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Guides from the field and the lab
Written by Kyle Kilgore, NICET Level III (Soils), Level II (Asphalt, Concrete), from twenty-one years of testing concrete and soil on jobsites. No product pitches — what the tests are, when they happen, what they cost, and what to do when a result comes back wrong.
September 14, 2026 · 11 min read
A field-side explanation of concrete testing on construction projects: which ASTM tests run at the truck and in the lab, who orders them, what they cost, how long results take, and what happens when a cylinder breaks low.
September 14, 2026 · 10 min read
Which soil tests a Houston-area project actually needs — geotechnical borings, Proctor and density, Atterberg limits, select fill verification — why Gulf Coast clay drives all of it, and how the testing is scheduled and priced.
September 14, 2026 · 8 min read
How CMT firms price field technicians, laboratory tests, special inspection, and full-time project testing; the specification items that drive the number; and how to get a proposal you can compare.
Reference library
Plain-language pages for every method on our laboratory scope — what it measures, how it works, what throws it off.
ASTM C31 · Field Curing Concrete CylindersASTM C39 · Concrete Compressive StrengthASTM C78 · Concrete Flexural StrengthASTM C138 · Concrete Unit Weight & YieldASTM C143 · Concrete SlumpASTM C172 · Sampling Fresh ConcreteASTM C173 · Air Content, VolumetricASTM C231 · Air Content, Pressure MethodASTM C511 · Moist Room & Curing TankASTM C1064 · Fresh Concrete TemperatureASTM C1231 · Unbonded Neoprene CapsASTM C29 · Aggregate Unit Weight & VoidsASTM C117 · Minus No. 200 by WashingASTM C127 · Coarse Aggregate Specific GravityASTM C128 · Fine Aggregate Specific GravityASTM C131 · LA AbrasionASTM C136 · Aggregate Sieve AnalysisASTM C566 · Aggregate Moisture ContentASTM C1026 · Tile Freeze-Thaw ResistanceASTM D75 · Aggregate SamplingASTM D421 · Dry Soil Sample PreparationASTM D422 · Soil Particle-Size AnalysisASTM D558 · Soil-Cement Moisture-DensityASTM D698 · Standard ProctorASTM D854 · Soil Specific GravityASTM D1140 · Soil Fines Content by WashingASTM D1557 · Modified ProctorASTM D2487 · Unified Soil ClassificationASTM D4718 · Oversize Particle CorrectionASTM D6913 · Soil Sieve GradationASTM D6938 · Nuclear Density & MoistureASTM D7928 · Hydrometer AnalysisASTM G51 · Soil pH for CorrosionASTM G57 · Soil Resistivity, Wenner MethodASTM G187 · Soil Resistivity, Soil Box
Scheduling & proposals
Call for same-day dispatch questions, or send project documents for a written proposal.
