We are often asked what is the optimum material to use with our products to provide the best performance on the roads and parking lots to be built. The short answer is any material that can be compacted will provide a good surface and offer more strength. However, some materials work better than others. | |
Many people think that sand can be compacted and question why we never encourage treating this material. As we look at sand, visually it appears to have more than sufficient fines as the particles are very small. However, as fine as they are, most of the time sand is also made up of rounded particles. In other words they are tiny boulders and the rounded sides do not allow them to make good contact with each other.
When you compare this with common road base aggregates such as limestone or caliche, you will find that these materials are made up of various components with very different shapes and sizes. This allows for the smaller particles (fines) to fill the spaces between the larger pieces to provide much stronger bonding of the matrix.
When you compare this with common road base aggregates such as limestone or caliche, you will find that these materials are made up of various components with very different shapes and sizes. This allows for the smaller particles (fines) to fill the spaces between the larger pieces to provide much stronger bonding of the matrix.
As you can see in the video above, although we can compact the sand into a ball, it does not keep any of its strength after the water is removed from the matrix. But, the road base aggregate holds well because of the properties of the various shapes and sizes, and how they can compact closer together. It is with this in mind that we normally will recommend a good road base material such as limestone or caliche for building roads or parking lots. |
Decomposed Granite or DG is also often considered for building golf carts, and pathways and drives. This material can offer very good performance along with a very nice appearance, but in some cases, there is not sufficient fines to provide the fill in between the larger components. So the answer is maybe it works well or maybe not. The best solution is to perform the test that we show in the video above and if your compacted ball maintains its strength after the water has cured out of the material, then you have a good material to work with.
The way our product works is we can provide a more permanent conditions along with sealing out water penetration after curing, protecting the strength and durability for your surface. Strength is usually improved by a factor of 7-10 times the original strength when used properly. (See Chart Below) If sand has a strength factor of 50 pounds, we can improve it to 350 - 500 pounds. If limestone has a compressive strength of 1,200 pounds on the Marshall ASTM D-1633 test, we can improve it to 8,400 - 12,000 pounds.
The way our product works is we can provide a more permanent conditions along with sealing out water penetration after curing, protecting the strength and durability for your surface. Strength is usually improved by a factor of 7-10 times the original strength when used properly. (See Chart Below) If sand has a strength factor of 50 pounds, we can improve it to 350 - 500 pounds. If limestone has a compressive strength of 1,200 pounds on the Marshall ASTM D-1633 test, we can improve it to 8,400 - 12,000 pounds.