For example, limestone or chalk is pulverized to make agricultural lime, a soil additive that can reduce the acidity of the soil in order to promote crop growth. It does not remove contaminants that may be in the water unless those contaminants are removed along with the filtered particles.Ĭertain types of gravel can also be ground or pulverized for agricultural use. The use of gravel filters is just one step in the water treatment process and only removes solid particles that cannot physically pass through the gravel filter. Note that gravel filters do not decontaminate water. Gravel is used as part of the water filtration process to remove precipitates (suspended solids). Unlike many organic mulch types, gravel is also less prone to moving, so it is more likely to retain a desired shape or form when subjected to the elements. One of the advantages of using gravel over organic mulch is that it is more durable than organic mulches and requires less attention and replacement, while still providing protection for soil through heat retention and prevention of evaporation. In certain cases, gravel can also be used as a substitute for organic mulch. It can also be used as a patio base or to line a walkway or driveway. For example, it serves well as a border for a flower garden to shore up areas that may be at risk of soil erosion. This is because it provides a solid foundation while also containing enough cracks and spaces to allow water and excess moisture to drain.īecause gravel comes in a number of different shapes, sizes, and colors, it may be used in landscaping as a decoration or an accent while also providing potential benefits such as drainage. Gravel is also commonly used for drainage areas both in large-scale professional construction projects as well as in backyard projects. Gravel can also be used to make roof coverings, a walkway, or a driveway: a mixture of sand and gravel can be used to make shingles walkways can be made out of a mix of gravel and stone a driveway may be built using gravel alone or with a mixture of gravel and asphalt. On top of being used to make concrete, gravel and sand are also used for road construction, mixing with asphalt, as construction fill, and for producing materials such as pipes, bricks, and concrete blocks. In addition to sand and gravel, aggregates may include materials such as crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete, and others. Construction aggregate is a relatively broad category of materials made up of rock fragments that range from medium to coarse. Gravel and sand in billions of tons are produced for construction purposes worldwide each year.Īlmost half of the produced gravel in the US is used as aggregate for concrete. Gravel is a widely used commercial product that has a number of applications ranging from decorative purposes to large-scale construction, such as roads. Once the volume of gravel necessary is known, the known density of the given type of gravel can be used to calculate the mass of gravel needed to complete the project. Multiplying the area to be covered by the desired depth yields the volume of gravel you will need. The ideal depth of gravel varies depending on the application, but a minimum of 2-4 inches of gravel is a workable baseline. To find the volume needed, determine the amount of area to be covered by gravel as well as the desired depth of the gravel. To determine how much gravel you need, determine the volume that the gravel must cover. Any other costs associated with a project (labor, delivery of materials, etc.) are not included in the estimate. Note that the price estimate provided by the calculator is solely an estimate based on the cost of materials. The calculator above can be used to estimate the amount of gravel necessary given a number of factors. The amount of gravel required for a given project is dependent on what the project is. In the Udden-Wentworth scale, gravel is categorized as granular gravel if it is 2-44 mm (0.079-0.157 in) in diameter or pebble gravel if it is 4-66 mm (0.2-2.5 in) in diameter. Two commonly used standards are the Udden-Wentworth scale (a scale commonly used by geologists in the US) and the international standard, ISO 14688. Size classifications of rock fragments (and gravel) can vary. For example, sand is made up of rock fragments smaller than those in gravel, while gravel is smaller than cobbles, and cobbles are smaller than boulders. Rock fragments are typically classified based on the size of the individual pieces that make up the aggregate. Gravel, along with other types of rock fragments such as sand and crushed stone, is commonly used for construction purposes, though it has other uses as well. Gravel is a loose mixture of rock fragments formed as a result of erosion.
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