Gravel, Crushed Stone, Sand and Soil Delivery in Charlotte, NC

Granite Under Built Ground

The USDA soil survey maps Urban land at the ZIP's center point, with 100 percent of the map unit paved or built over. The original surface lies under streets, plazas and building foundations.^[1]

Below the built ground, the state geologic map shows Granitic Rock of Ordovician age, made of granite. Granite is hard and strong, and where it sits near the surface it makes a solid floor for a deep foundation. Weathered granite above the fresh rock breaks into a gritty, sandy material when dug.^[2]

Ground at the center point stands 760 feet above sea level by the USGS elevation service. For a surface project, the rock matters less than the fill above it, and that fill should be checked for soft spots before any base goes down.^[3]

The fill above the rock may hold old brick, concrete and gravel from earlier buildings. Those materials pack well when broken small, but voids and buried wood settle, so probe for them and dig them out. The gritty weathered granite that comes out of a deeper dig drains fairly well and can go back into a trench, though it lacks the strength of packed Road Base under a drive or slab.^[1],[2]

Rain, Light Snow and Two Freeze Dates

Charlotte Douglas AP, NC, about 6 miles away, is the nearest NOAA normals station. It averages 43.6 inches of precipitation and 3.5 inches of snowfall a year. Rain falls through every season, often in heavy summer storms.^[4]

The station records 58 days a year when the low reaches 32 F or colder. The median last spring freeze is March 30, and the median first fall freeze is November 3. Those freezes are usually short, but a wet base can still lift and loosen on a hard frost.^[4]

Snow is light and rare, yet an icy morning does happen. Concrete Sand spread on a walk gives traction and sweeps harmlessly into beds or paver joints afterward.^[4]

Summer storms can drop a lot of rain in a short time, and built-over ground sheds most of it. A dry well filled with Drain Rock at the end of a downspout, or a swale lined with River Rock, gives that runoff a place to slow down and soak in. Warm-season plants follow the March 30 median last freeze, while cool-season beds go in once the summer heat breaks.^[4]

Towers and Townhomes in ZIP 28202

The Census Bureau's survey counts 12,177 housing units in ZIP 28202. Only 4 percent are detached single-family houses, compared with 51 percent across Charlotte, which has 399,305 housing units. The ZIP's median home was built in 2007, while the city's median year built is 1995. Owners live in 29 percent of the ZIP's occupied homes.^[5]

A ZIP built mostly of apartments, condos and townhomes keeps its green space in courtyards, roof terraces, plaza beds and small private patios. Landscape crews refresh those beds each spring and fall, and residents of townhomes order small loads for their own patio or planter projects.^[5]

Townhome patios tend to be small and shaded by neighboring buildings. Pavers set on a firm base, a border of Pea Gravel and a few planters filled with Garden Soil can turn a narrow strip of ground into usable outdoor space.^[5]

Plaza Beds and Roof Terraces

Planters on a roof terrace dry out fast in summer sun, even with 43.6 inches of yearly precipitation at the nearby station. Garden Soil holds moisture and drains well, and it weighs less than Topsoil, which counts on a roof. Compost worked into the top each year keeps it fertile.^[4]

Plaza beds at street level take Topsoil to bring them up to grade, with Compost mixed in to loosen the soil. A thick layer of Brown Shredded Mulch or Black Shredded Mulch holds moisture, keeps weeds down, and looks finished. Red Mulch suits a bed that needs color against gray paving.^[4]

Mulch also protects roots on the 58 days a year the station drops to 32 F or colder. A fresh layer laid in fall, before the November 3 median first freeze, does that job well.^[4]

Street trees in plaza beds need room for roots. Topsoil mixed with Compost across a wide planting area, capped with Wood Chips or shredded mulch, keeps a tree healthy far longer than a small pit of packed fill.^[1]

#57 Crushed Stone or #67 Stone

Two angular stones handle most drainage and base work, and the choice is about size. #57 Crushed Stone is the larger of the two. It leaves bigger gaps, so water moves through it quickly, which makes it the usual pick for French drains, the lower layer of a base, and gravel strips beside a foundation.^[4]

#67 Stone mixes slightly smaller pieces into the blend, so it packs a little tighter and sits more firmly underfoot. It suits a walking surface over a drain, a base under a shed, or a top layer where a finer look is wanted. For the finest firm surface, #89 Crushed Stone or Stone Dust Screenings goes over either one.^[4]

In a place with 58 freezing days a year, both stones beat any material full of fines for drainage, because clean stone lets water out before it can freeze. Wrap either in fabric where it meets soil so silt does not clog the gaps over time.^[4]

Decorative jobs follow different rules. River Rock rounds off the edges of a dry creek or a downspout splash pad, and Pea Gravel makes a soft border, but neither one locks together, so they stay out of bases and walking surfaces that need to stay flat.^[4]

A Stone Base for a Patio or a Drive

A paver patio on built ground starts with digging past loose fill to firm material and laying a woven fabric. A lower course of #57 Crushed Stone drains the base, and Road Base or Crushed Concrete packed in thin lifts forms the firm layer above it. A screeded bed of Concrete Sand sets the pavers.^[1]

A gravel drive or parking pad uses the same lower layers with a surface of Driveway Gravel or 3/4" Crushed Stone instead of pavers. Crown it so heavy summer rain runs to the sides, and catch that runoff with a trench of Drain Rock or a strip of River Rock.^[4]

The North Carolina Department of Transportation names Aggregate Base Course, Section 520, in its Standard Specifications for Roads and Structures. State road crews build to that section. A private patio or drive needs firm ground, fabric, packed stone and a slope that keeps water moving away.^[6]

A shed or a storage building needs a level pad. A frame filled with #67 Stone over fabric, packed and screeded flat, drains under the floor and keeps the building off wet ground.^[1]