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Odd Fact About Sand Used in Building Construction in Saudi Arabia

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Odd Fact About Sand Used in Building Construction in Saudi Arabia javawizard 07-12-2008
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Posted by Kris Krieger on July 14, 2008, 10:21 pm

> On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:08:26 -0700 (PDT), gruhn
>
>>> The desert country of Saudi Arabia must import sand from other
>>> countries. This is because their desert sand is not suitable for
>>> building construction. - from the Travel section ofwww.odd-info.com
>>
>>I'm waiting for somebody to get around to telling me WHY it is so.
>
> SWAG: Sand that has rounded and smooth grains is not good for foundry
> work because it doesn't hold together well. (I do foundry as a
> hobby.) Sharp sand is much better. Perhaps that is why desert sand
> is not very suitable for building construction.
>
> Best -- Terry
>

Oh...so the Saudi sand expereinces, from being continually blown around, a
smoothing process similar to what river pebbles and "beach glass"
undergo...?

INtereting. I've hard the term "sharp sand" but didn't relaize it was
literal.

Is smooth sand good for any use in particular?

PexSupply QuikTrak 468x60
Posted by Roarmeister on July 16, 2008, 8:54 pm
On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:08:26 -0700 (PDT), gruhn

>> The desert country of Saudi Arabia must import sand from other
>> countries. This is because their desert sand is not suitable for
>> building construction. - from the Travel section ofwww.odd-info.com
>
>I'm waiting for somebody to get around to telling me WHY it is so.

The reference for these quotes comes from "2201 Fascinating Facts" by
David Louis. The reference is given next to the statement as
Bibliography 69 which is on a separate page.

A quick google on the book tells me that a number of so-called "facts"
in the book are very questionable or simply urban myths. So I would
consider this source to be even more unreliable than the dubious
"Wikpedia".

By the way, how much sand do they use in construction? Usually the
sand content is less than 30% for concrete, IIRC. You need 3/4"
crushed rock plus a gradient of smaller particles down to the fines.
What, do they not have gravel pits in Saudi Arabia? Is there not rock
underneath some of that sand that they can crush?

I'm calling this "fact" bullshit! The original writer doesn't know
squat and is passing it off as fact. What's worse is that this "fact"
is getting repeated as nauseum and people are believing this crap.

<end of rant>

Posted by ++ on July 16, 2008, 11:55 pm
I tend to agree, for a couple of reasons. The only facts people on the
newsgroup have found in support of the notion are.....none. So far, only
speculation. Second, I've studied some of the area's architectural
history and there is no mention of either mortar or cement problems. In
fact, cementitious ornament is not uncommon. It's easy to check on the
reverse:

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196208/saudi.cement.htm

http://www.gulfjobsites.com/jobs/Top_Companies/By_Sector_Cement/

http://www.yanbucement.com/cprofile.htm

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=/data/business/2008/June/business_June498.xml&section=business

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080707080847

Whoops, I just passed the one minute mark researching this. Rest is up
to to the gullible speculators.

Galina

Roarmeister wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:08:26 -0700 (PDT), gruhn
>
>
>>
>>> The desert country of Saudi Arabia must import sand from other
>>> countries. This is because their desert sand is not suitable for
>>> building construction. - from the Travel section ofwww.odd-info.com
>>>
>> I'm waiting for somebody to get around to telling me WHY it is so.
>>
>
> The reference for these quotes comes from "2201 Fascinating Facts" by
> David Louis. The reference is given next to the statement as
> Bibliography 69 which is on a separate page.
>
> A quick google on the book tells me that a number of so-called "facts"
> in the book are very questionable or simply urban myths. So I would
> consider this source to be even more unreliable than the dubious
> "Wikpedia".
>
> By the way, how much sand do they use in construction? Usually the
> sand content is less than 30% for concrete, IIRC. You need 3/4"
> crushed rock plus a gradient of smaller particles down to the fines.
> What, do they not have gravel pits in Saudi Arabia? Is there not rock
> underneath some of that sand that they can crush?
>
> I'm calling this "fact" bullshit! The original writer doesn't know
> squat and is passing it off as fact. What's worse is that this "fact"
> is getting repeated as nauseum and people are believing this crap.
>
> <end of rant>
>
>


