Bulk Landscape Materials for Indiana Lanes, Beds and Wet Ground

Nine orders in ten here begin with the same problem: a drive, a lane or a pole barn pad that has stopped holding up on slow-draining till. Everything below is arranged around what the layer has to do rather than what it looks like in a pile, because on this ground those two things come apart quickly.

Choose a Dense Graded Stone If the Layer Has to Carry Weight

Dense graded means crushed stone with fines built into the grading, so it locks up when it is compacted with some moisture in it.

• #53 stone is the base course. One inch minus, specified locally as compacted aggregate size number 53, and the one to order when equipment, a grain truck or a slab will sit on it.
• #73 stone is the finer dense graded size, 3/4 inch minus, for topping and resurfacing a lane, a parking area or a shoulder that already has something firm under it.
• Driveway gravel is the 3/4 inch surfacing course that tightens under traffic.
• Walkway gravel is the 3/8 inch version for garden paths and entrances on foot.

Choose a Clean Washed Stone If Water Is the Real Problem

Washed stone has the fines taken out, so water runs through it and it never firms up. Use it where the load is water rather than weight.

• #57 stone and 3/4 inch crushed stone for tile beds, trench drains and drainage layers.
• Drain rock for footing drains, downspout runs and the corner of a yard that ponds every March.
• #8 stone and #67 stone where pipe bedding or a smaller free-draining size is wanted.
• #4 crushed stone and railroad ballast for an open lower layer under a lane or a hard standing on ground that stays wet through winter.

Choose a Fine Stone or Sand If You Are Bedding and Screeding

• Limestone screenings for setting pavers and flagstone on a prepared base.
• #89 crushed stone and 3/8 inch crushed stone for joints and close-fitting bedding.
• Mason sand for mortar, paver joints and play areas, and washed sand for pipe bedding, backfill and mixes.

Choose Armor Stone If a Bank or Ditch Is Cutting Back

RipRap runs from roughly 4 inches upward and is the size class that stays where it is put. It is what goes on a scouring ditch bank, a culvert outlet or a shoreline, and it is graded locally as revetment, Class 1 and Class 2. Placed in a layer thick enough to interlock, over a filter fabric sourced from a landscape supplier, it stops the loss; light stone at the same spot simply moves downstream.

Choose Soil, Fill or Mulch If the Job Ends in Planting

• Fill dirt for raising grade, filling low spots and backfilling before a base goes down.
• Top soil, screened, for lawn and bed prep over heavy clay.
• Garden soil for raised beds and planting areas.
• Shredded mulch for beds and tree rings through a hot, humid summer.

Choose Rounded Rock If the Finish Has to Be Seen

River rock at 1 to 3 inches suits borders, dry creek beds and the visible top of a drainage detail. Large river rock at 2 to 4 inches carries heavier decorative and erosion work, and 3/8 inch natural pea gravel gives a path, patio or play area a smooth rounded surface.

Once the material is settled, the calculators turn a measured area and a depth into cubic yards and tons for that product's own published weight, and how delivery is arranged covers access and the drop spot.

The calculator lands between two quantities. Do I round up or down?

Why do the product names use numbers instead of plain descriptions?

Is there a season when a material choice changes?

How do I work out the quantity for a bed that is not a rectangle?