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Aggregate and Stone

Aggregate and Stone FAQ's

Crushed Granite Products:

CLEAR STONE GRANITE PRODUCTS

NATURAL LANDSCAPE STONE PRODUCTS

SAND PRODUCTS:

SOILS

Soil FAQ's

MULCH

Mulch FAQ's

FAQ’s:

AGGREGATE AND STONE:

Granite vs. Limestone In the granite region, north of the severn river, we recommend sticking with granite over limestone for one. Limestone will stick out like a sore thumb. Natural vs. Dimensional This is purely subjective and the eye of the beholder. Both can be used to create a natural landscape. However for higher more vertical walls, dimensional will be more feasible and structurally sound.
Decks have open slats that cause drip lines and cause splashing of dirt up against the cladding of a building and windows. Therefore, it is recommended to install geotextile over the sub base to help prevent weed growth then a layer of a clear stone product. A crushed ½” crushed granite clearstone or ¾” round natural stone are the recommended products for this application. Each of their advantages, the clear stone crushed granite products bind together better than round particles and therefore does not roll like the round pea stone does. The round pea stone has a more natural softer appearance, although the small crushed stone looks great and contemporary as well.
Creating a clean environment up against a building is important for the health and maintenance of a building. Therefore we recommend a clear stone product against a building and most commonly recommend 1-3” river rock for its aesthestic quality and ease of maintenance. It is common practice in particular in heavily treed cottage areas to not install eavestrough.. We recommend river rock over geotextile i.) to create a SPLASH GUARD to keep the cladding of the building clean; ii.) to protect from EROSION and direct the water away from the building (at times we recommend a compacted Granular base layer be placed below the river rock and graded away from the building, as the water travels through the river rock, it will travel across the compacted granular away from the building) iii.) to MINIMIZE INSECTS. Pest control specialists believe river rock helps to deter insects such as ants away from entering a building in particular over that of mulch and soil.
This is a personal and subjective question. The following is only our subjective view. Smaller (1-3”) River Rock has a more clean look and is easier to maintain (i.e. leaves). Therefore as an example we recommend and use it around perimeters of buildings under the drip edge. Larger (4-6”) River Rock has a more natural look. As an example, we use it as a practical use for areas with higher intermittent water flows over a geotextile as a Natural Rip Rap. You can mix in larger pieces to mimic a natural dry stream bed.
If you have high water flow on a slope in a ditch line or drainage swale you can choose a round stone (river rock) or a crushed granite product. Product size is subjective and based on the volume of water and the steepness of the slope you are dealing with. For lower degree of slope and or lower volume of water you can choose a smaller River Rock (1-3”) or smaller 2” clear crushed granite. For higher degree of slope and or higher volume of intermittent water you can choose larger River Rock (4-6”) or larger 4” or 6” clear stone crushed granite.
All of our crushed stone products are Granite and manufactured at our local quarries. Granite is a superior product to Limestone. Limestone will breakdown quicker over time, will create a slimy surface when wet and will track into a house. Granite products will not breakdown, go slimy or track as easily.
All of our quarries are predominantly dark grey in colour. Some quarries have different tones of greys and colours of reds and pinks blended in. The very trained eye can spot a difference but they are all very similar in appearance after application. We do not manufacture or inventory 100% pink granite.
Although, the material recommended depends on the situation and the larger the product the better the water will flow. The overall most popular product is 1” clearstone. Larger material such as 2” clear stone is used in some cases with high groundwater flows, but not typical. Smaller material such as a ½” clear stone will drain as well, but water will not move as freely.
