Thread: Laterite?

Simple question -- what is Laterite, and what is it used for in the context of land and construction?

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

Simple question

Simple answer.

Laterite (from the Latin word "later" meaning brick or tile) is a surface formation in hot and wet tropical areas which is rich in iron and aluminium and develops by intensive and long lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock.

er..still a bit unclear here...laterite refers to the eroded effect on the fock, not to the material (rock) itself?

Originally Posted by shunpike

er..still a bit unclear here...laterite refers to the eroded effect on the fock, not to the material (rock) itself?

Both. Laterites can be any rock. The one pictures above is sandstone laterite.

The material that you are talking about is often used in rural road constructions. In this sense it is a reddish small crushed rock mixed with dirt and clay.

It is also used as a fill dirt.

The Thai government has a scheme to pave all of Thailand's laterite roads. Currently, they are way behind schedule.

Having nothing better to do on a sunday night I have taken this information from Geology Dictionary.

Laterite & Bauxite: Residual deposits formed under special climatic conditions in tropical regions. Laterite consists essentially of hydrated iron oxides, bauxite of hydrated aluminium oxides, the most common impurity being silica. The essential climatic feature is a weel-marked division of the year into wte and dry seasons. During the wet season, leaching of the rock occurs, and during the dry season the solution containing the leached ions is drawn to the surface by capillary action, where it evaporates, leaving salts to be washed away during the next wet season. Thus the whole zone, from the lowest level to which the water-table falls to the highest point it reaches, is progressively depleted of the more easily leached elements, e.g. sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Thus the residuum consists mainly of those two oxides, which of thewm is predominant depends mainly on the original rock type.

So simple answer - see Nortons answer above

Bloody good question. No idea what it could be used for in a structural sense. The stuff i have seen was little more than old, condensed soil, but definately not a rock. I have still to find a decent explanation of how it is formed, i am still a novice to studying these climes. But i would add that neither the wiki nor the Geology Dictionary don't add up.

So, the simple answer is - nobody knows how laterite was/is formed, and there is a million uses for it.

what they use for roads here turns to mud in heavy rains

Rest assured though Daffy, some of the people in the world are still trying to figure out what the fuck it is. Before we eat it.

Originally Posted by hillbilly

The material that you are talking about is often used in rural road constructions. In this sense it is a reddish small crushed rock mixed with dirt and clay.

It is also used as a fill dirt.

Thank you, Hillbilly, for the only right answer within context of my question... I really appreciate it.

(the rest - I'm glad you all know how to use Google -- that wasn't the question, though.)

[at]withnallstoke : ROTFLOL!

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

[at]withnallstoke : ROTFLOL!

I assume this is constructive criticism

Originally Posted by withnallstoke

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

[at]withnallstoke : ROTFLOL!

I assume this is constructive criticism

VERY much so -- Your's made me laugh. ("Rest assured though Daffy, some of the people in the world are still trying to figure out what the fuck it is. Before we eat it.")

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

Your's made me laugh.

I am currently rather sick from eating a reddish brown material. And my feet were washed away from underneath me by "leached ions drawn to the surface by capillary action, where it evaporates, leaving salts to be washed away during the next wet season."

The reason for my original question had to do with a recent conversation with a TG friend of mine. She's got some land (from her mom or something) in her village, and wants to set up and build a shop with a recessed house on it (I suggested she build enough for 2-3 shops on the front of the property, so she could rent them out).

She kept going on about how she needs to 'laterite the land' first. In this context, hillbilly's explanation that "It is also used as a fill dirt" makes sense, as they would use that to fill out and level the property.

The question now becomes - is that the best option (I assume it is the cheapest option, as it was what was suggested to her first by the local 'experts') or is there something better? Based on the erosive action of laterite during heavy rains I would assume it might not be, but rather a more solid gravel like substance (with drainage pipes) might be a better option.

Are there any good farang (managed) builders in the Korat area?

(no, I'm not involved in this, aside from giving advice - and based on the advice I read in the construction treads, I would suggest 'do not use a Thai builder')

Most building area is piled up with earth and rock to about 1 mtr high and then left for about a year to go hard . This platform then becomes the foundation to build the concrete slab and the pillars ( sow bhan) for the roof, and later the walls. So this is the reason she said she had to put this material down first. The house or property is high then to stop water when the rain comes.

Originally Posted by DaffyDuck

I assume it is the cheapest option

Doubt it. Common practice is to use earth from local rice paddies when they scrape them out after harvest. Works good as a land fill but some will be lost when rains come. Adding crushed laterite may reduce the erosion but I have no first hand knowledge of this.

One of the problems of using this reddish crushed rock mix is that it is almost impossible to grow any foliage on it. Most Thais don't care but many falangs want to have a few plants surrounding the house.

i wouldnt be using it for filling land, its good for making temporary roads, but filling up the plot with it is pointless, plus its a pain for gardening,all those big stones and all.
fill with soil, last 300mm of good quality top soil.