31. Bulk Sand and Rocks

Save 10 times the cost by buying in bulk.

The foundation of our patio area is made of sand and rocks. Compared to buying bags from a big box store, buying bulk is much more cost effective.

We bought our base materials from the local gravel yard Morrison Gravel — we needed: Builders Sand, 3/4” Minus and 1 1/2” Rock (both utility and landscape).

For the back of the napkin comparison, a 50lb bag of builder’s sand from Lowe’s costs $6.24 plus tax/delivery. A ton is 2,000 lbs. So the cost of the Lowe’s sand is $249.60 per ton, compared to the bulk price of $23.25 per ton. That is ten times difference! The delivery fee for a dump truck is significant, in our case it is about $100 per truck, so it makes sense to order a lot when you do.

Our Most Recent Order

We purchased our 3/4” minus (which was the base course over compacted native soil) earlier, so our latest order only included the sand and round rock. The sand goes over the 3/4” minus, under the porcelain pavers. The utility rounds are going for our French drains, and the landscape rounds are going into our walkways.

• 3 tons builders sand

• 7 tons 1 1/2” utility round

• 7 tons 1 1/2” landscaping round (gray color)

$610 round + sand 3 tons $190 includes delivery

$800 plus tax pay with check upon delivery

We had two truck deliveries, one for the sand and the other for the mixed rocks. I saved some money by having them combine the delivery of the round rocks, they did get mixed, but I will be able to salvage some “clean” landscape rocks.

My next step is to haul all of this material where it needs to go!