Material glossary
Rip rap and armor stone
Rip rap and armor stone are the big pieces that hold a shoreline, a slope, or a culvert together. They're sized so a hard rain or a wave can't move them. Angular so they lock, heavy enough to stay put.
Every rip rap and armor stone family we track is below. Match the size to the water and the slope you're arming. We deliver the ones with a green pill; the rest are here for reference.
Families in rip rap and armor stone
Rip Rap Armor Stone Rip Rap
ReferenceRip rap is large, angular rock you dump along shorelines, drainage ditches, and steep slopes to stop moving water from washing the soil away.
Boulders
ReferenceBoulders are large stones you place by hand or with a machine, usually 12 inches or bigger measured across the shortest side.
Armor Stone
ReferenceArmor stone is large, heavy chunks of quarried rock used to shield shorelines, streambanks, and bridge piers from moving water.
Surge Stone
ReferenceSurge stone is large, rough quarry rock, usually about 4 to 12 inches across.
Rip Rap Armor Stone Crushed Stone
ReferenceRip rap is large, angular crushed stone you place along slopes and shorelines to stop moving water from washing them out.
Rock Blanket
ReferenceRock blanket is a layer of larger, graded stones you spread over a slope or ditch to stop soil from washing out.
0 we deliver today · 6 listed for reference
How to choose within rip rap and armor stone
Erosion on a slope
Sized so a heavy rain won't move it. Bigger than the biggest thing you've seen slide.
Shoreline or pond edge
Angular stone locks together underwater; rounded stone rolls in wave action.
Culvert inlet or outlet
Match the stone size to the pipe. Too small, it washes out; too big, it dams the flow.
Source on request
We can source rip rap and armor stone
We don't stock these in our online catalog, but we can quote and deliver most of them through our supplier network. Tell us what you need.
Request a quote →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.
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).
Fill materials
Fill is what goes in the hole before anything else does.
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.