We find all landscapers have their own preferred product and methods. The following is the rationale we use as we are asked this question a lot. On our projects we typically use ½” clear below a flagstone patio, we do this for a few reasons 1.) Clear stone does not require compaction and cut flagstone is not always a perfect thickness and therefore it normally requires some minor adjustments to the granular layer. Levelling with screenings or Granular M means if the top material is loose it could compact and result in minor settling. Using clear stone, we find we can set the flagstone with less risk of future settling. 2.) the clear stone offers a drainage layer. 3.) ½” clear is easier to grade and work with than larger diameter stone below a patio. However for stair treads a larger diameter stone is recommended depending on conditions. Drainage is a very important aspect of setting stair treads, if the area is susceptible to water, use larger stone, it will allow for water to flow. We have seen stair treads wash out because of too small of a drainage stone.
Although our ½” clear stone (crushed granite) is easier to work with, we do recommend our 1” clear stone (crushed granite).. The larger particles will allow for water to flow more freely.
Paving Stones are a manufactured concrete product and therefore have a very accurate thickness tolerance, allowing for the base layer to be accurately levelled and compacted. Therefore, Granite Screenings are easy to ‘screed’ into a smooth compacted layer and recommended as the under layer under paving stones.
The answer is none. Technically Granular B (Type II) is a manufactured product, such as crushed granite that passes through a 4” screen. We manufacture our Granular B Type II with 100% granite as a 2” MINUS product. Some contractors manufacture as a 3” minus product. The 3” minus will perform the same, but is more difficult to grade and the driving surface is not as desirable as a 2” minus.
We do not manufacture 3” Minus and recommend 2” minus. We find that the 2” minus is much easier to work with and grade and often the base layer will remain through a construction project without a fine gravel on the surface and thus it offers a better driving surface for temporary traffic. Some contractors offer a 3” minus or call it a Granular B Type II. This material will perform the same, but is more difficult to grade and the driving surface is not as desirable as a 2” minus. Although we do manufacture 4” minus, we use 2” minus ourselves 99% of the time when constructing a base layer and we recommend the same.
If the area is exceptionally soft, placing a layer of geotextile down first will help bridge the material and keep the softer substrate material from coming up through into the granular layer. We recommend placing 2” minus over the geotextile. 4” minus is also a recommended product for this application, however we find the 2” minus does a comparable job and is easier to grade and work with. As well, 2” minus offers a better temporary driving surface over 4” minus.
If you have a soft area in a road, parking etc., 2” minus is by far the best product to tighten up the area. The larger 2” particles together with the fines create a mesh that binds and will help bridge the soft area. The 2” minus is adequate to drive on temporarily, however capping with a finer granular product such as Granular M is recommended. It is recommended to place 2” minus with a machine, i.e. skid steer etc. as the material is difficult to shovel.
Clear stone products are at times used in parking areas. This is more of an aesthetic choice or possibly treating a drainage issue. You can use clear stone in a parking area or driveway, however you will notice that it is noisier with traffic, more difficult to walk on and more susceptible to damage from snow removal than that of a Granular M or Granular A that has fine particles and binds together.
We find that Granular M will compact on its own with normal traffic. However compacting will hold the aggregate in place better and help to mitigate damage from a heavy rain, as well it will provide a more aesthetic surface. If you are doing a small area, a small walk-behind gas plate packer will work. Ensure it is graded and raked prior, as raking after will be much more difficult. If it is a larger driveway or parking area, packing with a large ride on roller will put the finishing touches on the driveway. If the material is on a hill, compacting it immediately is highly recommended, even if you have to drive it several times with a vehicle.
Granular M or ⅝” minus is the product of choice for driveways, laneways and parking areas and our best seller. It has the right blend of crushed fines with a coarse aggregate that compacts and binds together. Granular A can also be used, but is recommended for higher traffic municipal roads. Granular A is a ⅞” minus product and it has the larger particles have a tendency to role to the surface and do not mesh and pack as well as the finer Granular M. This results in issues with snowblowing, snow ploughing and less desirable to walk on.

