Here at Flesherton Concrete Products, we understand that every industry has its own specific vocabulary. Having a shared set of terms makes it easier for industry professionals to communicate with each other, but in many cases these insider terms can make things confusing for clients outside the industry. The construction industry in particular has a lot of technical vocabulary that professionals need to know in order to do their jobs correctly, but outsiders may find themselves perplexed by the terminology used. If you are planning a construction project, one of the terms you may hear a lot in discussions with your contractor is aggregates. To help shed light on at least one corner of the process, in this article, our team will briefly go over just what aggregates are and provide some examples of how they are used.
The first thing that we at Flesherton Concrete Products want you to know is that the term aggregates is a broad category that includes coarse to medium grained particulates, such as gravel, sand, recycled concrete, and other materials. Aggregates can be used by themselves, such as using gravel as a base for railroad tracks or motor highways, or as a component in composite materials like concrete or asphalt, where they add strength and durability. One of the biggest reasons that aggregates are used in road building and in laying foundations is that they disperse pressure more evenly than soil, and so will settle evenly and predictably across an area, which will keep the structure level.
We at Flesherton Concrete Products hope that this article helps you understand at least a little bit more about this area of construction. If you are planning a construction project, our team can help you select the right aggregates for your needs.