What Is The Best Lightweight Concrete Aggregate?

There are many options when it comes to lightweight aggregates that you can use to replace sand and gravel in a concrete or mortar mix. Each lightweight aggregate will have unique properties that will make it suitable for certain applications. This video addressed four characteristics of lightweight concrete examples and which lightweight aggregates might be best to achieve these results. Common lightweight aggregates include:

Pumice
Vermiculite
Perlite
Foam/Suds
Peat Moss (Hypertufa)
Slate
Shale
Clay

These are just some of the more common options for lightweight concrete aggregates and each will have their advantages and disadvantages. Pumice stones can replace gravel in a concrete mix to help create a lot of yield. Vermiculite is both very absorbent as well as thermally efficient. Suds/foam is certain to make the lightest weight concrete. Perlite along with white cement would be the best lightweight concrete mix to use if you want to dye or pigment the color of the concrete. A white platform will allow for more vivid and dramatic coloring.

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[everymust]

Thanks from korea republic. Best teacher ever.

[boondoggled]

😂 whoa that got like deep and introspective real quick 😂 and yet I understood. Great video thank you

[lnz]

Please make a sample for every mixture that you explain. Thankyou !

[rgb]

I needed to know something about concrete for a project. Your channel is very information rich. Brilliant!
I want to fill voids in the bilge of my steel boat so that water can flow into the sump to be pumped out rather than pooling and causing corrosion.
Ideal properties: lightweight, as impervious to water as normal concrete, comparatively economical. I anticipate practically zero compressive or tensile stresses on the concrete in this application.
The steel will be sealed with epoxy paint and the concrete top surface will be sealed with epoxy paint as well.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

[farrahtittle]

Great video! I'll be making lightweight logs. Some tips on finishing them might make for a cool video. Thanks for sharing!

[dylanwilliams]

Looking into building some moulded stingless bee hives out of lightweight concrete in Australia. Seems like an interesting option. Might have to do a few test batches to find out the best compromise of strength and weight. Seen some intetesting mixes used for plant pots with coconut coir as a fiber for added strenght.

[devendrasawle]

Informative..
We are manufacturing AAC blocks using Flyash, Cement, Lime, Gypsum. I want to make it strong by adding some lightweight coarse aggregate. All raw materials being powder tends to produce fine hairline cracks after a month. Curing of blocks is done by Autoclaving at 6.1 bar 155°C pressurized steam.
Please suggest..

[JamesMasterPlaster]

Man I wish we could get together and have a beer 🤗I have a roof deck project been working on for the last 3 years what I want is to pour lightweight concrete for the final. Great video you got my brain cranking 🤗🏋️‍♀️👍🤞🤺☦️

[VeggiesOutFront]

There is a guy who has molds for concrete panels to make raised garden beds. Im leaning towards a perlite biochar design
Lookin forward to whay you share

[patrickohara]

I’m curious if this applies to my specific application, and if you could or would be willing to give me some advice… I’m an architecture student and want to cast concrete into tiny, more complex forms. Considering how light the final products end up, I wonder if heavy aggregates (sand in my case) increase the chance of crumbling under its own weight when moved around? Maybe clay + super plasticizer would produce a light and strong enough material to hold up better than standard mixes at this scale? Thanks for your videos!

[KyleClements]

I'm curious if you've ever experimented with running bundles of fiber optic threads through concrete?
I'm thinking about turning some of those novelty dollar store fiber optic lamps into a bookstop and a plant pot.

[justinw]

Have you ever tried diatomaceous earth? And while it is not inexpensive by any means, fumed silica is pretty amazing when it comes to insulation. It blows even vermiculite and perlite out of the water. It is very close to silica aerogel.

Have you covered ratios at all?

[johnallen]

So many new options in the last few years. One that is intriguing me, from Australia, is wood Crete. Watch the video on trying to shoot rifle rounds through it. Unfortunately they don't give compression/Tension numbers on the product. Also trying to get through the thought process of increasing tension, Rebar and fiberglass are the known products, new products like bamboo ( think Graphite) are also coming out. Big potential issue is building codes.

[lewicypher]

thanks for great info, Im wondering how the concrete would polish with pumice. in it. Wolkd there be small voids in nthe surface? prob would need to slurry polish anyway?

[luisbeltran]

I am making a pizza oven and i wonder if vermiculite would be better than perlite

[deltasquared]

I have found that saltillo tile grout is a very inexpensive colorant for concrete.

[coronnation]

Bonsai pots are what I want to try use cement for. It doesn't need to be super light. But it needs to be fairly strong, and be able to withstand lots of temp and moisture changes.
Have you ever tried any organic aggregates, like sphagnum or pete moss?
I'd be interested in how Akadama, diatomaceous Earth and turface work as aggregates.

[AndrewStasse]

Hello. We have a project with 12” thick panel formed concrete walls up to 14’ in height. Out goal is to use a batch mixed aggregate that will provide, 5 R value per 1” of wall thickness at 2500 PSI and allow the concrete walls when properly vibrated to look like a typical Portland cement panel board wall. Any thoughts?

[philthisup]

Thanks for the video, question….
I want to make a lightweight concrete panel 1 inch thick 4’ x 8’. I wanted to make four of them and use them as an accent wall in my bedroom. I don’t want any half seams in the middle so I wanted a full length panel. Is this possible to do without it cracking and not being too heavy? I’m located in Pennsylvania, what about you?

[randallwithee]

I am planning to make some modular lightweight raised beds like the Youtuber MAN about TOOLS. I'm 62 now and would like to have some 24"x6"x2" and 36"x6"x2" modules that can be attacked 3-4 rows high that can hold all that soil/bedding. I know aircrete won't work because it cracks easily, and a weed wacker can cut right into it. I would like to use quicklime instead of concrete to make a type of Roman concrete that can heal itself when water gets into any cracks. Eventually, if it works as well as I hope it will, I may make my driveway with Roman Concrete because I live in Maine, and the freeze/thaw cycle cracks any kind of driveway. I'm also looking for ratios (i.e., recipes) for different strengths. Any help in future videos would be gratefully appreciated.