Used river rock looking for a good home... no, more rock than that.
May 9, 2022 10:12 AM Subscribe
What can I do with more than 30 cubic meters of dirty river rock? Retaining walls? Sound barrier for the road beyond it? Sell it? Nextdoor donation? Modern art? Ammo for the trebuchet?
In the early 80's, someone landscaped my small townhome with a veritable river of river rock: 1 cm to 4cm rocks, about 15 meters wide, 4 meters long, 1/2 meter deep, and planted the Immortal Bush. The rock is now embedded in dirt, and the bush has taken over everything (HP Lovecraft was a gardener, wasn't he?). The Immortal Bush has more than three quarters of its mass below the rock, and has proven pretty much immune to any legal dose of herbicide.
And, I'm stubborn. Both rocks and bush must go.
The bush is heading, slowly, for its inevitable destiny as mulch. I would love to repurpose the rock, but there's just so much. Here's about a quarter of it.
The site is machine inaccessible. Any ideas would be appreciated.
In the early 80's, someone landscaped my small townhome with a veritable river of river rock: 1 cm to 4cm rocks, about 15 meters wide, 4 meters long, 1/2 meter deep, and planted the Immortal Bush. The rock is now embedded in dirt, and the bush has taken over everything (HP Lovecraft was a gardener, wasn't he?). The Immortal Bush has more than three quarters of its mass below the rock, and has proven pretty much immune to any legal dose of herbicide.
And, I'm stubborn. Both rocks and bush must go.
The bush is heading, slowly, for its inevitable destiny as mulch. I would love to repurpose the rock, but there's just so much. Here's about a quarter of it.
The site is machine inaccessible. Any ideas would be appreciated.
That's actually called "Clean Fill" Put it up on Craig's List Free and someone with a truck and loader will actually use it. Suggest getting the immortal bush out first - but I'm tidy.
posted by ptm at 10:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ptm at 10:58 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
In my experience, you won’t have much luck with “sell it”. Might be a better chance if it was washed and stockpiled in your driveway, but that’s still a stretch. 30m^3 is a LOT of rock, and very few casual homeowners will be looking for that much at a time. If you’re lucky, a professional landscaper will haul it away for free.
Flat river rock like this isn’t great for structural purposes since the stones slide over each other on their smooth faces. Structural rock usually has jagged edges to make them interlock in some fashion, so this type is best suited for ground cover.
posted by hwyengr at 10:58 AM on May 9, 2022
Flat river rock like this isn’t great for structural purposes since the stones slide over each other on their smooth faces. Structural rock usually has jagged edges to make them interlock in some fashion, so this type is best suited for ground cover.
posted by hwyengr at 10:58 AM on May 9, 2022
Best answer: I built a small recursive garden labyrinth out of river rock last fall and it's amazing.
How to:
Get a LOT of rocks. You have this part covered.
Look at labyrinth plans online and choose a layout that works for your space. I used this pic for my layout. Get landscape fabric or black plastic and cover the area you are building your labyrinth on.
Find the approximate center of the area. This is where the heart of the labyrinth goes. Plant a stake and tie some long strings or rope to it. Lay the strings/ropes radiating outwards from the stake. This will help you keep track of straight lines and turns and measurements as you build.
You can do the walls first or the path. I made the path first (it was easier for me to visualize) and then built the walls.
Path: Get a LOT of mulch or gravel (or plain old dirt) and spread it wide enough for you to walk and a couple of inches thick (deep) to make your path. Check your ropes and your layout design/pic frequently to make sure you don't go off course. This is easier and more fun than it sounds I promise.
Walls: Stack all of your rocks to make the walls. When you find a really nice rock, save it until you finish and use the prettiest rocks as points of interest along the top of the walls. You can also plant creeping plants among the rocks. My walls are only about 10-12 inches high so you don't have to be a stonemason or anything.
Walk your labyrinth and feel the magic.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
How to:
Get a LOT of rocks. You have this part covered.
Look at labyrinth plans online and choose a layout that works for your space. I used this pic for my layout. Get landscape fabric or black plastic and cover the area you are building your labyrinth on.
Find the approximate center of the area. This is where the heart of the labyrinth goes. Plant a stake and tie some long strings or rope to it. Lay the strings/ropes radiating outwards from the stake. This will help you keep track of straight lines and turns and measurements as you build.
You can do the walls first or the path. I made the path first (it was easier for me to visualize) and then built the walls.
Path: Get a LOT of mulch or gravel (or plain old dirt) and spread it wide enough for you to walk and a couple of inches thick (deep) to make your path. Check your ropes and your layout design/pic frequently to make sure you don't go off course. This is easier and more fun than it sounds I promise.
Walls: Stack all of your rocks to make the walls. When you find a really nice rock, save it until you finish and use the prettiest rocks as points of interest along the top of the walls. You can also plant creeping plants among the rocks. My walls are only about 10-12 inches high so you don't have to be a stonemason or anything.
