As if it wasn’t enough to have lumber, windows, doors, and metal pipe in short supply, you can add sand, which is theoretically plentiful on Earth, to the list of construction materials that can be hard to come by.
While sand is an item that can be found all over the planet, the high-quality aggregate form isn’t easy to source, according to a Stanford University scientist. “The sand found in deserts is unsuitable as construction material because it has been eroded by wind, making its sand grains smooth and they do not bond well together,” says Eric Lambin. “That is why the tall buildings of Dubai, a desert city, were built with sand imported all the way from Australia—as skyscrapers require extremely high-quality aggregates.
“Once high-quality deposits become exhausted or inaccessible due to urban growth, nature protection, or farming, sand extraction shifts to low-quality materials with organic matter or salt that, when used for the wrong applications, increase the probability of construction failure and building collapse. Construction failures have been linked to poor sand quality in Haiti following the earthquake, Nigeria, Morocco, Thailand, South Africa, and Italy.”
It's unlikely that we will run out of sand, Lambin says, but regionally, scarcities of sand needed for construction do occur, driving up costs and potentially delaying projects due to limited availability. “Instead of mining unconsolidated sediment deposits, fine-grained sand and coarser products can be produced artificially by crushing rocks or by recycling construction and demolition waste such as concrete or masonry,” Landin says. Engineered timber is also an alternative to concrete construction.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Webcor, Hunt Construction lead the way in mixed-use construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 30 Mixed-Use Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Clark Group, Hensel Phelps among nation's largest federal government contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 40 Federal Government Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Report: Fraud levels fall for construction industry, but companies still losing $6.4 million on average
The global construction, engineering and infrastructure industry saw a significant decline in fraud activity with companies losing an average of $6.4 million over the last three years, according to the latest edition of the Kroll Annual Global Fraud Report, released today at the Association of Corporate Counsel’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Boston. This new figure represents less than half of last year’s amount of $14.2 million.
| Aug 11, 2010
Peter Marchetto joins Tishman as president of Construction Operations
Tishman Construction Corporation Chairman, Daniel R. Tishman, today announced that Peter Marchetto joined the company as President of Construction Operations.
| Aug 11, 2010
Whiting-Turner, EMJ Corp. top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 40 largest retail contractors
A ranking of the Top 40 Retail Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