SOIL

Gro-Turf is a topdress soil for lawn areas that attaches thatch, encourages grow-in, benefits the turf layer and root zone for use with and without seed for topdressing.
Gro-Max and Mulch are both sold by the cubic yard, whereas all of our other products are sold by the cubic yard.
The main ingredients of Gro-Max are composts that have been processed at high enough temperatures to cook out any weed seeds that might be present.
Gro-Max® requires fertilizer addition to be a good soil for veggies. The organic nutrients in Gro-Max® release over a longer period of time.
Gro-Max is virtually weed-free, provides roots with more air space and is a lighter weight soil than most 'triple mix' products. Nobody really knows what 'triple mix' is because many people call many soils 'triple mix’'. Gro-Max is easy to work with, light weight and resists weeds.
Topsoil is typically used for lawns, tree planting and open area ground cover. Gro-Max is a planting soil typically used as a planting soil and the creation of planting beds.
Gro-Max is a light weight, porous planting soil and we feel is a superior product to ‘triple-mix’ as described below. Gromax is very similar to the planting soil that you will find in many potted plants. There are many Horticultural Benefits: It is a Well Balanced, complete soil, high organic matter content; light weight and porous, Optimum pH, water holding and resists compaction.

MULCH

Aged Bark Fines is a secret little product we use on our landscape and construction projects to freshen up and renaturalize disturbed areas along the fringes. The areas that need covered up, that are we want to re-naturalize and let nature take back over. We use a lot of this material in-house. We kept this product a trade secret for years, but if you want to freshen and camouflage some disturbed areas, this is a very easy and economical way to do it. The material is dark and looks like what we call ‘bush soil’. This material is similar to will Natural Pine Mulch and will inhibit weeds and blends very nicely with the dark soil matter you see in the forest.
Aged Bark Fines is a Composted Bark Mulch and is exactly how it sounds. It is manufactured from aged or composted bark fines. If you are looking to freshen up a garden, this is NOT the product as it is dark in colour and it tends to look like soil.
The Natural Mulch which is a shredded pine mulch has a low pH and benefits the soil and provides organic matter. The decomposing pine helps to condition the soil and is a proven method to control weed growth. Mulch also holds in soil moisture on those hot summer days. Therefore mulch is ideal material to cover planting areas, it is also an ideal surface for natural pathways.
No we do not. Hardwood mulches can contain phenolic acids which can be harmful to some plants and there is confusion at times between good acids and potentially damaging acids. Most plants are acutally grown in pine bark media at commercial growing operations, therefore pine acids are not an issue.
The short answer is no. The reason is we do not find coloured mulch that lends itself to the natural beauty of the area and clashes with the environment. We don't use it on landscape projects as a result ourselves and we don’t recommend it, so we don’t sell it.
Our top selling mulch with the widest application is our Natural Mulch. This is a Shredded Pine Mulch that at first is reddish brown in colour and ages to a dark brown/black. It is made from freshly ground pine bark and gives a fresh pine aroma. This is the most premium mulch on the market and it is consistent from one source year to year so you can rely on consistency if you are topping up.

DELIVERY

Ton is imperial (1 ton = 2000 lbs), Tonne is metric (1 tonne = 1000 kgs = 2200 lbs approx.) 1 tonne = 1.1 ton We are in Canada, therefore we sell by the metric tonne! . (Some contractors sell by the ton. Be cautious if comparing price as you are receiving 10% less, if buying by the ton, just ask if metric tonne or imperial ton. Sorry for the confusion, but we do like metric.)
Basically any quantity can be delivered from the smallest amount to the largest amount. Our trucks are capable of hauling from 2 Tonnes to 22 Tonnes.
The trucks require a fair amount of room to manoeuvre the average length of a triaxle dump truck is approximately 30’ - 40’. The need a generous amount of room to turn etc as well as a generous amount of room to dump off product.
Yes gravel can be tailgate spread on your driveway/laneway however there are some situations where it is not possible. Low overhead wires, tree branches, tight corners prevent the truck from raising the box and driving ahead. When it is able to spread there will be some light raking required along the edges of the driveways. It would be up to the discretion of the driver on the ability to spread the delivery or not.
It is recommended that someone be home to receiver order however if detailed instructions are provided it is possible to deliver without. We recommend that if you are not going to be home to place a sign at the dump location or you can provide a map and the driver will do there best to get it at that specific location.
Two products cannot be delivered at once, our trucks are not equipped with dividers to separate the products.

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