Gravel, Fill, Sand and Stone Delivery in New Orleans, LA

River-Built Ground

The USDA soil survey maps the ZIP's center point as Urban land, and urban land, paved or built over, makes up 100 percent of the unit. Under a lot here, a shovel can turn up old fill, brick, shell and river sediment from past building and grading.^[1]

The mapped geologic unit at the center point is Natural Levees, a Holocene deposit of silt, clay and sand. A natural levee forms where a flooding river drops its heavier sediment right along its banks, building ground that sits slightly above the swamp and marsh farther back.^[2]

Levee sediment is a mix, so two spots on the same block can behave differently. Sandy pockets drain and compact well, while silty and clayey pockets hold water, stay soft and settle under weight.^[2]

Soft, wet ground like this can settle slowly under new weight. A patio, a pad or a raised bed added on top may sink a little over the first few years, so build with materials that can be topped up or reset, such as gravel and pavers, rather than a rigid slab.^[2]

The USGS puts the ground at the ZIP's center point at about 0 feet, right at sea level.^[3]

Rain That Arrives by the Bucket

The NOAA normals station at Terrytown 3S, LA, about 4 miles away, averages 65.9 inches of precipitation a year and 0.0 inches of snowfall. That much rain on flat, low ground means water management decides how well any yard project holds up.^[4]

Frost is rare. The station counts 7 days a year with a low of 32 F or colder. Its median last freeze is February 1, and its median first freeze is December 31.^[4]

Summer storms can drop several inches in an afternoon, and the city's drains need time to catch up. A courtyard or driveway that stays a little higher than its surroundings and drains to a planned spot fares far better than one built flush with the ground.^[4]

With so few freezing nights, frost heave is not the enemy. Soft subgrade, standing water and slow settlement are, so a project here leans on fabric, compaction and drainage stone.^[4]

A Parking Pad on Soft, Wet Ground

Start by digging out the soft, organic topsoil and any loose fill until you reach firmer ground. Proof-roll the area with a loaded wheelbarrow or a truck and dig out anything that pumps or sinks, then replace it with compacted stone.^[2]

Roll out woven fabric over the subgrade. On silty and clayey ground, fabric is the single most useful layer in the build, since it keeps the base stone from pressing down into the mud and the mud from rising into the stone.^[2]

Spread a thick layer of Crushed Concrete or Road Base and compact it in lifts. A thick, dense base spreads the weight of a car over soft soil and slows settlement. 1-1/2" Crushed Gravel works well as a bottom layer where the ground is especially soft.^[2]

For the surface, 3/4" Crushed Stone or #57 Crushed Stone drains fast and stays firm. Asphalt Millings bind in summer heat into a dark, tight surface. Give the pad a slope toward the street or a drain so heavy rain runs off rather than pooling.^[4]

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development specifies Base Course Aggregates, Stone, in Section 302 for Class II Base Course, in its Louisiana Standard Specifications for Roads and Bridges (2026). A road base is a graded, compacted stone layer built to carry traffic over soft ground, the same goal as a home parking pad.^[5]

Drainage on Flat, Low Ground

On ground at sea level, water needs a planned path. Grade every surface so it falls toward the street, a swale or a drain inlet, even if the slope is gentle. A level patio on flat ground becomes a shallow pond after a summer storm.^[3],[4]

A French drain of Drain Rock wrapped in fabric, with a perforated pipe, can carry water out of a soggy side yard or away from a foundation. On flat ground, the pipe has to run to an outlet that is lower than the trench, or the water simply sits in the stone.^[3]

A dry well seldom works on ground at sea level, because the water table can sit close to the surface and leave the pit full. A pipe to a lower outlet does the job better.^[3]

Under downspouts, a splash pad of River Rock slows roof water and spreads it out. A strip of #57 Crushed Stone along the drip line keeps rain from splashing soil onto walls and porches.^[4]

Riprap protects the bank of a ditch or the outlet of a culvert where moving water would otherwise scour the soil away.^[4]

Homes in 70112

Census figures show 3,683 housing units in ZIP 70112. Detached single-family houses make up 7 percent of them, while across New Orleans the share is 46 percent.^[6]

The median home in the ZIP was built in 1947, older than the 1960 median across the city's 195,552 housing units. Owners occupy 9 percent of the occupied homes in 70112.^[6]

Courtyards and narrow side yards are where most landscape work happens around older homes and apartments. A few tons of stone or soil covers a lot of ground in a small space, and pavers set on a compacted base hold up well.^[6]

Older homes raised on piers can have a crawl space where water collects after rain. Grading the soil around the house so it falls away, and spreading #57 Crushed Stone at the edges, helps that space dry out.^[6]

Courtyards, Beds and Mulch

Pavers flex with slow settlement better than a poured slab. Set them on compacted Road Base or Crushed Concrete over fabric, bed them in Concrete Sand, and fill the joints with sand. Stone Dust Screenings pack between flagstones and still let some water through.^[2]

For planting beds, raise them above the surrounding ground and fill them with Garden Soil mixed with Compost, so roots sit above the wettest soil after a storm. Topsoil levels a low lawn area before sod goes down.^[4]

Black Shredded Mulch, Brown Shredded Mulch and Red Mulch knit together and stay put better than loose bark in heavy rain. Spread a layer a couple of inches deep, keep it back from stems and house walls, and top it up as it breaks down in the heat.^[4]

Pea Gravel and River Rock make a cool, quick-draining surface for a courtyard corner or a path. Fill Sand raises a low spot or backfills a trench where water has to pass, and Playground Sand fills a sandbox that dries out fast after rain.^[2]

Decomposed Granite is a poor fit for a courtyard here, since heavy rain on flat ground washes its fines out of place. Pea Gravel, River Rock or pavers stay where you put them.^[4]