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nccmama_gw

'washout base' from concrete plant - safe to use?

nccmama
13 years ago

We have an area on the side of the house that is difficult to mow and maintain that we covered in road base 10 years ago. It held up well, but we need to top it off with some more material. My husband went to the same place to try to buy another load of the road base, but they no longer sell it. The guys there advised him to just go down the street to a big construction site and ask them for a load of "wash out base". He did, and they happily loaded him up free of charge. It's my understanding that this material might be the stuff that gets washed out from the inside of cement trucks at the end of the day. Is this correct? And, if so, is there any danger in using this stuff in a residential setting? The latest load that he brought home has a lot of sand mixed in. In my opinion, it will not do the intended job of keeping out weeds, since the combination of sand and gravel-like pieces will not compact into a solid mat. However, my bigger worry is whether or not is is safe to use around kids and pets.

Thanks.