Why Treat Soil With Lime Before Any Construction Project?
The nature of soil needs to be considered before beginning any construction project, as the soil is what will support the weight of roads, buildings, residential homes, and driveways or parking lots. Many construction projects benefit when lime is poured over and mixed into the soil, making it stronger and more compact. There are many reasons to consider adding lime to any soil before building, and especially soil that is not quite ready for construction. It can also be used to treat soil on the construction site itself. Note the following.
1. Weight of buildings and construction
Soil that is overly moist may more readily sink under the weight of buildings and homes or shift and allow for cracks in concrete. Adding an aggregate such as gravel may not actually address the issue of moist soil, as the moisture may simply work around the aggregate rather than be absorbed by it. Lime will dry the soil and act as a barrier for moisture, creating a more solid working platform and stronger soil that can hold up the weight of a building or roadway.
2. Construction platforms stabilized
Adding lime to soil can also provide a solid working platform for construction sites themselves, which is an added benefit. Strong soil under a building or roadway is necessary to support that construction, but strong soil around a construction site can mean a solid roadway for heavy-duty equipment, heavy haulage that brings in raw materials, and the like. You're less likely to have your crane or bulldozer get stuck in the mud if you treat a construction site with lime before work begins; this is faster and easier than trying to pave the area around a construction site before beginning work.
3. Faster set time
While there are other options for stabilizing soil around a construction site, these often involve not just the addition of an aggregate but also soil compaction. If you were to add gravel of some sort to soil to make it stronger and less moist, you then typically need to compact the soil so that it becomes hardened around the aggregate. However, lime acts to absorb the moisture in the soil naturally so that it doesn't need this added step. This in turn means less time taken to treat the soil and make it ready for construction. This will result in fewer delays in construction and may also make lime a more cost-effective solution, since it doesn't involve this added step of compacting the soil.
For more information about lime stabilisation, you may want to contact local paving or construction contractors.