Looking to get the best from your landscaping projects? The chances are that you’ll make use of a few common tools and materials in just about every outdoor project you tackle. Among these, the most foundational (in a literal sense) might be building aggregate.
This material, made from countless tiny pebbles, can serve a whole range of purposes in the garden.
Creating Stable Foundations for Hardscaping
If you need to create a foundation for an outdoor structure – whether it’s a patio, a path, a driveway, or an outbuilding like a garden shed, then the chances are that building aggregate will feature. This material can be easily compacted into a flat surface that will support the weight of the layers placed atop it, without shifting and causing problems.
Enhancing Soil Drainage and Aeration
One key feature of building aggregate is that it allows both air and water to easily move within it. The gaps between the stones provide excellent drainage and aeration. By deploying it, you’ll enjoy close control over the water that settles near your plants. You might install a concealed ‘French’ style drain beneath them, with the help of the right gravel. This can prevent your flowerbeds from becoming waterlogged, and fend off the associated problems, too.
Decorative Aggregates for Aesthetic Appeal
A certain kind of building aggregate will also tend to look the part, as well as being functional. Pea gravel and slate chippings tend to be an ideal addition to the topmost, visible layer of your garden. Slate, in particular, is ideal for scattering around the roots of flowering plants, where it can act as a kind of mulch, shielding the soil from sunlight, and preventing excess evaporation.
Cost-Effective Solutions for Large Areas
It might be that you need to cover a large expanse of your property in building aggregate. You might, for example, be planning a major renovation of your driveway, patio, pathways – or perhaps all three. This being the case, buying building aggregate in bulk is often the most economical solution. In most cases, you can buy slightly more than you need, and stockpile any leftovers in a suitable corner of the garage. It doesn’t go bad (it is, after all, made from rocks), and the chances are fair that you’ll find a use for it at some point in the future!
