Material glossary
Fill materials
Fill is what goes in the hole before anything else does. Structural fill compacts and carries load; general fill just raises grade. Neither is the same as topsoil, and neither belongs in a garden bed.
Every fill family we track is below. Pick by whether the surface above will carry weight and by how much depth you need. We deliver the ones with a green pill; the rest are here for reference.
Families in fill materials
Fill Material
We deliverFill material is any bulk dirt, sand, or crushed rock you use to raise grade, level a low spot, or backfill around a foundation.
Sand
We deliverSand is small pieces of rock, mostly between about 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch across.
Fill Materials Screenings
We deliverScreenings are the fine stuff left over when rock gets crushed and sorted at the quarry.
2 Stone
Reference#2 stone is large crushed rock with pieces roughly 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches across.
Clay
ReferenceClay is dirt made of extremely fine mineral particles, small enough that the grains cling to each other instead of rolling apart.
Fill Materials Gravel
ReferenceFill gravel is a loose mix of rock and small stones used to bulk up low ground before you put anything on top.
Pond Fines
ReferencePond fines are the fine stone dust and mud that settles at the bottom of a quarry's wash ponds.
3 we deliver today · 4 listed for reference
How to choose within fill materials
Under something heavy
Use structural fill — angular, clean, compactable — under a slab, driveway, or foundation.
Just raising grade
General fill works — it's cheap dirt that levels a yard, patches a hole, or brings a low spot up to grade.
Never the top layer
Fill goes under, not on. Topsoil or a wear layer goes on top — fill won't grow anything and it won't hold up traffic.
Material calculator
Estimate how much you need
Pick one of the 7 fill materials products we deliver, tell us your area and depth, and we'll work out the tons plus your delivered price.
Area shape
Dimensions
Depth
Enter your area to see the math
Pick a material, shape and dimensions and we'll calculate the tons you need plus your delivered price.
Other material categories
Crushed stone
Crushed stone is rock that's been broken and screened into sizes.
Decorative stone and rock
Decorative stone and rock is what you see, not what you sit on.
Base materials
Base materials go under a driveway, patio, or slab — not on top.
Rip rap and armor stone
Rip rap and armor stone are the big pieces that hold a shoreline, a slope, or a culvert together.
Mulch and organics
Mulch and organics are the top layer that goes over the soil — bark, wood chips, compost, or a dyed blend.
Gravel
Gravel is loose stone in the size range you'd actually notice — pea-sized up to a few inches.
Sand products
Sand is fine crushed rock, small enough to pass through a #4 screen (about 3/16 of an inch).
Concrete aggregate
Concrete aggregate is the stone and sand that go into a concrete mix.
Screenings and stone dust
Screenings and stone dust are the fines a crusher makes on the way to sizing bigger stone.
Recycled materials
Recycled materials are crushed concrete, crushed asphalt, and reclaimed base — old road and slab work run back through a crusher.
Drainage materials
Drainage materials are clean, angular stone that moves water without holding it.
Asphalt aggregate
Asphalt aggregate is the stone side of asphalt — the sizes that get blended into a hot-mix or cold-patch recipe at the plant.
Specialty products
Specialty products are the odds and ends that don't fit the usual categories — flagstone, boulders, ballast, glass gravel, unusual sizes …
Bedding materials
Bedding materials are the clean, washed layer that goes around a pipe, under a paver, or behind a wall before backfill goes in.
Landscape
Landscape covers the loose stone and rock that go into a yard for looks — around a bed, along a border, or across a bare spot.