Gravel, Rock and Soil Delivery in West Jordan, UT

Bingham gravelly loam, a builder's soil

At the ZIP's center point, the USDA soil survey maps Bingham gravelly loam, 1 to 3 percent slopes. The Bingham series makes up 85 percent of the map unit. Gravelly loam is loam with a good share of small stones mixed through it, which gives it more strength under a load than plain loam.^[1]

The survey rates the soil well drained and places it in hydrologic group B, the class for moderate infiltration. Rain soaks in at a steady rate, and the ground does not stay soggy for long. Shrink-swell in the top 100 cm is low, at 2.1 percent linear extensibility, so the soil barely moves as it wets and dries.^[1]

About 27 inches down, the survey notes a strongly contrasting textural stratification, a sharp change from one kind of material to another. A layer change like that can slow water moving down, so a deep dry well may drain more slowly than the soil above suggests. Test it with a bucket of water before you rely on it.^[1]

Stones in the soil make hand digging slow. A garden fork or a pick loosens gravelly loam better than a flat shovel, and a sifting screen over a wheelbarrow pulls out the larger stones when a bed needs fine soil. Those stones are not waste. They can go into the bottom of a drainage trench or the base of a dry creek bed.^[1]

Dry air, snow and cold nights at Garfield

Weather normals come from the NOAA station at Garfield, UT, about 12 miles away. It averages 17.7 inches of precipitation and 23.0 inches of snow a year. That is a dry total, and beds and lawns here depend on careful watering through summer.^[2]

Garfield logs 97 days a year when the low drops to 32 F or colder. Snow melt that soaks into a base and freezes overnight lifts loose stone, so a drive should shed its melt to the sides rather than hold it in a low spot.^[2]

The median last spring freeze at that station is April 3. The median first fall freeze comes on November 4. Plant tender beds after the April date, and lay fresh mulch before the November one.^[2]

The ground at the center point stands 4,940 feet above sea level. Strong sun at a dry station dries bare soil fast, and a cover of rock or mulch keeps moisture in the ground and dust off the drive.^[2],[3]

Building a gravel drive on gravelly loam

Gravelly loam is one of the easier soils to build on. Strip the sod and the soft top layer, shape a slight crown, and compact the subgrade. On well-drained ground with low shrink-swell, fabric is optional, but it still helps keep loam fines out of a fresh base where the soil looks silty.^[1]

Spread Road Base in compacted lifts. Top the drive with 3/4" Crushed Stone or Driveway Gravel for a firm surface that grips tires and stands up to a snow blade. For a parking pad for a trailer or an RV, a lower course of 1-1/2" Crushed Gravel adds strength under the base.^[1],[2]

Give the edges somewhere for snow melt to go. A strip of #57 Crushed Stone or Drain Rock along each side, at the low point of the crown, catches that water and lets it soak into group B soil before it freezes.^[1],[2]

RV and trailer pads are among the most common jobs on single-family lots in the ZIP. Size the pad a little wider than the vehicle so tires do not ride off the edge, and steel or concrete edging keeps the top stone from drifting into the lawn. Because the soil barely shrinks or swells, a pad built well here tends to stay level for many years.^[1],[4]

Homes in ZIP 84081 and West Jordan

ZIP 84081 holds 15,580 housing units in the Census count. Detached single-family houses make up 79 percent. The median home in the ZIP was built in 2004, and owners live in 83 percent of the occupied homes.^[4]

For West Jordan as a whole, the Census lists 37,916 housing units. The detached share is 71 percent, and the median build year across the city is 1995.^[4]

A ZIP of newer, owner-occupied houses sees a lot of yard finishing and refreshing: an RV pad beside the garage, a xeriscape front yard replacing thirsty lawn, a backyard patio, or a new layer of rock in beds that have thinned after a decade or two.^[4]

The ZIP's median build year of 2004 is newer than the citywide figure of 1995. Many yards in newer subdivisions began with thin topsoil spread over graded fill, and lawns and beds there can struggle. A few inches of Topsoil or Compost worked into a tired bed, or a fresh start with raised beds of Garden Soil, often brings it back.^[4]

Xeriscape beds and rock yards

With 17.7 inches of yearly precipitation at Garfield, many owners trade lawn for rock and drought-tolerant plants. Lay a woven landscape fabric, cut openings for plants, and cover the bed with River Rock, #57 Crushed Stone or Decomposed Granite. Rock holds heat, so give plants room and water them deeply until they settle.^[2]

For beds that will grow vegetables or flowers, mix Compost into the gravelly loam or build raised beds of Garden Soil. Stones in the native soil make digging slow but help drainage. A layer of Brown Shredded Mulch or Wood Chips cuts evaporation in the dry months.^[1]

Decomposed Granite also makes a firm, natural-looking path through a rock yard. Rolled and lightly wetted over a compacted base, it packs into a walking surface that sheds dust. Walkway Gravel or Pea Gravel works where a softer, looser path fits better.^[1]

Rock beds take snow well. Shovel or blow the drive snow onto them rather than onto a lawn, and the melt soaks slowly through the stone into the gravelly loam. Plants under rock come through cold nights better when the stone layer is not too deep around their crowns.^[2]

River Rock or Decomposed Granite in a front yard

When a lawn comes out, the two most common covers are River Rock and Decomposed Granite. River Rock is round, washed stone in mixed sizes and colors. It does not pack, so water passes straight through to the gravelly loam below, and it stays put on flat ground and gentle slopes like the 1 to 3 percent of this map unit. It suits beds around shrubs and dry creek beds that carry roof water.^[1]

Decomposed Granite is fine crushed rock that compacts into a smooth surface. It walks well and looks clean, but its fines can slow water, and it needs a firm base and an edge. Many yards use both: Decomposed Granite for paths and sitting areas, River Rock for planted beds and drainage lines.^[1]