What is ballast!

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this is my first post! and what a riveting one it is also!!

can anyone just explain what ballast is to me, and what is the difference between this and sharp sand.

what would you use ballast for, i know you can use it for concrete but do you use this with sharp sand or what?

cheers!
 
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Welcome firstly.

Secondly the post should be in building or general diy section ... so .... tut.

Thirdly ballast is a sand and stones/chips mix, typically 10mm to 20 mm size stones.Mix this with cement and you get concrete.
Sharp sand is sand with finer aggregate in it say up to 6mm - typically used for laying slabs, blockpaving etc

Hth
 
cheers steve

but why and what reason would you use ballast over sharp sand in concrete.

cheers
 
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Sharp sand and cement is used for jobs such as floor screeding i.e a shallow depth.

Ballast is used for used for deeper depths and in re-inforced concrete.
 
Ballast is the main ingredient in concrete and is a proportional mixture of sharp sand and aggregate.

Concrete is made up of 4 parts aggregate, 2 parts sharp sand, 1 part cement and water. The bit that is aggregate and sharp sand is known collectively as as 'ballast' and is sold as such ready-mixed in tonne bags etc.

As said previous, sharp sand (also known as screeding sand, concrete sand, grit sand) has uses in its own right. It is a softer version of ballast and is used for floor screeds , slabbing mortar, mixing with loamy clay soils, and some masonry applications.
 
Love the concrete under my wooden floors - 1920`s style .....Pebbles up to 1 inch dia. :LOL: . Dry Lean ....thankfully still dry
 

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