Caliche question

[Deer716]

I'm going to be making a temporary road on our property and had a question about caliche. I found some at a good price but want to make sure its good stuff. I talked to one guy (expensive) about putting a road but that will be done after our home is built. He said to get cheaper stuff but make sure its good stuff and doesn't have too much clay. I called the (cheap guy) a little while ago and he said the city gets it from him for their roads and that the density is 12%. I have no idea what that means. If its good or not. So if any of you know about it I would appreciate any info you can pass along. By the way the cheap stuff is $275 a belly load delivered and the expensive stuff is over $400 a belly load.

Thanks,
Ruben

[Shinesintx]

How many tons is a belly load? I only ask, because that's how I've always bought gravel/rubble/rock

[Deer716]

Im not sure but its 24 yrds

[Artos]

I can promise that you will be sorry with low grade caliche...it doesn't pack well & the first good rain will show it.

[bowhunterchris]

I like golf ball sized cliche rock for my driveway. Has some clay mixed in and packed in real well.

[STex]

Thanks for this information

[Deer716]

Yes that's what I was told. So this road base caliche with 12% density is bad stuff? It's only gonna be there during the building process. I want to go this route cause the builder said that by the time they are done there will be no road left because all the traffic.

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[Drycreek3189]

The 12% he's talking about is probably the PI or plasticity index. This is a term for how much a material shrinks or swells according to the moisture content. Twelve percent is not real high, but it's not real low either. The main thing with caliche is you have to process it well. Water, blade, and compact. If you don't, the first rain it will be a mess. You can not imagine how nasty that stuff can be. Limestone would be a better option if it's available in your area. I would seek out some local contractors for some more opinions. Good luck !

[Deer716]

Awesome thanks. I will price limestone and compare cause although I want cheap I still want it to last during the building process

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[Drycreek3189]

Yes that's what I was told. So this road base caliche with 12% density is bad stuff? It's only gonna be there during the building process. I want to go this route cause the builder said that by the time they are done there will be no road left because all the traffic.

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This was posted while my slow fingers were typing. If you build your road out of good material and build it right, there is no reason it should be gone by the time you're through building. Build it right and build it once. Money ahead !

[topduarte]

12% density???

[Deer716]

This was posted while my slow fingers were typing. If you build your road out of good material and build it right, there is no reason it should be gone by the time you're through building. Build it right and build it once. Money ahead !

True but I'm not sure exactly what kind of road I want leading to the house. We were thinking caliche but lately have been talking about concrete. The problem is we are not 100% sure exactly where we want the house and we need a temp road before construction starts. Caliche with regular traffic would be 6 in packed to 4 in about 10 ft by 30ft and for heavy traffic 12 in packed down to 10 I believe. The 6 to 4 I was quoted $3500 and that's 3 belly dumps, spread and packed.

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[Deer716]

12% density???

Exactly I had no idea what it meant

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