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However, subsequently, the soil tests in Alappad revealed that the soils in Alappad Panchayat of Kollam district were extremely loose and as a result the foundation design, which was prepared based on the soil test results of Arattupuzha in Alappuzah district, had to be subjected to further modification. As a result, another team of experts, from the State Government Engineering departments and from the major NGOs that have come forward to construct houses for the Tsunami affected families, has studied the matter in detail and finalized the designs, the details of which are explained in the following paragraphs:

The team has studied the soil test reports and suggested that the piling depth will have to be a minimum of 7.5 metres for all the Disaster Resistant Houses to be built in Alappad Panchayat. However, in cases where the ‘N’ values are too low the depth of piling will have to be increased proportionately. The committee recommended that the Disaster Resistant Houses should be built on RCC columns both in the ground floor and first floor. However, the normal houses will have only ground floor and will not have piling or RCC columns. The design so finalized was approved by the Chief Engineer of State PWD and was passed on for construction of the permanent houses.