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Embrace Lime Stabilization Techniques For Economical & Durable Paving

9 December 2014

Lawrence Kim

Lime stabilization has for a long time been used to tame stubborn sub-grades when constructing roads, runways, pavements and even when constructing buildings. Today, with the onset of green alternatives, the technology is even more popular. Application of lime in paving can help reduce work time, costs and even maintenance expenses. Read on to learn more.

Reducing work time

Not all construction sites are ready for excavators and earthmovers. Some environments are extremely difficult to work with. This can be as a result of soils that are too fine or high moisture levels.

Some sites are also waterlogged to an extent that site preparation is either painstakingly slow or too risky. In such scenarios, quick lime is used to modify the soil and improve the granular composition of the soil. Quick lime absorbs the moisture, making it more practical to work on. This reduces delays as paving firms can get started on work quicker.

Improving structural quality

Unstable soils compromise the quality of paved grounds. Lime stabilization averts this by changing the character of the soil. In clay soils, for example, hydrated lime reduces moisture and plasticity. This makes the sub grade more reliable and stable in handling the upper layers of paving.

Lime also prevents the expanding and contracting nature of clay which happens with moisture changes. This change in volume can cause cracking of pavements and roads and weaken foundations in buildings. The same applies to weak gravel and fine soils with high water retention capabilities.

With lime, the stabilization process continues to develop even post construction and years on. This takes place as long as the lime PH values are still intact and the mixing volumes were well calculated.

Reducing building costs

Use of lime stabilization helps cut costs in a number of ways. For one, the need to extract unstable sub grade soils and replace them with more granular soils is averted. This is a huge cost relief for any paving work as it also eats into construction time as well.

Two, by using lime to stabilize the soil, thinner base course layers can be used in the paving process. This is because the soil is already more compact and has higher weight-bearing ratios. Third, lime stabilization also saves costs by eliminating delays during site preparation via soil modification.

As a result, lime stabilization is an important step in site preparation, one whose effects continue past soil stabilization and project completion. The process is also recommended for construction maintenance and paving reclamation. Talk to companies like Hiway Stabilizers Australia Pty Ltd to learn more.

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