[Johny22]

Hi all,

Quick question. I need about 1 ton of crushed gravel for a retaining wall project in my backyard.

My options are:
- 1 ton dumpster delivery for $100
- 1 cubic yard delivery from home depot for $220

Aside from a small difference in size, I think the HD delivery comes in a nicely compacted bag, while my local stone yard will dump it on my driveway.

I'm tempted to just go with the dump option but want to check with people on if there are any risks associated with that? (For example will it damage my driveway)?

I live in a house with a 40 foot lot, not a massive driveway, so I'm curious if they just dump this will it create a massive mess and ruin my landscaping, etc. Not even sure how large a 1 ton dump is, will it look offensive to my neighbours? There is also a tree with a large branch going over my driveway, will that prevent them from properly spilling the stones?

So many questions! Any thoughts are very welcome.

Thank you

 

[roughneck]

I’m surprised the stone company will deliver that small of an amount.
1 ton is less then a scoop full for most of their loaders.
I put gravel under my shed before it was delivered. A 12’X20’ shed took 5 tons to get the thickness I wanted and level the spot. I rented a dump trailer to get it home.
If your worried about the driveway just spread a tarp and have them put the stone on that.
Sometimes, if the truck is able to get to where you want the stone, they will dump it at the point of use.

 

[Colbyt]

I would verify my amounts very carefully. The rock never goes as far as you think it will. If you will post the width of the blocks and the height of the proposed wall I and others will check your math.


A 1 ton dump will be a very small pile and should only offend the extremely picky. 2 tons won't cost more for the haul. It does cost a lot more to get rid of any leftovers.



If you have a quarry in your area call dispatch and they can hook you with a local hauler that will most likely cost you a lot less for delivery. Both of those prices sound absurd to me for my area.


A single axle dump truck should not damage a proper drive way. A dump trailer (from a local hauler) weighs a lot less and should not damage a minimal driveway.

 

[jproffer]

It depends on a lot of things...type of rock, size of rock, etc...but one ton is usually just a little over 1 cubic yard. It's not as much as most people think.

 

[Nealtw]

If you don't know how big a ton is how did you figure what you need?

How long and tall is the wall?

 

[Johny22]

I did all the math to figure out how much rock I need, fairly confident on that front. Did the trench and the backfill calculations separately, added up. Just never actually done this before so my no sense of how "big" a ton is, sounds very large, but realistically probably much smaller than it sounds! I have a feeling I just lay a tarp and get the stones delivered and it'll probably be fine.

 

[jproffer]

If you have a trench, I can pretty much promise you that you need more than a ton. It'd be a very small trench if a ton filled it.

Visually, a ton............well...imagine a 4 foot circle full of rock and coned up as you would expect rock to do, so say 4 feet at bottom, 0 at the top, 3-4 feet tall...that's a ton. It aint much.

 

[Old Thomas]

If you have friend with an old pickup truck you can pick up a ton. It isn’t much. I got 6 tons and it was a partial scoop at the quarry.

 

[Nealtw]

I did all the math to figure out how much rock I need, fairly confident on that front. Did the trench and the backfill calculations separately, added up. Just never actually done this before so my no sense of how "big" a ton is, sounds very large, but realistically probably much smaller than it sounds! I have a feeling I just lay a tarp and get the stones delivered and it'll probably be fine.

One ton is near one yard so that is 3 ft x 3 ft x3 ft. That is the size of bag you get. That is 27 cubic feet. So is the wall 27 ft long?

 

[roughneck]

Here’s a visual reference for you. That pile of stone you see in that dump trailer weighed in at 5 tons.

 

[Johny22]

Here are my measurements, if you guys could double check my math to make sure I'm not grossly underestimating my requirements:

Trench:
L: 24'
W: 1.4'
H: 0.25'

Wall Backfill:
L: 24'
W: 0.7'
H: 0.7'

Retaining wall is about a foot from grade, so I'd consider it fairly small. I figure 1 ton of crushed gravel will do for this. Let me know if you think that's too low.

 

[Johny22]

Here’s a visual reference for you. That pile of stone you see in that dump trailer weighed in at 5 tons.

Thanks - that's helpful. I think 1 ton should be no problem to fit, as long as the truck has vertical clearance (I have a tree at the front of my driveway, probably 14' clearance). But if he backs onto my driveway he should be able to clear it.

 

[Colbyt]

Your total wall height is .25'? Is this one course of stones?

 

[DexterII]

It varies, depending on the operator, but, generally speaking, a ton is roughly going to be a yard, or 3' by 3' by 3'. They're not bringing that amount in a train, and in fact, as mentioned, I'm surprised they're bringing it at all, so it will be a smaller truck that won't hurt your driveway. And unless you have something really unique, the gravel won't hurt the driveway either, and a tarp is just going to make it harder to get up.

 

[Nealtw]

Here are my measurements, if you guys could double check my math to make sure I'm not grossly underestimating my requirements:

Trench:
L: 24'
W: 1.4'
H: 0.25'

Wall Backfill:
L: 24'
W: 0.7'
H: 0.7'

Retaining wall is about a foot from grade, so I'd consider it fairly small. I figure 1 ton of crushed gravel will do for this. Let me know if you think that's too low.

You will have enough to make it about 8' or 9" deep and I would go with that.

 

[HotRodx10]

A ton of crushed stone is only about 2/3 of a cubic yard.

Crushed stone is about 110 lb/cubic foot (loose), up to 140 lb/cubic foot (compacted). A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. If you're just dumping it in - 2000/110=18.2 cubic feet. If you're compacting it - 2000/140=14.3 cubic feet. By my calculation, using your numbers, johny22, you'll need 20.2 cubic feet, assuming zero irregularities in the trench or backslope, which is nearly impossible.



I would recommend just getting a yard, or at least 1 1/2 tons. The rock is cheap (costs about $10/ton at our local sand&gravel place); it's the delivery that costs.

 

[Johny22]

Thanks everyone, very helpful.

Really dumb question, but can I remove the old wall over the course of a few days (i.e. to spread the pain of the manual labour), then potentially wait a few days for rocks, then start building?

I guess my question is, is there an issue with no having the retaining wall there for a few days / week or will the soil collapse on me? It's only a 1 foot wall, but still dont want it all to fall over.

 

[Bondo]

Thanks everyone, very helpful.

Really dumb question, but can I remove the old wall over the course of a few days (i.e. to spread the pain of the manual labour), then potentially wait a few days for rocks, then start building?

I guess my question is, is there an issue with no having the retaining wall there for a few days / week or will the soil collapse on me? It's only a 1 foot wall, but still dont want it all to fall over.

Ayuh,..... Should be just fine,..... short of an earthquake, or tarantula downpours,....

 

[huesmann]

If you know it's gonna rain, throw a weighted tarp over it, and as much lawn behind it as you have tarp, so it doesn't slough off.