[WarEagle26]

Has anyone in the North Alabama area shopped around for the best place to buy sand for a yard leveling project? I've got about 6k sq ft of lawn and would probably be looking to have about 5 or 6 tons yards delivered (roughly 9 tons).

Here are the prices that I've gotten so far:
** I'll try to keep this post updated with current prices to keep it all together. Add a comment if you get an updated price from somewhere or have a new location that should be added to the list.

Baker Sand & Gravel
$30/ton
$330.75 delivery fee

Harvest Feed Mill
$45/scoop for sand (assuming their scoop is close to a yard)
$40-$50 delivery fee depending on location

Across the Pond
$50/ton for sand
$75 delivery fee (if dumped)
$95 delivery fee + $25/bag (if placing bags with a forklift)

French Mill Stone
$40/scoop (said each scoop was about 1100-1200 lbs)
$70/ton bag (said they top the bags off so they are really about 2200-2300 lbs)
$40 delivery fee (but they only deliver bags)

Reseda Nursery & Stone Yard
$45/scoop (roughly a yard)
$59 minimum delivery fee (varies by distance & must have minimum of 4 scoops for delivery)

Brownsferry Mercantile
$29 for 3/4 yard scoop
$100 for 3 1/3 yard scoop
$375 - 10 ton truckload delivered (this is tax and all)
The lady said they normally don't deliver anything less than the 10-ton single truckload, but could work out a price if you needed less than that and didn't have a way to pick it up. (Using 1 yard = 1.5 tons as my basis, a 10-ton truckload equals 6.66 yards. At $100/3.33 yards, this means they are charging $175 for delivery and taxes)

NOTE: This is for their "playground sand." It is screened, but not screened as finely as I thought.

The Greenery
$38/yard
$50 delivery fee to 35757 (Delivery fee varies by distance. 2 yard minimum. 5 yard max truck capacity.)

Limestone Farmers Co-Op
$20 for about 1000lbs (they weigh your truck/trailer and you pay by weight)
$40/ton

 

[Movingshrub]

So, two yards of sand?

Have you tried giving a call to Baker sand and gravel?

I got a quote in November from Alliance Sand and Aggregates out of Decatur that gave me a price of $840+tax for 25 tons.

Please update with whoever you end up getting prices from and who you end up using. I plan to buy sand in the next 4-6 weeks.

 

[WarEagle26]

I was thinking that one yard of sand would be roughly 1.4 tons of sand, so I was figuring that 3.5 to 4 yards would get me about 5 or 6 tons. However, I was just now looking back over MQ's post on leveling and it looks like about 1 yard of sand per 1k of lawn is a good rough estimate, so I guess about 6 yards, not tons, is what I will need.

 

[Ware]

The weight/cubic yard conversion is largely dependent on the moisture content of the sand. Around here if you buy it from a garden center that sells bulk mulch, etc. you usually pay a volumetric rate (by the yard) because they measure by the bucket scoop. If it comes direct from the sand plant where they process it, they have scales and charge by the ton.

 

[Movingshrub]

@WarEagle26

Do you have a drag mat? What's your plan to smooth everything out?

 

[raldridge2315]

I'm also going to be purchasing sand this spring. The only place I've looked so far is Valley Feed and Landscape Supply. They want $38 / yd plus delivery. There is also Spruce Pine Sand & Gravel, Alliance, North Alabama Sand and Gravel, Waters Brothers, and Holland Company. There may be more in Decatur, but those are the ones I know. I know that Littrell Lumber Mill has sand, but I don't think they will deliver it. I will post prices as I find them.

 

[Movingshrub]

@raldridge2315

Thanks. I am probably going to go with baker sand and gravel. They are the closest for me and a tad bit cheaper I think. I haven't checked with their delivery costs. If I go that route, I'll post the price.

 

[WarEagle26]

Thanks guys. I'm just getting started looking into all this, but wanted to go ahead and start planning now so that when spring/summer gets here I'm not scrambling around trying to figure it all out.

Once I get some prices I will also post them back here to help others in the area.

@Movingshrub I don't have a drag mat. I was toying with the idea of trying to make my own version of a leveling rake similar to this. If I got a drag mat it would need to be a small one that I could pull around by hand since I don't have any equipment to pull it with. If I could get by with one or the other I'm not sure which would be the better thing to have...a small drag mat or a rake like the one in the link above. Any thoughts from those that have used them?

 

[Ware]

...Any thoughts from those that have used them?

