How to Save Time & Money by using a little known Civil Engineering technique in the garden! 

What does lime stabilisation looks like i have heavy clay but -30degree winter +30 degree summer

​@@toolsaddictionthere different earth types. Heavy clay(which refers to little to no sand in it) can form a watertight barrier. In eco friendly building this is used to get dry basements without the typical outside coatings.. so I guess he refers to removing the mushy top layer and I guess mixing it with 30-50% pure clay which if compacted will result in a nearly watertight surface. The only thing clay needs is to avoid moving water on it as this will wash it away. But since there is a road surface on top of it this is a secure construction type. Still would be curious to know how much clay is roughly needed

@@toolsaddiction I've got a driveway made of steel slag, basically straight CaO quicklime in 1/2`` size with some impurities. The finer particles solidify really well and the big stuff on top seats in nicely, easy to straighten up with the rake, -30c winters. I imagine with clay it would be really good, trouble we have is the snow blower throws it all over the lawn, and weeds grow REALLY well in it.

I may do a quick test before winter planing a patio aera and i need to avoid digging

@@toolsaddiction Not sure about -30 but have done it in the lower bit of the Snowy Mountains NE Vic Au, probably worst is -15 upper been lower 40's (have seen it snow there in December). Holding up after a couple of years quite well, just needs doing all the way to the Princess Highway now.

😂

Lol

Did you use a layer of sand between the base and mortar?

@@stav2002 I didn't, I just mixed some cement powder with some water so I could brush some onto the underside of the paving slabs as I laid them.

What is not really clear for me is how rain water will sip through such stabilised soil? It looks like water management should also be done for big sites

What film?

@@oleksandrzaslon5367yes, slope and drainage always have to be accounted for--just remember--water flows downhill. Too much slop and you could wash out your neighbors in a heavy storm. Washouts with damage-that you caused-are your responsibility.

We have so many dirt roads here in Kenya. I'll try this. If you have a video of how to do it, I would love to watch it.

When they built the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA, they did soil cement in the front parking lot. About 10 acres. After construction was complete, they paved over it with asphalt.

Sorry, planes get stuck?! What do you do when that happens?

@@awt increase the thrust until they break free. Sometimes it takes quite a lot, especially in hot countries where the tarmac can get soft

@@jonathanwhitmore421 amazing, not heard of that before.

For 500 frequent flyer miles, you can get out and push. I actually had no idea planes get stuck on the tarmac.

@@awt Yep, that's why we shouldn't've switched everything to asphault from concrete. Tractor-trailers do as well; ever noticed the grooves in asphault roadways where the ty/ires track? That's not from "wearing away" like a lot of people think, it's because asphault is forever a (very viscous) fluid. It's also why roads have to be redone constantly. That's why factories and shipping hubs like amazon almost never have anything but concrete for the tractor-trailer areas, they can't justify the constant, repetitive cost to their shareholders. Sure it costs a tad bit more to do it properly once with concrete, but then we wouldn't have to pay to constantly redo it. All of the facilities that I've worked on/been to have had the same concrete since it was installed 50-70+ years ago, despite non-stop heavy truck traffic, except for occasional cut-throughs for utility work. I can't imagine why we don't do that with regular roadways. Oh wait, what would we do with all of these government-dependent workers and businesses and their lobbiests and bribesmen that we contract to redo the roadways every year or three, in spite of much lower average loads.

I would imagine drainage may be a problem using this method compared to type one over a large area like artificial grass but I may be wrong

I agree my only concern would be drainage, I'm thinking of doing this under a paver patio that will be under a hot tub but it will be at a slope with a drain underneath

⁠@@mick.Walkertype 1 isn’t classed as permeable if compacted correctly

Drill holes in it

Yeah in terms of drainage this would not be much difference as type one is not permeable… you would have to use type 2 for this, not sure why more people dont use type 2, maybe its costs. Wonder if the lime version of this is equivalent to type 2

Thank you for this insight

Thanks for this comment-I was wondering when a Seabee from WWII would chime in. They must have used this as foundation for quickly erecting buildings and roads. Great trick explained well in this video, one which I'll definitely use.

Sorry for being thick, but what does consolidate every 50mm depth mean?

pressing on it@@TheDajoca do a 50 mm layer at a time

@@TheDajocait’s to mix in each 50mm depth for the project.

Possible to use soil in a geopolymer formulation that forgoes fly ash and sand? (to yield a more eco-friendly mix)

@@MadLadsAnonymous They have a slurry mix for poured earth, but I don't know what the mix ratios are. they are using Magnesium oxide instead of Portland cement as the binder. I have no idea what the clay to sand, to silt percentages they are using.

@@elmerkilred159 Thanks! I've recently gone down the rabbit hole. Got that classic geopolymer book to play with recipes. Would love to do a residential ICF build with fiber reinforced GPC, maybe some Xypex added to make it self-healing. Lots of experimenting to do.

@@MadLadsAnonymous Experimenting is most of the battle to finding your mix. Good luck!

Just ordered a 10x8 shed... I'm thinking this would be a good start for a base

Likewise. It's always good to know why you're doing something.

Yes I’m keen to know how different soil types work with this method . I need to lay a base for a greenhouse and have been putting it off as the thought of digging out and carting in is very unappealing. The area is heavy clay soil that has a lot of stone through it so not sure whether it would work on that?

Yes soil is brilliant and easy to work with. I used some planks of 4x3/4 inch tanalised timber to form the edges of a path. I staked them in while bending to the shape I needed and then shored the planks up with soil inside and out. I then put some some weed cover down and filled the space between the planks with gravel. Quickest path I ever made and I blended the soil on the outer edges of the planks level with the existing lawn I had laid the path over. The soil soon grassed over and that soil is now solid and has not moved. But I have also been thinking of laying some slabs into the lawn as stepping stones and thought of mixing cement into the soil. You just don't need all this sub base material unless you're going to park a car on it. Good luck with your path.

- sorry, but the laughs got me, who shovels at a quarry - where I live we tend to have loaders for that.

What did ancient Jericho use for geotextile? May I ask.

@@chiaroscuro6655 Jericho the city or Jericho Builders Ltd? If you wish t be pedantic, there was a tendency to lay a stabilising layer of reed, creating an intertwined mat over which they'd lay gravel and larger stone in layers., However soil cement isn't a new invention, with slaked limestone mixed into soil and compacted in layers. In essence it's still in use wherever you find mudbrick construction with lye added to the clay:soil mix.

Did not the walls of Jericho fall down?.

@@georgeday5901 we're talking paving and not wall foundations or walling demolished by the sound of trumpets lol 🤣🤣

@@georgeday5901 Everything falls down sooner or later. If it is later... we call it stability. But everything is destined to fall. That's the nature of our impermanent world

Glad it helped

Concrete is porous and will absorb water. So will this stuff. But with the places you will typically be using this (shed foundation, garden bed walls, sidewalks, etc.) It should not affect your drainage plans at all unless you are pretty much covering your entire property with an uncovered slab of the stuff. Your normal drainage considerations are normally slightly sloping the slab to sheet water off away from the base of structure, installing french drains and the like to move water in a needed direction, and designing your roof and gutter systems to transfer water away from the foundation.

Does this work with clay soil?