Gravel, Stone, Soil and Mulch Delivery in St. Louis, MO

City fill over silt loam and limestone

The soil survey maps the center point of ZIP 63101 as Urban land-Vandeventer complex on 0 to 2 percent slopes. Urban land covers 80 percent of that complex, and the Vandeventer series fills 15 percent. Much of the ground has been dug, filled and built on more than once, so brick bats, cinders and old foundations are common finds.^[1]

Old fill brings another surprise: buried foundations and cisterns from buildings long gone. If a shovel hits brick or stone in a straight line, it may be an old wall. Leave large masonry in place if it is deep and solid, but break up anything near the surface so it will not show through new gravel as a hard ridge.^[1]

Where the Vandeventer soil remains, its top mineral layer is silt loam. The survey rates it well drained but places it in hydrologic group C, with slow infiltration. Silt packs tight and lets water in slowly, so rain on bare ground tends to run off before it soaks in.^[1]

Shrink-swell in the top 100 cm is low, at 2.4 percent linear extensibility. Silt loam does not swing much between wet and dry, but it does hold water near the surface in cold weather, and that is where frost heave starts.^[1]

Bedrock under the center point belongs to the Meramecian Series, a limestone of Mississippian age. The ground surface at that point stands 470 feet above sea level.^[2],[3]

Limestone in this region can weather into cracks and openings over a very long time, which is one reason some low spots in yards keep sinking. A patch that drops again after being filled is worth a closer look before more stone goes on top.^[2]

Winter cold and steady rain

The NOAA station at ST Louis Sci CTR, about 4 miles away, supplies the local weather normals. It averages 43.9 inches of precipitation a year, spread fairly evenly across the seasons. On slow-draining silt, that steady supply of water keeps the ground damp for long stretches.^[4]

The Science Center station records 79 days a year with a low of 32 F or colder. The median last spring freeze at the station is April 1, and the median first fall freeze is November 4. Freezing and thawing over damp silt is what lifts and cracks stiff paving, so a gravel surface over a free-draining base fares better here.^[4]

Snow and ice add their own wear. Shovels and plows push loose stone off a drive, and salt can break down softer surfaces over time. A gravel surface packed over a binding base loses less stone each winter, and a top-up in spring brings it back to full depth.^[4]

Choosing between two base stones

For a parking pad or alley drive, the base decides how the job holds up through winter. Road Base packs into a dense layer with fines that bind, and it gives the firmest ride. #57 Crushed Stone has no fines at all, so it drains instantly but stays a little loose under tires. On silt that holds water, many builders use both: a lower lift of #57 Crushed Stone to drain, then Road Base on top to lock the surface.^[1]

Whichever base you pick, start by digging out loose fill and laying a geotextile over the silt. The fabric keeps fine soil from working up into the stone as freeze and thaw pump the ground each winter.^[1],[4]

For the top layer, 3/4" Crushed Stone or Driveway Gravel gives a firm, clean finish. Crown the surface so melting snow and rain run to the edges, and where the lot allows, finish the low edge with a strip of Drain Rock so water leaves the base quickly.^[1],[4]

On a section of yard that slopes, or a drive that climbs from the alley, loose stone tends to wash downhill. Stone Dust Screenings packed between larger stone, or Road Base as the finished layer, keeps the surface from creeping. A short retaining edge can break up a long run.^[1]

Gangways and side yards between brick buildings stay damp and shaded, and grass rarely survives there. A compacted bed of Road Base topped with 3/8" Crushed Stone gives a firm, dry walking surface that sheds water and needs only a light raking now and then. Set it with a slight fall toward the alley so roof water leaves the space.^[1],[4]

Gardens on old lots

Fill soil in an old city lot can be poor for plants, so raised beds are the best route. Fill them with Garden Soil, or mix Topsoil with Compost, and you control what the roots grow in. Where you plant into the ground, work Compost into the silt loam to loosen it and help water soak in.^[1]

Spread Black Shredded Mulch or Brown Shredded Mulch after the median last spring freeze in early April, and add a fresh layer before the cold returns in November. Mulch also slows runoff on silty ground and keeps the surface from sealing after hard rain.^[1],[4]

Shade from older trees and tall buildings is common on city lots. Under trees, a ring of Wood Chips is kinder to roots than gravel and breaks down slowly into the soil. In deep shade where grass gives up, a bed of Pea Gravel or River Rock makes a clean, dry floor for a sitting area.^[1]

Downtown homes and the Missouri base spec

Census figures show 2,705 housing units in ZIP 63101. Detached single-family houses make up 3 percent of them, while the citywide share in St. Louis is 43 percent. Owners live in 32 percent of the occupied homes in the ZIP.^[5]

The median home in ZIP 63101 was built in 1939 or earlier, and the same holds for St. Louis as a whole, which has 174,111 housing units. Many old brick buildings come with narrow gangways and small rear yards, where a load of gravel or a few yards of mulch can transform the space.^[5]

Rehab projects bring their own list. A crew restoring an old brick building may want Fill Dirt to backfill a foundation trench, Mason Sand for repointing mortar, and #57 Crushed Stone to lay a clean, dry floor in a crawl space or around new drain tile.^[5]

The Missouri Department of Transportation calls for Aggregate Base Course, Type 1 Aggregate, in Section 304 of its 2026 Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction. That rule covers highway contracts. It describes a graded stone layer laid in compacted lifts under a road.^[6]