Stone sizes and types

Submitted by Pilgrim (not verified) on Sun, 20/06/2010 - 20:38

Good pavers are a proper mix of certain types and sizes of small stones. Included in that mix is cement and sand, as I understand it. My questions are:
>Are river or creek stones (gravel) a proper material for using in pavers? We have both creek gravel and ground graded limestone.
>What size stones should be used?
>If we are making a colored layer, what should the stone size on the top colored layer be?
>We use Sikament LN as a super-plastisizer. What is the proper ratio of Sikament LN to water?

>We had Sikament LN stored for nearly 18months. There was some solidification of the solution. I took the whole container to the Sika outlet for their opinion on this matter. They advised us to stir this vigorously to break up the solids and then continue to use it. What do you think of this?

Often times our team finds it tiresome to wash the stones and the sand. Can you emphasize how this will affect the strength of the pavers?

Submitted by Geoffrey (not verified) on Mon, 21/06/2010 - 23:35

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-You can use round river stones or crushed stone in your aggregate.
- The maximum size of the stone should be at least 2 mm less than the thickness of your slab or your layer.
- Our teams willingly wash their small aggregates by hand. We wash our small aggregates (less than 1/4") both crushed stone and river pebbles. We wash the crushed stone because it has a lot of dust in it that is not consistent (the stone comes with dust not homogeneously mixed). We wash the pebbles because they come with drift wood and sand. We want to have a consistent aggregate; that's why we wash.
- I think you are correct to ask Sika for advice about their products. I would contact Sika directly. You can also check their data sheet.