Well, the gravel was successfully delivered. I must say that I'm a bit uncertain about coverage. My recommendation is this - whatever minimum amount of gravel you're told to get, throw in an extra 20-40%.
Here's why: my backyard is 3000 sq. ft. In order to get 1" thick coverage, I needed a minimum of 14 tons to accomplish this. However, what I failed to take into consideration was the fact that the coverage equations assumes a completely flat landscape.
Step outside and inspect your yard. Or just take a look at the pictures of my yard. You'll notice that it isn't completely flat. I have (you probably have) dips, holes, low points, points of settling, drainage channels, etc., that will absorb more gravel than what you accounted for.
And (this is not a slam against Sure Shot, however...), when Sure Shot delivered the gravel, there was a bit of spillage as the operator attempted to operate his equipment and sling the gravel over the wall, plus a bit out of the bottom of the truck.
So...lesson learned - "P" stands for "plenty" (any Army engineer or explosives guy will know what I'm talking about). Get extra gravel.
And use Sure Shot - saved me a heck of a lot of money and time! (pics to be posted later...when I'm not feeling lazy)
Sure Shot: 520-490-9891. Deliveries in Tucson for $180; Vail/Corona de Tucson is $190. Dennis is a pretty cool dude.
Showing posts with label Vail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vail. Show all posts
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Gravel Delivery Today!
I ordered some 3/8" light-colored gravel for the backyard from Acme Gravel and Sand in Tucson. Finally, the first step!
The problem I had was trying to figure out how to get the gravel delivered to my house. First of all, I no longer have the F-150 (or it's $650/month fuel bill). Not that I would want to make 10 trips to the gravel yard and then shovel the gravel out of the back of the pickup. A lot of gravel companies will deliver to your house, but they simply dump it in a pile on your driveway or on your street, then it's up to you to cart 14 TONS OF GRAVEL on your own to your backyard.
As stated in an earlier post, physical labor is not my strong point. So I called a few "Gravel Delivery Specialists," "Landscapers," "Three Guys and a Wheelbarrow," etc. etc. etc. from Craigslist. The cheapest wanted $700 to spread the gravel in the backyard.
Believe it or not, I actually considered it. I'd rather pay than spend an entire weekend hauling 14 TONS OF GRAVEL to my backyard in a wheelbarrow rated to carry 300 lbs. per load (93-94 loads from the backyard. Definitely not my idea of fun.
However, I discovered a gravel delivery company - Sure Shot.
Sure Shot picks up the gravel, drives to your house, then unloads the gravel via some sort of slingshot-conveyor belt-gravel shooter mechanism. Since the gravel is literally being shot into the yard, the downside is that I am risking some stucco chipping and broken windows. You can see below the defensive mechanism that I commissioned NASA engineers to design in order to prevent a broken sliding glass door.
ghetto blocking device
We'll see how it works. I will post pictures of Sure Shot slinging gravel into my yard. Stay tuned!
Quick edit: you'll notice the black trash can at the left of the sliding glass door. Yes...that is my compost bin. I am now composting.
The problem I had was trying to figure out how to get the gravel delivered to my house. First of all, I no longer have the F-150 (or it's $650/month fuel bill). Not that I would want to make 10 trips to the gravel yard and then shovel the gravel out of the back of the pickup. A lot of gravel companies will deliver to your house, but they simply dump it in a pile on your driveway or on your street, then it's up to you to cart 14 TONS OF GRAVEL on your own to your backyard.
As stated in an earlier post, physical labor is not my strong point. So I called a few "Gravel Delivery Specialists," "Landscapers," "Three Guys and a Wheelbarrow," etc. etc. etc. from Craigslist. The cheapest wanted $700 to spread the gravel in the backyard.
Believe it or not, I actually considered it. I'd rather pay than spend an entire weekend hauling 14 TONS OF GRAVEL to my backyard in a wheelbarrow rated to carry 300 lbs. per load (93-94 loads from the backyard. Definitely not my idea of fun.
However, I discovered a gravel delivery company - Sure Shot.
Sure Shot picks up the gravel, drives to your house, then unloads the gravel via some sort of slingshot-conveyor belt-gravel shooter mechanism. Since the gravel is literally being shot into the yard, the downside is that I am risking some stucco chipping and broken windows. You can see below the defensive mechanism that I commissioned NASA engineers to design in order to prevent a broken sliding glass door.
We'll see how it works. I will post pictures of Sure Shot slinging gravel into my yard. Stay tuned!
Quick edit: you'll notice the black trash can at the left of the sliding glass door. Yes...that is my compost bin. I am now composting.
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