Services

Gravel delivery, by the load or by the yard

Driveway base, pad prep, drainage rock, a load of sand for the sandbox. We pick it up at the pit, haul it, and put it where your loader or your rake can reach it.

What we deliver

Anchorage pits sell aggregate by the name of the screen it came off, and the names matter because the wrong one costs you twice. Here is what we haul most, what it is for, and what the local suppliers list it at so you can sanity-check any quote, ours included.

Common Anchorage aggregate, by local name
MaterialWhat it isWhere it belongsSupplier list price, per yard
Pit run (Type II)Unscreened bank gravel, everything up to about 4 inchesDeep fill under pads and driveways, the layer nobody sees$9 at the pit
3-inch minusScreened to 3 inches and down, fines includedSub-base on soft ground, rural driveways, building up a lot$11
3/4-inch minusCrushed to 3/4 inch, plenty of finesTop course on a driveway, walkway base, under pavers$14
D-1Crushed, graded base course to the state specThe finish course on any driveway or pad you plan to keep$22 to $30, by pit
Sewer and septic rockWashed 1.5 to 3 inch, no finesDrain fields, French drains, behind retaining walls$13 to $16.50
SandWashed septic or fill sandBedding, backfill, winter traction$16

Those are the gate prices Anchorage pits published this season, per yard; the bigger producers sell the same material by the ton over a scale instead. Trucking is on top of all of it, and trucking is what you are buying from us.

How a delivery works

  1. You tell us the material, the quantity in yards or tons, and the address. If you are not sure on quantity, the load calculator gets you within a load.
  2. We quote the load, the trucking and any minimum for your area, in writing, before a truck moves.
  3. We pick a pit for your material and your side of town. Palmer material does not make sense for Sand Lake, and Klatt Pit does not make sense for Wasilla.
  4. The driver calls ahead, dumps where you have marked, and hands you the pit ticket. The ticket is your proof of what you paid for.

Truck sizes and what they mean for your order

Our trucks are dual axle International dump trucks with 12-yard beds rated for 12 tons. Some outfits in town run bigger rigs, super-size boxes up to 30 yards and tractors pulling an 18 to 20 yard trailer with a pup behind it, and on a wide-open commercial site that is fine. On a residential driveway, with a tight turn, a soft approach and a spruce hanging over it, the dual axle truck is the one that gets in, dumps where you pointed and gets out without leaving ruts.

Weight is the other limit. A yard of D-1 runs about 1.4 tons loose, so a 12-ton load of D-1 is about 8.5 yards while a load of topsoil fills the whole 12-yard bed, and in spring the state and the Borough cut legal axle weights on many roads. See the breakup delivery page for how that changes March through May.

Minimums and where we go

Inside the Anchorage Bowl a partial load is normal; outside it, the drive time is most of the cost, so the minimum goes up. That is how every hauler here prices it, and the published splits around town all land in the same place: about 5 yards in the Bowl, 10 yards for Hillside, Eagle River and Peters Creek. Our minimums by area are on the pricing page, and each area has its own page with the routes and pits we use: Eagle River and Chugiak, the Mat-Su Valley and Girdwood.

Get the site ready

  • Mark the dump spot with paint or a stake. The driver will not guess.
  • Clear 14 feet of overhead and a straight shot in. A raised bed needs room above it.
  • Keep the pile off the street unless you have a right-of-way permit; the Municipality will make you move it.
  • Wet ground in spring will not carry a loaded truck. If your driveway is soft, we dump at the road and you move it, or we wait a week.

Questions we get about this

Can you deliver a half load?

Inside the Bowl, yes, with a minimum. Outside the Bowl it rarely pencils; the drive is the same whether the box is full or half full, so we quote the full load and you keep the extra.

Do I pay by the yard or by the ton?

The pit sells most crushed material by the ton and most pit run and topsoil by the yard. We quote the way the pit sells it and show the conversion on the ticket, so you can compare like for like.

Can you spread it?

A driver can tailgate-spread along a driveway if the ground is firm and the run is straight. It is not a grader finish. For a pad or a lot you want a loader or a skid steer on site.

How soon can you deliver?

In season, usually within a day or two. Snow season and breakup move that around; ask when you call and we will give you a real date, not a hopeful one.

Sources

  1. Alaska DOT&PF, Standard Specifications for Highway Construction, 703-2.03 and Table 703-2 (D-1 base course gradation)
  2. Alaska DOT&PF, seasonal weight restriction notices
  3. Municipality of Anchorage code, footing depths and frost protection (Title 23)
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