Estimated Cost of Pebble Rock

[Will]

I need help calculating potential cost for building a pebble stone walkway on the side of an office building. The walkway is made of dirt, and it is the only way to get from the main parking lot in back of the building to the front entrance. During heavy rains it floods and you end up getting a lot of mud on shoes. We had the idea to lay down about 2 inches of pebble stone, and then set on top of the pebble stone flagstone to use as stepping stones. This would hopefully raise the steps high enough to get out of the accumulating water.

I had an intern today do a rough volume measurement to calculate the amount of pebble stone to buy, and I was surprised by the result. The walkway is about 160 feet long, and varies between 3 feet and 8 feet wide, probably averaging about five feet. If we lay down under two inches of pebble stone, we calculated that we would need about 223 cubic feet of material, which we calculated based on weight and volume of the pebblestone to be about 13K pounds of stone, a little over six metric tons.

That strikes me as a lot of stone. Does this sound ballpark correct for the amount of space described here? This assumed we pretty much covered all of the walkway space with pebble stone that is about two inches deep. After seeing the amount of stone here, I'm ready for Plan B, which might be something like building a very narrow strip of pebble stone. I just worry about that dispersing over time.

What kind of contractor would be good at designing something like this? The gardeners seem to have fairly random ideas about it. Is there something equivalent to an "interior decorator" for outside garden areas? What should I be searching for in yellow pages?

[FragileWarrior]

"Will" wrote in news:u9WdnZJi7px2W2XbnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

Landscaper/landscaping.

[William Wagner]

In article , FragileWarrior

[Kay Lancaster]

Can you just do a drainage system, rather than raising the area? What would you use to contain the crushed rock? (you don't want a mower flinging around rocks!)

This is a more typical method of building a flagstone walkway:

an article on garden pathways 'd figure a ton of crushed rock per 100 sq ft 2" deep, so:

160 ft x 5 ft = 800 sq ft, or 8 tons of crushed rock, about $100 here + delivery and spreading. In cubic feet, that's 160' x 5' x 0.167' = 133.6 cu ft or just under 5 cu yards.

Call up some sand and gravel companies and tell them your dimensions, and ask how much stone (I'd ask for 3/4" minus) and delivery would be. Prices will vary all over, depending on who you call (cheaper from the quarry than from a "landscaping materials" dealer, and a whole lot cheaper than buying bagged stone). The actual weight is going to be dependent on the density of the materials -- I'm just giving you ballpark figures from my little corner of the world.

In some instances, a good delivery driver can help spread the stone by dumping while the truck moves along the area -- this will depend on the stability of the area and how open it is, as well as on the driver. When we have gravel delivered to our private road, we ask for a driver who can do this... saves time and money that we'd otherwise pay the dozer driver to spread it evenly. Sure beats having to spread rock that's in a big heap, though.

There are also "side dump trucks" that might be more appropriate for dumping in your location. The guys at the gravel plant can tell you what's available and what is possible for your jobsite.

Can't tell you who to talk to in the yellow pages... I'd just walk across the road and talk to Tom, who has a grader for spreading, and call the local quarry for the crushed rock. Not very helpful, I guess.

You should also check on whether a permit is required for this work...

Kay

[Will]

For a nice quality river-washed stone that was about 1/4 inch diameter per stone on average we were being quoted $260 per ton. So at 8 tons that gets to be serious money. You really get 8 tons for $100 there? I guess I should start calling quarries and that's a good idea.

In terms of types of stone, I was hoping to find something with a smooth surface, maybe brownish tones. River washed rock would be perfect. What do you spend for small pebble stone of that type in your area? I guess I need to do more aggressive shopping on price.

Your response was very helpful on many levels, thanks!

[Dave]

My PC calculator approximates to just under 15 yards of your material. There's 9 cubic feet in a cubic yard. Such material is sold by the yard, otherwise known as a cubic yard. The larger "Dixie" version dump trucks can carry 12 yards of material. Dave

[Kay Lancaster]

That's what they're telling me now... two years ago it was $89 for 11 tons, delivered, and I slipped the driver a little extra for starting the spread for us by dumping while moving (which saved everyone from having to drive around the pile of gravel till Tom got home.) Gave Tractor Tom another $80 for spreading it and reworking the crown on the road and taking out the beginning of an erosion gully and some potholes -- that was about an hour and a half's work.

On the other hand, friends who didn't know about ordering from the quarry paid something like $150 for 2 tons of crushed rock for their driveway. Not spread.

Yah, washed river rock is basically decorative aggregate. Rolls underfoot and is often slick when wet, and then it sinks into the mud. Perfect for putting a top decorative layer on concrete (though it's still slick when wet -- how's your liability insurance?. Crushed stone will tend to interlock and stay on the surface, at least for a few years. Eventually, you get to sort of a steady state with crushed rock.

My personal choice for cheap would probably be a good thick layer of wood chips, often obtainable for free from tree trimming companies who want to avoid dump fees, followed by a little work with a bobcat with a blade or such. Yes, you'll have to renew them every few years, but they're safe and pleasant to walk on, and a nice color. If you've got anyone who is a "bad walker", decomposed granite over a compacted stone base is probably a better choice.

If you want to do it right, you probably need to go in with drainage tile/ tubing covered with crushed stone (washed to remove fines) or pea gravel and then topped with your surface rock. Here's an old book with a pre-geotechnical fabric path cross section (pp. 73-74)

In terms of types of stone, I was hoping to find something with a smooth

Hey, if you want to come get 'em, I've got plenty of little round rocks in our yard... just pick a spot and start digging and sifting. Most of 'em are a nice reddish brown. We would appreciate it if you'd dynamite anything bigger than a Volkswagen, though.

Kay, who has Tractor Tom bring his backhoe when she plants trees

[Sheldon]

I don't think you want a pebble and flagstone walk 150 feet long for a commercial building... the cost of that stone is peanuts... just make certain your liability insurance coverage is into the many, many million$.

[Will]

So the issue is the pebble is too unsecure if someone falls of the flagstone step in rain, or would you object to flagstone itself, even if it were secured in a firm concrete or sand base?

Thanks for raising the liability issue. I'm trying to run a fine line between cheap/ugly and expensive/nice-looking. Now I have to worry about a third dimension of safety. But you are right it needs to be part of the evaluation criteria.

[Sheldon]

Methinks you're gilding the lily, attempting to incorporate every meduim you can think of without a clue how to bring them all together. If you want a safe walk that incorporates pebbles in an aesthetic format the best rendition would probably be concrete with exposed aggregate... you could probably insert flat stones too but then that lily is going past gilded and all the way to grotesque... you aren't building a doublewide trailer center? Of course it would help to know what climate... with ice and snow I wouldn't consider flagstone.

[Dave]

Fine if everyone wears boat deck shoes. Otherwise, someone is going to fall.

Turned gravel will suffice. Turned in a machine that smooths it out.

[Will]

start asking questions and learn. And better to start ignorant and learn something than to stay ignorant but pretend to be smart. At least I will become familiar with alternative approaches and can better evaluate proposals we get. No harm in learning what amounts of materials are involved and what wholesale costs are. That lets me get a handle on what I am being charged for labor.

The Concrete Network site was great, and it immediately zeroed in on exactly the type of contractors we needed to contact in our area. Thanks for that.