
• Establishing appropriate investigational methods
• Obtaining and reviewing geotechnical reports
Reviewing Hydraulic and Mechanical Properties of Soils
Soil permeability
Compressibility of soil
Soil hydraulics
• Saturation, hydraulic gradient, and conductivity
Drained and undrained shear strength
• Vertical and lateral earth pressure
Stress and failure in soils
Complying with Building Code Provisions on Soils in Virginia
International Building Code (IBC)
International Residential Code (IRC)
Infrastructure standards and guidelines
Determining and Increasing Bearing Capacity
Calculating bearing capacity
Bearing capacity of shallow foundations
Bearing capacity of piers and piles
Increasing bearing capacity
• Draining and compaction
• Soil improvement
• Grouting
Determining and Improving Slope Stability
Natural and engineered slopes
Reviewing basic concepts of slope stability
Understanding slope failures
Impact of surface water and groundwater
Examining slope stabilization methods
• Covering
• Unloading
• Draining and compaction
• Reinforcement
• Soil improvement
Webinar Instructions
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited.
Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher.
Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email.
GoToWebinar App requirements:
Windows 7 – 10 or Mac OSX Mavericks (10.9) – macOS Catalina (10.15)
Web Browser:
The two most recent version of the following browsers:
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer v11 (or later) with Flash enabled
Internet connection: Minimum of 1Mbps Hardware: 2GB RAM or more
For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com
Credits
Professional Engineers
7.0 PDHs
Architects (AIA credits only available for attending live Webinar)
7.0 HSW CE Hours
7.0 AIA LU|HSW
Landscape Architects
7.0 HSW CE Hours
LA CES (LA CES credits only available for attending live Webinar)
7.0 HSW PDHs
International Code Council
.7 CEUs (Sitework)
Continuing Education Credit Information
This webinar is open to the public and offers 7.0 PDHs to professional engineers, 7.0 HSW continuing education hours to architects and landscape architects in Virginia.
Engineers, architects and landscape architects seeking continuing education credit in other states will be able to claim the hours earned at this webinar, in most cases. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility.
The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System has approved this course for 7.0 LU|HSW (Sponsor No. J885). Only full participation is reportable to the AIA/CES.
The Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System has approved this course for 7.0 HSW PDHs. Only full participation is reportable to LA CES.
The International Code Council has approved this event for .70 CEUs in the specialty area of Sitework (Preferred Provider No. 1232).
Visit this course listing at www.halfmoonseminars.org for updates on pending credits.
Completion certificates will be awarded to participants who complete this event, respond to prompts, and earn a passing score (80%) on the quiz that follows the presentation (multiple attempts allowed).
Speakers
David Harmanos, P.E.
Branch Manager at Hillis-Carnes Engineering Associates, Inc., in PennsylvaniaMr. Harmanos is a professional engineer with extensive experience in subsurface exploration, soil testing, infiltration testing, geosynthetics, and seismic and advanced analysis. His expertise includes commercial, industrial and institutional foundation design; retaining wall and steep slope design; sinkhole remediation; landfill design; site work; forensic engineering; LEED consulting; and construction quality control/assurance (CQA/QC). Mr. Harmanos is a graduate of Drexel University where he received both his BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering (Geosynthetics and Geotechnical). Hillis-Carnes performs geotechnical engineering consulting and laboratory testing services. Its construction services include evaluation of bearing materials, inspection of pile driving, slope inclinometer installation and monitoring, and retaining wall construction observation.
AIA Info
AIA Provider Statement:
HalfMoon Education Inc. is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number J885. All registered AIA/CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider of learning program may be sent to AIA/CES (cesupport@aia.org or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).
This learning program is registered with AIA/CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.
AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA/CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA/CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.
Course Title: Soils in Construction in Virginia
Delivery Method: Live Online
Course Description: This course examines soil investigations and classification, hydraulic and mechanical properties of soils, building codes of soils, determining and increasing bearing capacity, and improving slope stability. Numerous examples will be shared of soil conditions and design considerations specific to Virginia.
Learning Objectives:
Learning Objective 1:
Learners will be able to describe the purpose and process of determining soil classification of a project site and for conducting soil investigations before breaking ground on a construction project.
Learning Objective 2:
Learners will be able to discuss the relevance of soil permeability and compressibility of project site soils and explain the science of stress and failure in soils.
Learning Objective 3:
Learners will be able to reference nd comply with soil provisions found in the International Building Code and the International Residential Code.
Learning Objective 4:
Learners will be able calculate bearing capacities of soils for shallow foundations and explain the process of increasing bearing capacities.
Learning Objective 5:
Learners will be able differentiate slope stability issues for natural and engineered slopes, be able to identify causes of slope failures, and be able to determine appropriate slope stabilization methods.
LUs: 7.0 LU Type: LU|HSWs.
Prerequisites: Experience with site development
Advance Preparation: None
Program Level: Intermediate
Course Expiration Date: 11/01/2024
Complaint Resolution Policy:
Complaints regarding this course can be emailed to tcase@halfmoonseminars.org or by calling (715) 835-5900. A HalfMoon Education representative will respond within 72 hours to resolve the complaint, which will include, but not limited to, access to another CE activity at no or reduced cost or a full or partial refund. Each instance will be resolved on a case-by-case situation.