Crushed Stone, Gravel and Soil Delivery in Quincy, MA

Built Ground Over Old Granite

The USDA soil survey maps Urban land, 0 to 15 percent slopes, at the center point of ZIP 02169, with 99 percent of the map unit counted as paved or built over. Ground like that has been dug, filled and leveled so many times that what lies under any yard is anyone's guess until a shovel goes in.^[1]

The USGS state geologic map shows the Quincy Granite at the ZIP's center point, an alkali granite of Late Ordovician age. Granite is hard and does not weather into clay the way shale does. Where it sits close to the surface, a footing or a trench may stop on solid rock, and the plan has to work around it.^[2]

With 99 percent of the map unit covered, the open soil left in a yard is often fill brought in during construction. Test a few spots before ordering base stone. Soft, dark or wet spots get dug out and replaced, and firm gravelly fill can usually stay and be compacted.^[1]

Slopes up to 15 percent fall within the same map unit, so a sloping yard may need a low wall or a few steps to make a flat spot for a patio. Backfill behind any small retaining wall with Drain Rock wrapped in fabric, so water that seeps down the slope drains out at the base instead of pushing on the wall each time it freezes.^[1]

The USGS elevation service puts the ground at the mapped center of the ZIP at 30 feet above sea level.^[3]

Snow and Freeze at the Hingham Station

Weather figures come from the NOAA normals station at Hingham, MA, about 5 miles away, where snowfall averages 50.9 inches a year. Every one of those inches gets shoveled or plowed somewhere, and gravel beside a drive takes the brunt of it.^[4]

The same station averages 52.3 inches of precipitation a year, counting rain and melted snow together. Water from melting piles and spring storms needs a way off any surface, so slope driveways and patios toward the street or a drain.^[4]

Lows of 32 F or colder arrive on 115 days in an average year at Hingham. Each freeze turns trapped water in a base into ice that pushes up, and each thaw lets it settle back. A base that drains freely heaves far less.^[4]

The median last spring freeze at the station comes on April 25, and the median first fall freeze on October 22. Outdoor building and planting happen between those dates, with base work best done in the drier months of summer and early fall.^[4]

A Driveway That Survives Winter

For a gravel drive, dig out the topsoil and any soft fill, lay a geotextile, and compact Road Base in several thin lifts. A thick, well-packed base keeps frost from lifting the surface unevenly, and the fabric stops fines from the ground below from creeping up into it.^[4]

Top the drive with Crushed Concrete, #57 Crushed Stone or Asphalt Millings. Angular stone locks together and resists a plow blade better than round gravel. Asphalt Millings pack into a dark surface that sheds snow faster on a sunny morning, and they hold up well under a snowblower set slightly high.^[4]

Set the drive surface slightly above the surrounding ground and give it a gentle crown. On built-over ground with little open soil, meltwater has few places to soak in, so it needs a clear path to the street or a stone-filled trench along one edge.^[1],[4]

Where the drive meets the street, a passing plow can leave a ridge of packed snow and grit across the apron. A short section of extra compacted Road Base under the first few feet of gravel holds up to that pile and to the scraping when it is cleared.^[1],[4]

Small Yards, Beds and Planters

The Census counts 30,352 housing units in ZIP 02169, and 30 percent are detached single-family houses. Quincy as a whole has 48,072 housing units, with 33 percent detached.^[5]

The median home in the ZIP was built in 1965, against 1958 for the city. Owners occupy 41 percent of the ZIP's occupied homes.^[5]

Planting on built-over ground starts with new soil. Raised beds filled with Garden Soil, or Topsoil blended with Compost, give roots a clean, loose place to grow above whatever fill lies below. A few inches of Black Shredded Mulch or Brown Shredded Mulch on top holds moisture and keeps weeds down.^[1]

Spread mulch in late spring, after the April freeze date, so the soil has a chance to warm first. A fresh layer in fall protects perennial roots through the long freezing stretch that follows.^[4]

Container plantings by a front door can stay out all year if the pots are filled with Garden Soil over a few inches of Pea Gravel for drainage. A pot that holds wet soil can crack in a hard freeze, and the Hingham station logs 115 days a year with a low of 32 F or colder.^[4]

Stone Edges and Walkways

A walkway built from pavers or flagstone on a thin bed of sand heaves badly where the freeze count is high. Give it the same base as a drive, scaled down: fabric, a few inches of compacted Road Base, then an inch of Concrete Sand under the pavers.^[4]

Along walks and drives, a strip of #57 Crushed Stone or River Rock between the pavement and the lawn takes plowed snow and salt better than grass does. The stone strip also gives meltwater a place to drain instead of refreezing on the walk overnight.^[1],[4]

Where granite ledge comes near the surface, a walk can be built up with stone instead of dug down. A raised base of compacted Road Base edged with timber or stone sits on top of the rock and drains off its sides.^[2]

Pea Gravel or 3/8" Crushed Stone for a Path

Pea Gravel is round and comfortable to walk on, and it drains at once, which keeps ice from forming in the path. The round stones roll and scatter, though, and a snow shovel throws them onto the lawn.^[4]

3/8" Crushed Stone is about the same size but angular, so the pieces lock together into a firmer surface that a shovel can scrape without scattering. For a path that has to be cleared all winter, the crushed stone is the better pick. For a garden path that sits under snow until spring, Pea Gravel looks softer and works fine.^[4]

Whichever stone you pick, lay the path in late spring after the ground has dried, and top it up once a year when the snow is gone. A path that loses an inch of stone to shovels each winter needs that small refill to keep its edges sharp.^[4]