“Sand is sand in Africa,” you say. But no, there is a difference, and it can be so significant that during construction you will either achieve excellent results or fail the whole thing. Doubt? Then let's figure it out in more detail. So what kind of sand should you choose: river sand or from a quarry?
Read in the article
- 1 Why river sand is so important for construction
- 2 How quarry sand became a popular building material
- 3 When - river, when - career
- 4 Is it possible to determine the origin of sand without a special laboratory
Why river sand is so important for construction
First of all, sand is an inert material given to us by nature itself. It is mined with special equipment from the bottom of rivers, and this is an expensive process, so the price of this building material cannot please. If you are offered a dump truck of river sand for a cap of crackers, it makes sense to doubt its origin. According to the grain composition, river sand is divided into three categories: coarse (with grain from 2.5 mm), medium (2-2.5 mm) and fine (1.5-2 mm).
What is so attractive about this material? Due to its river origin, this type of sand boasts exceptional purity and uniformity. River sand is very free-flowing, it permeates water well, that is, it can be ideal drainage. And plus - river sand belongs to the 1st class of radiation safety.
All these qualities make river sand an excellent building material. It is suitable for preparing concrete, mortar for brickwork. It is, in principle, included in the composition of the mixture from which the brick is prepared. On the river sand, they prepare the pouring of the foundations and add it to the asphalt. As stated, this is ideal drainage.
Does this material have any drawbacks? Of course there are, they must be taken into account. The main one is the labor intensity of the mining process, which "drags" the final cost along with it. Sometimes this translates into unprofitable mining, and instead of river sand, developers choose a cheaper one - a quarry one.
How quarry sand became a popular building material
The origin of the quarry sand is obvious from its name. It is much easier to get this building material, so the price is appropriate. But such a simple mining method entails a major drawback: there is a lot of debris and unnecessary components in this sand - such as clay and soil. According to the grain, this sand is also distinguished into medium, large and fine, the grain is counted in the same way as in the river.
Where is fine sand used? It is the main component for various types of road construction. Fine quarry sand is used for brickwork, but only after careful sifting.
Quarry sand, even without preliminary cleaning, is used to tamp the base under foundation.
Since there is a lot of loam in the quarry sand, it should not be used without preliminary cleaning for the manufacture of reinforced concrete products.
When - river, when - career
As you already understood, there is a difference in the properties of river and quarry sand, so it is important to know what task you are setting for yourself.
For building mixes, river sand is the safest option. Especially - for pouring the foundation. It is important here to do without clay impurities. River is best taken for reinforced concrete products, and only large ones.
Where, then, is the quarry sand? It is a great choice for landscape design, brickwork and for filling and ramming.
In fairness, it should be mentioned that there is also sea sand, but it is not used in construction due to its high salt content.
Is it possible to determine the origin of sand without a special laboratory
In principle, this is not difficult. You just need to grind the sand in your hands. The river leaves almost no traces, and from the quarry on the palms there will be dirt with a brown or yellow tint, which gives clay.
And some more useful information on this issue - in the video:
What kind of sand did you use and how did it affect your work? Share your experience in the comments!
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