# How do you store aggregates on a Puntland site? > Keep sand and coarse aggregate on hard standing, divided by size, and recheck them before each pour. - By: Editorial Team, Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com/about) - Published: 9 October 2026 - Format: Practical guide (general practice) - Publication: Somali Construction Review (https://somaliconstructionreview.com) - Subject: Materials - Place: Puntland - Tags: puntland, aggregates, storage, materials - Web version: https://somaliconstructionreview.com/blog/store-aggregates-puntland-site ## Key points - Sand and coarse aggregate stored on bare ground pick up soil, salt and rubbish that change the mix and weaken the concrete. - Divide stockpiles by size on hard standing with a membrane underneath, and keep the piles away from the cement store and from surfaces where salt spray settles. - Sample both the stockpile and the delivered load before a pour and compare them against the project specification. Sand and coarse aggregate last longer in the open than cement, but only if the ground underneath, the boundary between sizes and the dust that lands on them are managed. On a Puntland site, put stockpiles on hard standing or a membrane, divide them by size, and check the material again before every pour. ## Where should aggregate stockpiles sit on a Puntland site? Put them on paved or hard standing ground, never on bare soil, and raise them on a plastic sheet or platform. Stockpiles on fill or soft ground mix soil into the bottom of the pile, and that soil changes the fines content of the concrete without anyone measuring it. The ground under a pile carries the first risk. Ask the engineer what surface the site drawings specify for the batching area, and ask the municipal engineer's office whether the plot sits over old fill or made ground that could slump under a loaded pile. If the surface is unpaved, a sheet under the pile plus a clean swept apron around it does the work that a hardstanding slab would do. Position also decides what lands on the material. Keep piles away from where salt spray may settle on coastal plots in Puntland, and away from the cement store, where split bags can blow into the sand. Ask the site engineer to mark the batching area on the layout before the first delivery, so the driver tips in the right place. Keep the apron swept. A dusty apron under a pile pushes grit into the loader bucket every time the pile is moved. ## How do you keep sand, 10 mm and 20 mm aggregate from mixing? Build a low wall or kerb between each size and label the bay by size, then tip each load into its own bay. Mixed sizes alter the grading, and grading decides how the concrete finishes and how much water it needs. Aggregate arrives from more than one source, so sizes and grading can differ between loads. The research material records National Cement exporting to Djibouti and Somaliland, among other trade reports, but the source of the stone in your yard is a question for the supplier, not the label. Standing dividers, not a line of stones, are what keep a wheel loader from dragging one size into the next. Ask the supplier for the grading of each size supplied, and keep that record with the delivery note. When a pile is nearly empty, tip the new load into the empty bay rather than on top of the old material, so old and new are not blended silently. If the loader has been working on the ground, hose the bucket clean before it moves the next size. A single pile of mixed aggregate is hard to correct later. Bay marking at the start costs less than rejecting a pour. ## What do you check before the material goes into the mixer? Sample both the stockpile and the delivered load, and check them against the project specification for grading, silt and fines. Do this before each pour, not once at the start of the job. Fine material washing off a pile after rain changes the silt content. Ask the laboratory the engineer names for the tests the specification calls for, and ask for the test record with the load number, not just a verbal result. [How do you check admixtures before adding them to concrete in Somaliland?](/blog/check-admixtures-additives-concrete-somaliland) shows the same discipline for what goes in the water and the drum. Compare the tested material with the mix design, and use the [construction material calculator](/construction-material-calculator) to hold quantities against your own dimensions while the batching sheet is checked. If the load does not match the specification, set it aside and get the supplier back before it enters the mixer. > **Tip:** Photograph each stockpile and its label before the pour and keep the image with the batching record. It shows what entered the concrete, not what was ordered. ## What to do next Walk the batching area before the next delivery. Mark a bay for each aggregate size, put a membrane under each one, and photograph the bays and their labels. Ask the site engineer to write the bay layout onto the site plan, then request the grading and silt test records for the material already on site from the supplier. ## Questions ### How long can aggregate stay stockpiled on a Puntland site? There is no fixed period, because rain, dust and handling change the material. Recheck the grading, silt and fines before each pour, and rebuild or screen a pile that has picked up soil. ### Can washed sand and pit sand be stored in the same bay? No. Keep each source and each size in its own labelled bay, so the batching sheet matches what is actually fed into the mixer. ## Sources - [Somaliland Sun: National Cement Commence Exporting to Djibouti and Somaliland](https://somalilandsun.com/national-cement-commence-exporting-to-djibouti-and-somaliland/) - [Somali Construction Review: Construction material calculator](https://somaliconstructionreview.com/construction-material-calculator)