Aggregate choice is a key factor when installing a successful drainage system. Spherical materials are our preferred choice for use in sportsturf drainage as they leave air spaces for water to flow through. Angular gravels tend to run together over time leaving no such spaces. Materials with lots of fines should also be avoided to prevent pipes from becoming blocked.
A crushed 8-10mm gravel may be inexpensive, but a product such as Lytag® – pulverised fuel ash – could drain up to ten times faster and carries no Government Aggregate Tax. Lytag® is made from the fly ash generated by coal fired power stations which is converted into small round pellets, which are then heated to 1,100°C. This creates a very hard pellet with a honeycombed internal structure of interconnecting spaces. These hard pellets can then be used as a superior, consistent, lightweight aggregate which is up to 50% lighter than natural aggregate.
The advantages of using Lytag® are many, including faster drainage, the ability to retain water in dry conditions which reduces the striping that can occur when gravel is used. It is half the weight of gravel per volume, which reduces the weight of material being carted across the site. It also shatters on contact with mowers, where gravel will not. Lytag® could be the more cost-effective material to use; it will depend on your circumstances. We will recommend the aggregate which we believe will yield the best results for your sportsturf facility.
Summary: (compared to standard aggregate, using Lytag® in land drainage applications):
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Shelton Sportsturf Drainage returned to Ross-on-Wye Golf Club earlier this year in the first week of September to install drainage on the remaining 13 greens after the first five had been…Read more