I have used both on my lawn. My experience has been that the drag mat works better for a major leveling project where a thicker layer of sand is added to the entire lawn like icing on a cake. The leveling rake works better for spot leveling or a light top dressing where your goal is just to fill in some small dips and bumps. It's difficult to explain, but the rake works better when it has good contact with the ground.

 

[Mightyquinn]

...Any thoughts from those that have used them?

I have used both on my lawn. My experience has been that the drag mat works better for a major leveling project where a thicker layer of sand is added to the entire lawn like icing on a cake. The leveling rake works better for spot leveling or a light top dressing where your goal is just to fill in some small dips and bumps. It's difficult to explain, but the rake works better when it has good contact with the ground.

I have both also and I agree with Ware but I didn't have the Leveling Rake when I did my top dressing last Summer so I can't comment on that part. I do plan to hook the rake(just the head part) to the back of the drag mat to help level some more and keep the mat from "dipping" into lower spots and pulling sand out.

 

[Movingshrub]

@WarEagle26

I think you and I are in a similar boat. I don't have any kind of wheeled equipment to pull a mat around so whatever I get would have to be small enough to pull by hand. I do have a landscape rake that I am going to try, and if that doesn't work well, I'll pull the trigger on or fabricate a drag mat.

I am expecting to start off with 3-4 yards of sand to fill in irrigation trenches that settled.

 

[WarEagle26]

Called Baker Sand & Gravel this morning...

Delivery is based on a 25 ton load even if you are getting a lot less than that. I've got a Madison address and delivery alone was going to be $330.75.

Price per ton for masonry sand was $14 and some change + tax. I told her I needed six yards and she quoted me for 9 tons (so they are estimating 1 yard to be about 1.5 tons).

Total for 9 tons delivered was going to be around $460 or so. The price of the sand seems good, but that delivery cost seems outrageous. Gonna see if I can find someone that will deliver for a lot less than that.

 

[raldridge2315]

My drag mat is supposed to be delivered today.

 

[WarEagle26]

@raldridge2315 which mat did you end up getting?

 

[Ware]

That masonry sand price sounds about right.

I'd call around and find someone with a small dump truck or hydraulic dump trailer. There is a company around here that has some small 5-ton trucks that haul mulch, driveway gravel, etc. I think I paid $75 for delivery.

 

[raldridge2315]

Called Baker Sand & Gravel this morning...

Delivery is based on a 25 ton load even if you are getting a lot less than that. I've got a Madison address and delivery alone was going to be $330.75.

Price per ton for masonry sand was $14 and some change + tax. I told her I needed six yards and she quoted me for 9 tons (so they are estimating 1 yard to be about 1.5 tons).

Total for 9 tons delivered was going to be around $460 or so. The price of the sand seems good, but that delivery cost seems outrageous. Gonna see if I can find someone that will deliver for a lot less than that.

There are lots of people around that own dump trucks and dump trailers. I'm betting I'm betting that $50 and a case of beer would get your hauling done. I would start by asking for references at the feed and seeds, Tractor Supply, County Exchange, etc. I have found one called GT Trucking in Lacey's Spring (256) 655-8576. That's a fair distance from Madison, but it's a start.

Additionally there are lots of "guest workers," errrr Mexicans with trucks and trailers that would haul mulch, sand, etc.

 

[Movingshrub]

I have the benefit of access to a buddy with a 16' trailer. My vehicle will allow me to tow two yards at once, which although not as convenient as having all of the sand at once, allows me to pace the application of sand.

With that being said, Baker sand and gravel is about 40 minutes round trip for me, so I will probably just pick it up on my own.

Thanks for calling and getting prices. I assume they are renting the truck, and the cost for rental is the same whether full or empty.

Also curious about drag mat size.

 

[csbutler]

I used Reseda on hwy 72. I had 4 tons delivered and I want to say it was just over $200.

 

[Mightyquinn]

Damn, you guys are paying a lot for sand, I think I can get 12 yds of sand delivered to my house for $180 from a local sand company about 10 miles away. But I agree that you should be able to find some local guy with a dump truck to get you a load for a lot cheaper than what the company you're buying if from can deliver it for.

 

[raldridge2315]

@raldridge2315 which mat did you end up getting?

Yard Tuff YTF-455TBDM Drag Mat, 4.5' x 5' from Amazon. There will be some areas on the sides and in the back where I will only be able to use a rake, but this will work well on the large main areas in the front and back. My neighbor across the street has a small lawn tractor that he said I could use. They make a 5' X 3' that can be pulled by hand that I debated buying instead, but went with the bigger (and heavier) one.