When it comes to construction aggregate, you can purchase and use various types of aggregate for your project. That is why it helps understand the different aggregate types on the market you can access and use.
Type #1: Crushed Concrete
Crushed concrete is primarily made from recycled materials that were excess on a construction project or that were part of a demolished site. It is generally used for things such as over-site fills, backfills, and trench files, as well as for a sub-base for deeply dug-out areas.
Crushed concrete is most often used as a backfill and sub-base material. However, you can also use these broken pieces of concrete to create walkways and paths, if you are willing to sort through a batch of crushed concrete.
Crushed concrete comes in different sizes, with the stone crushed all the way down to dust, or still in chunks you can use.
Type #2: Sand
Another type of aggregate is sand. Sand is naturally made from silicon dioxide. It has a wide range of uses, from water filtration to agriculture to landscaping and brick manufacturing. Sand is commonly used in construction, as it is abundant and strong.
When it comes to sand, various types of sand are used for specific purposes. Play sand is for children's sandboxes, and building sand is commonly used for brickwork and paving slabs. When choosing sand, it is helpful to know the purpose of what you intend to use the sand for and use that purpose to help you choose the right kind of sand.
Type #3: Gravel
Gravel is made up of rock fragments that are unconsolidated. Gravel can be made naturally and pulled from geographical formations such as rivers or streams. This type of gravel tends to be smoother. Gravel can also be made by taking large rocks and crushing them, creating irregularly-shaped fragments that tend to be rougher.
Gravel is most commonly used to cover up the ground, be it for a driveway, garden paths, or borders. Gravel is also widely used to help create adequate drainage. Gravel is also a common component in asphalt.
Gravel comes in a few different sizes, based on the mix's average size of the pieces of rock fragments.
Type #4: MOT
Finally, there is MOT, which is a mixture of granite and gritstone rocks, and other hard materials. It is commonly used for backfilling and overfills, and a subbase for cement structures, such as a driveway or patio.
There are various MOT levels, which represent how much crushed limestone, crushed concrete, and crushed granite are in each mix.
If you are looking for a construction backfill or subbase material, you more than likely need to use some MOT or crushed concrete in your project. Sand works well for water filtration, landscaping, and brick building. Gravel works well for covering up the ground.
When you build a home or make a large addition to the home, you will hire a general contractor to oversee the project and do the majority of the work. This individual may subcontract some small tasks to specialists, such as window installers and HVAC techs, but for the most part, it is their responsibility to ensure everything is built according to plan.
As you can imagine, general contractors have very varied jobs. No two days are alike! On this website, you will learn more about what general contractors do, which will come in handy the next time you need to hire one.