Posted by RicodJour on July 20, 2008, 8:26 pm


> I tend to agree, for a couple of reasons. The only facts people on the
> newsgroup have found in support of the notion are.....none. So far, only
> speculation. =A0Second, I've studied some of the area's architectural
> history and there is no mention of either mortar or cement problems. =A0I=
n
> fact, cementitious ornament is not uncommon. =A0It's easy to check on the
> reverse:
>
> http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/196208/saudi.cement.htm
>
> http://www.gulfjobsites.com/jobs/Top_Companies/By_Sector_Cement/
>
> http://www.yanbucement.com/cprofile.htm
>
> http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=3D/data/business/2..=
.
>
> http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080707080847
>
> Whoops, I just passed the one minute mark researching this. =A0Rest is up
> to to the gullible speculators.

Failing Google 101 is pretty hard to do. Googling "sand unsuitable
concrete" provides plenty of stuff to, ahem, sift through, and it
still shouldn't take you a minute.

http://books.google.com/books?pg=3DPT207&lpg=3DPT207&dq=3Dsand+unsuitable+c=
oncrete&sig=3DI0sAKVr4RSCTaBccQsXKlpLMNTA&ct=3Dresult&id=3DIMdF-QR_8mkC&ots=
=3Dn78ERE57bv&output=3Dhtml

Terry told you the reason and you couldn't see the truth in it. If
you'd ever worked on a building project, or talked to a mason for more
than five minutes you'd know there are suitable and unsuitable sands
for masonry work. There are simple tests to see if sand is suitable
for such work. Measuring how much water is required to make a
workable sand/cement mix will tell you if the sand is acceptable. You
can feel if it's acceptable by rolling it between you fingers, adding
a splash of water and seeing if will hold its shape when squeezed into
a ball, etc.

Maybe it is a good thing for you to stick to your Travellers awareness
project after all.

R

Posted by RicodJour on July 20, 2008, 8:32 pm


> On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:08:26 -0700 (PDT), gruhn
>
> >> The desert country of Saudi Arabia must import sand from other
> >> countries. This is because their desert sand is not suitable for
> >> building construction. - from the Travel section ofwww.odd-info.com
>
> >I'm waiting for somebody to get around to telling me WHY it is so.
>
> The reference for these quotes comes from "2201 Fascinating Facts" by
> David Louis. =A0The reference is given next to the statement as
> Bibliography 69 which is on a separate page.
>
> A quick google on the book tells me that a number of so-called "facts"
> in the book are very questionable or simply urban myths. =A0So I would
> consider this source to be even more unreliable than the dubious
> "Wikpedia".
>
> By the way, how much sand do they use in construction? =A0Usually the
> sand content is less than 30% for concrete, IIRC. =A0You need 3/4"
> crushed rock plus a gradient of smaller particles down to the fines.
> What, do they not have gravel pits in Saudi Arabia? =A0Is there not rock
> underneath some of that sand that they can crush?
>
> I'm calling this "fact" bullshit! =A0The original writer doesn't know
> squat and is passing it off as fact. =A0What's worse is that this "fact"
> is getting repeated as nauseum and people are believing this crap.
>
> <end of rant>

Even a poor writer having trouble telling ass from elbow can stumble
upon a salient fact. The sand question is an example. I don't know
if Saudi Arabia has to import sand, but considering their wealth, it
wouldn't surprise me. I know nothing of the author's other writings.
I just know concrete.

The sand pits a couple of miles from here supplied most of the sand
for the construction of Manhattan up until the 60's.
http://www.sandminers.com/history.html

R

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