Walk your labyrinth and feel the magic.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2022 [6 favorites]
That's actually called "Clean Fill"
After being drenched with herbicide, it is not clean fill (note: this may or may not have a legal definition in your location). If you're giving this away, please make sure the person taking it is aware.
posted by DoubleLune at 11:20 AM on May 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
After being drenched with herbicide, it is not clean fill (note: this may or may not have a legal definition in your location). If you're giving this away, please make sure the person taking it is aware.
posted by DoubleLune at 11:20 AM on May 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
Is there anywhere you want to improve drainage? You can use it in a french drain or the like (after washing it, mind).
posted by aramaic at 11:22 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by aramaic at 11:22 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
- hire a stonemason to build a beautiful wall or faux well.
- make a giant yin yang (or enneagram) in the yard that you can see from a window
posted by j_curiouser at 11:32 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
- make a giant yin yang (or enneagram) in the yard that you can see from a window
posted by j_curiouser at 11:32 AM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have removed many cubic feetsworth of river rock every year since moving into my house (six years) and am nowhere near done. The previous owners must have been deep in the pocket of Big River Rock. Not only that, they also had something against using landscaping fabric UNDER the rocks so I have to really dig deep to get them out. I created a filter out of a metal grate and some one-inch crosshatch fencing, and put it on top of a garden bin. Shovel dirt & rocks onto the filter, pour rocks into garden wagon, pour filtered dirt back into hole, take rocks to tarp, pour out. Rinse and repeat.
I looked into paying someone to remove all the rocks in one fell swoop, and the quote was over a thousand dollars. Eeeesshhh!! I guess I'll be picking away at the rock project for many years to come. I wish I could go back in time and plead with the previous owner to just not use the rocks.
Every year I pile it on a tarp by my garage and, when I'm sick of it, I spray it down with the hose and then put it up on Craigslist for free. Someone always comes to pick it up within a day or two.
posted by Gray Duck at 11:41 AM on May 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
I looked into paying someone to remove all the rocks in one fell swoop, and the quote was over a thousand dollars. Eeeesshhh!! I guess I'll be picking away at the rock project for many years to come. I wish I could go back in time and plead with the previous owner to just not use the rocks.
Every year I pile it on a tarp by my garage and, when I'm sick of it, I spray it down with the hose and then put it up on Craigslist for free. Someone always comes to pick it up within a day or two.
posted by Gray Duck at 11:41 AM on May 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
Around here that would get called "clean fill," which mostly seems to mean that it isn't mixed with trash, old motor oil, etc. But you should check how things are described locally to you before using that term, in case it is used in a more strict sense.
I would start by advertising it as "free for removal" in the hopes that someone needs all three dumptruck loads of this and has the machinery to load it. But my guess is that you will need to pay to have it hauled off, since people who want river rock mostly want washed river rock, and people who need generic fill material can usually get it really cheap from established rock sources. As-is (i.e., mixed with soil), it doesn't have much value other than for general fill.
How much it would cost to haul off is going to depend a lot on the site access -- can they get a good sized excavator in, with the truck within reach, and move the material quickly? Or will it take using a small machine and tricky access from the material to the truck?
posted by Dip Flash at 12:27 PM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
I would start by advertising it as "free for removal" in the hopes that someone needs all three dumptruck loads of this and has the machinery to load it. But my guess is that you will need to pay to have it hauled off, since people who want river rock mostly want washed river rock, and people who need generic fill material can usually get it really cheap from established rock sources. As-is (i.e., mixed with soil), it doesn't have much value other than for general fill.
How much it would cost to haul off is going to depend a lot on the site access -- can they get a good sized excavator in, with the truck within reach, and move the material quickly? Or will it take using a small machine and tricky access from the material to the truck?
posted by Dip Flash at 12:27 PM on May 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I wanted to add a couple of notes for those that may find this in the future. I'm about two-thirds of the way through separating the rock from the dirt by hand.
1. If the rock and dirt combination is on a hill with a good slope, toss shallow shovelfuls about a third of the way down the hill. The rocks will tend to tumble, and the dirt will tend to stay there, giving you a goodly number of dirt-free rocks at the bottom.
2. Similarly, tossing a shovelful of rock and dirt will tend to have the dirt fall out first. Useful for building a pile of cleaner rocks.
3. A plastic milk crate makes a pretty decent pre-built manual separator for the rocks. A double-sized milk crate works even better for you stout lads.
posted by SunSnork at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2022
1. If the rock and dirt combination is on a hill with a good slope, toss shallow shovelfuls about a third of the way down the hill. The rocks will tend to tumble, and the dirt will tend to stay there, giving you a goodly number of dirt-free rocks at the bottom.
2. Similarly, tossing a shovelful of rock and dirt will tend to have the dirt fall out first. Useful for building a pile of cleaner rocks.
3. A plastic milk crate makes a pretty decent pre-built manual separator for the rocks. A double-sized milk crate works even better for you stout lads.
posted by SunSnork at 7:34 PM on July 19, 2022
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