Bulk Stone, Soil and Mulch Delivery in San Francisco, CA

Ground That Has Been Built Over

ZIP 94110 lies in San Francisco County.^[1]

At the ZIP's center point, the USDA soil survey maps a unit named Urban land, and 85 percent of that unit is classed as paved or built over. Urban land is the survey's term for ground mostly covered by streets, buildings and old fill.^[1]

Under a yard on a unit like this, a shovel can turn up imported sand, broken brick or concrete from an older structure, an old pipe trench, or a pocket of the original soil. Any of these can sit under a lawn or a bed with no sign at the surface.^[1]

The first step on any job is a test hole. Dig a spade's depth in two or three places, look at what comes up, and pour in a bucket of water to see how fast it soaks away. Loose rubble and soft, dark fill should come out from under a patio or a path before any base goes down.^[1]

Fill Dirt packed in thin, damp lifts replaces whatever comes out, and Crushed Concrete makes a firm layer above it. Crushed Concrete is recycled concrete crushed and screened so it packs evenly, which suits a lot where the old surface was concrete to begin with.^[1]

Where a test hole shows a jumble of rubble and sand, woven fabric laid over the packed subgrade keeps new stone from sifting down into the gaps between broken pieces. It adds one quick step to the job and keeps the base layer whole for years.^[1]

The USGS elevation service puts the ground at the center point 50 feet above sea level.^[2]

Lots across the city can still sit on a slope, and a sloped yard sends water toward its low side. A low stone edge or a gravel trench at the bottom keeps soil and stone where they belong after a storm.^[2]

Mild Weather at the Downtown Station

The nearest NOAA normals station is San Francisco DWTN, CA, about 2 miles from the center point. It averages 22.9 inches of precipitation a year.^[3]

At the San Francisco DWTN station the low does not reach 32 F in an average year.^[3]

Without frost in the picture, a gravel base is not at risk of heaving, and beds can be planted and mulched in any month. The things to plan around are rain arriving in a run of storms and runoff from roofs and pavement on a lot with little open ground.^[3]

A yearly total of 22.9 inches at the station is modest, but on a lot where most of the surface sheds water, nearly every drop ends up in the few open spots. A gravel strip along a fence line or a Drain Rock trench under a downspout gives that water a place to sink in slowly instead of running across a patio.^[3]

A frost-free station also changes how a base is sized. With no freeze to guard against, the depth of stone under a path or patio comes down to the load it carries and the firmness of the ground under it, so the effort goes into packing the subgrade well.^[3]

Shaded side passages and north-facing yards can stay damp long after the rain stops. Stone that drains freely and does not hold fines keeps those spaces from turning slick, and moss has a harder time on an open stone surface than on bare soil.^[3]

Frost-Free Beds and Planters

Garden Soil fills raised beds and planters on lots where the native ground is fill or rubble. It gives roots a clean start instead of whatever lies under the old surface, and a bed built on top of the ground avoids digging into buried debris.^[1]

Compost worked into an existing bed each year adds the organic matter that sandy fill lacks. A top layer of Black Shredded Mulch or Red Mulch holds moisture through dry weeks and keeps weeds down between plantings.^[3]

Topsoil is the better pick for a lawn patch or a large in-ground bed. Spread it over loosened ground rather than straight onto packed fill, so roots can reach down instead of spreading flat at the boundary between the two.^[1]

River Rock around the base of a planter or along a drip line gives water a clean place to land and keeps soil from splashing onto walls and steps. On a small lot it also reads as a finished edge between a bed and a walkway.^[3]

Because the downtown station records no freezing nights, there is no frost date to wait for before planting. Mulch can go down whenever a bed is finished, and it does its work all year against drying wind and weeds.^[3]

On a yard that slopes, stepped beds hold soil better than one long incline. Each step can be a low wall or a row of large stones backfilled with Garden Soil, with a strip of River Rock at the foot of each level to catch what washes down in a storm.^[3]

Decomposed Granite or Pea Gravel for a Courtyard

A courtyard, a rear patio or a side passage is the only open ground many city lots have. Gravel suits those spaces because it needs no curing, lets rain through and can be laid by hand from a wheelbarrow when a truck cannot reach the back.^[1]

Decomposed Granite packs into a firm, sandy floor that takes a table and chairs. Lay it a few inches deep over a packed layer of Road Base, dampen it, and tamp or roll it in stages. A steel or stone border stops it from creeping into the beds.^[1]

Pea Gravel makes a softer, looser floor that crunches underfoot. It drains at once and looks good around a seating corner, but chair legs sink into it, so it works better for paths and borders than for an outdoor dining area.^[3]

For a narrow passage that stays damp, #89 Crushed Stone is a good middle choice. It is small enough to walk on in comfort and angular enough to lock in place. A few inches over fabric keeps the walkway dry and free of mud.^[3]

Brick or stone pavers suit a courtyard that sees heavy use. Set them on a packed course of Road Base and a thin screeded bed of Concrete Sand, then sweep Mason Sand into the joints so each unit locks against its neighbors. Stone Dust Screenings make a firmer setting bed for irregular flagstones.^[1]

Homes and Lots in ZIP 94110

The American Community Survey counts 30,758 housing units in ZIP 94110, compared with 414,602 across the city of San Francisco.^[4]

Detached single-family houses are a minority in the ZIP, at 19 percent of homes. Citywide, the share is 18 percent.^[4]

The median home in ZIP 94110 dates from 1939 or earlier. Across San Francisco, the median year built is 1946.^[4]

Owners occupy 42 percent of the occupied homes in the ZIP, and renters hold the rest.^[4]

Caltrans writes its rules for the stone layer under state pavements in Section 26-1.02B of its 2026 Standard Specifications, under the name Class 2 Aggregate Base.^[5]