Purchasing Guidelines for Coarse Aggregate

Quality of Bajri
Generally you can judge the quality of ‘Bajri’ in the field as mentioned below.
1. Bazri should be free from lumps of earth, grass, decayed vegetation, silt and sand particle etc.
2. In some ‘Quarries’ there is Katcha stone in Bazri which generally has reddish or yellow reddish color. When you rub these Bazri particles, the particles are easily broken. This material is cheap in the market.
3. Bazri should be screened having minimum sand contents or fine material.
4. Bazri should be free from mixing with earth. This happens in rainy season when the Bajri gets mixed with earth or has slush coat on it.
5. You should be cautious as the supplier/truck owners have tendency to supply inferior quality or less quantity of the material.    

Precautions while Purchasing Coarse Aggregate

a) About Rate: You should collect rates from around 3 to 4 suppliers. You should also collect the rates from few truck owners who stand their trucks full of material at the early hours of the day in every city/town. This exercise will not only help you get good quality material but will also help you figure out the prevailing rates.

b)  About Measurement (Wrong Calculation): The supplier or truck owner may try to used incorrect calculation method while calculating the final payment. For example if the measurement is 3 feet 6 Inches, he calculates the payment  by multiplying 3.6 to the rate where as he should have used 3.5.

Precautions for Measurement (Wrong Measurement):
The suppliers measure the height of the truck while calculating the material quantity being supplied.
a) You should measure the height of the truck from 2 to 3 places and then take an average
b) Never take the measurement of the material at the ground after unloading as this will distort the calcualtions and you will end up paying more money. 
d) Try to get the material in cash terms and make the payment after measuring the height, length and breadth. As the truck driver/owner usually charge less rates on cash payment but don't forget to get a bill.

Even though Bazri is cheaper compared to cement, it still is very important as far as the strength of the structure is concerned. Hopefully these guidelines will help you get the best out of your suppliers.