Gravel, Fill, Stone and Mulch Delivery in Montgomery, AL

Wehadkee Silt Loam on River Deposits

The USDA soil survey maps the center point of ZIP 36104 as Wehadkee silt loam. Wehadkee makes up 85 percent of that map unit, and its top mineral layer is silt loam.^[1]

This is wet ground. Surveyors class it poorly drained and give it a B/D hydrologic rating. It behaves like a D soil, shedding water, whenever the water table is high, and like a moderately soaking B soil where it has been drained. Shrink-swell is low, at 1.5 percent, so the soil does not heave much as it wets and dries.^[1]

Below the soil, the state geologic map shows Holocene alluvial, coastal and low terrace deposits. That mapped mix includes sand, clay, gravel, chert, silt, marl and peat, laid down by moving water in the most recent span of geologic time. The ground at the center point sits 140 feet above sea level, according to the USGS.^[2],[3]

Rain and Frost at Montgomery Airport

The NOAA normals station at Montgomery AP, AL, about 8 miles from the center point, averages 51.2 inches of precipitation each year.^[4]

That station sees 37 days a year with a low of 32 F or colder. The median last spring freeze is March 13, and the median first fall freeze is November 13.^[4]

Silt loam that is already poorly drained has little room for more water. After a long storm it may stay soft for days, and any stone laid straight on it can press down and mix in. Most of the work on a Montgomery gravel project goes into separating and draining the layers.^[1],[4]

Winters here are mild enough that frost rarely drives the design, but freezing nights still happen. Wet silt that freezes can lift a thin layer of stone and leave it loose by morning. A base that drains, sits above the yard and carries enough thickness to bridge soft spots handles both problems, the rain and the occasional hard frost.^[1],[4]

Why Silt Needs a Separation Layer

Silt particles are fine enough to move with water. Under the weight of a truck or car, wet silt can pump up through gaps in a stone base and turn it into mud. A woven fabric laid on the subgrade stops that. It lets water through but holds the silt down.^[1]

Over the fabric, build with Road Base or Crushed Concrete, each compacted in thin lifts. Their mix of stone sizes packs into a tight, load-spreading slab. A top layer of #57 Crushed Stone or Driveway Gravel gives traction and drains through. Raise the finished surface above the yard so water flows away.^[1]

The state's highway department writes its base layer rules as Crushed Aggregate Base under Section 825 of Alabama's Standard Specifications for Highway Construction (2026).^[5]

Drainage Around the House and Yard

On B/D soil, the aim is lowering the water table near the surface. A French drain filled with Drain Rock, set along the low side of a lot or a foundation, collects water and leads it away. Wrap the stone in filter fabric so the silt does not clog it.^[1]

Downspouts that dump onto bare silt cut little gullies. A splash bed of River Rock or #4 Crushed Stone spreads the flow and keeps the soil in place.^[1],[4]

For lawns that stay soggy, a thin top dressing of Topsoil with Compost raised slowly over a few seasons can help, along with a drain at the low point.^[1]

Beds That Breathe on Wet Ground

Roots need air, and poorly drained silt loam starves them of it. Raised beds filled with Garden Soil lift roots out of the wettest layer. Build them a little higher than usual on this ground.^[1]

Plant after the median last spring freeze of March 13. Mulch with Brown Shredded Mulch, Red Mulch or Wood Chips to keep the surface from crusting after heavy rain and to hold moisture through hot summers.^[4]

Silt loam is rich in fine mineral particles and can grow fine plants once its water problem is handled. Mixing Compost into the top of an in-ground bed opens the soil, adds air spaces and helps it dry faster after a soaking. Repeat a light layer of Compost each year and the bed will slowly darken and loosen.^[1]

Trees and shrubs on wet ground do best when planted a little high, with the top of the root ball sitting slightly above the surrounding soil. Mound Garden Soil around it into a low, wide hill and cover it with Wood Chips. Roots then grow out through the better-drained mound before they reach the wetter silt below.^[1]

Water from neighboring lots matters on flat river ground too. If runoff crosses your yard from next door, a shallow swale lined with River Rock along the property edge can steer it around beds and toward the street.^[4]

Building Up a Low Lot With Fill

Many lots on river ground sit a little too low, and a few loads of fill can lift a yard, a shed pad or a driveway path above the wet zone. Fill Dirt holds a shape and supports grass once a cap of Topsoil goes on. It is the usual pick for raising a lawn grade or shaping a gentle berm that steers water away from a building.^[1],[2]

Fill Sand drains faster and compacts tightly in thin, wetted layers, so it suits the pad under a slab, a small shed or a paver patio. On B/D soil, sand fill under a structure lets water slip away rather than sit against the floor. Spread either fill in layers and compact each one, because a deep, loose dump will settle for months.^[1]

Watch the edges of any raised area. Water that once spread across a flat yard now runs off the new grade, so plan a swale or a Drain Rock trench to carry it somewhere harmless.^[4]

Sand for Masonry, Play and Pavers

Three sands cover most home jobs. Mason Sand is fine and even, made for mortar and for sweeping into tight paver joints. Concrete Sand is coarser and sharper, which suits the leveling bed under pavers and mixing concrete for posts or footings.^[1]

Playground Sand is washed and soft, meant for sandboxes and play areas. On poorly drained silt loam, set a sandbox on a layer of Drain Rock with fabric over it, so rain drains down and out instead of soaking the sand from below for days.^[1]

Homes in ZIP 36104

The Census Bureau's survey counts 5,250 housing units in ZIP 36104. Detached single-family houses make up 41 percent of them. The median home was built in 1955. Owners occupy 25 percent of the lived-in homes.^[6]

Montgomery overall has 94,580 housing units, 69 percent of them detached houses, and a median build year of 1978.^[6]

Gravel Valet brings bulk materials to older homes, rentals and commercial lots in every part of the city.^[6]