Bulk Aggregates for Patios in Elwood, IL

Illinois Rock Supply sells gravel and aggregate delivery in Elwood, IL to two kinds of buyers: contractors building patios and flatwork, and homeowners rebuilding a walk or pad.

Both need the same thing first, a base that will not pump or shift, and that means CA-6, the dense graded crushed limestone this market calls road base.

Clay ground is the reason. Across the Chicago lake plain and the northeastern moraines, heavy silt and clay shed water instead of taking it, so a base that stays wet loses its support.

Ground and Conditions in Elwood

When a base is too thin over this ground, the failure shows up as soft spots that open after a wet spring. The slab or paver field rocks over them, joints crack, and the surface never quite settles back down.

Lake plain clay and dense till shed water rather than absorb it. Flat ground has little fall, so summer downpours overwhelm yard grades and storm sewers, and water sits where a base should be dry.

Sheet wash off bare clay lots is the other problem. It strips the surface, moves fines, and leaves an uneven subgrade that has to be shaped before anything goes on top.

Timing matters as much as material. Base, driveway and paver work runs from the spring thaw into late fall; frozen ground stops compaction through the winter, and a wet spring keeps crews off soft clay.

Materials for Elwood Projects

Bedding is where patios and flatwork are won or lost, so start there. Above a compacted base, the layer that actually holds the surface is a fine, tight material that locks pavers flat and stays put.

Lime Screenings, the crushed limestone fines this market calls screenings, are the standard bedding layer for pavers and flagstone. They also backfill around pipe.

Below the bedding, CA-6 is the Illinois base material: dense graded crushed limestone with the fines left in. It builds driveways, parking pads, shed and garage bases and trench backfill.

Clean stone handles water where fines would clog. CA-7 is washed 1 inch stone for bedding under pipe, drainage trenches, French drains and concrete flatwork, and 3/4" Crushed Stone, known as CA-11, does the same work at a smaller size.

At the fine end, CA-16 Chips are 3/8 inch limestone chips for permeable paver bedding and drainage around tanks. Washed Sand, which Illinois yards call torpedo sand, is the coarse washed sand for concrete and leveling.

Delivery to Elwood and the Surrounding Area

Quantities are ordered by the ton or by the yard, and each product page has a calculator to size the load. Choose the quantity that matches the job, then pick a delivery date at checkout.

A dump truck tips the load in one pile at the delivery point. Bulk delivery covers Elwood and the rest of Will County, including Joliet, Bolingbrook, Plainfield, Romeoville and New Lenox.

Questions from Elwood Buyers

What gravel is best for a driveway in Elwood?

CA-6 is the base material for a driveway here, because the fines left in the crushed limestone let it compact into a firm surface over clay. For a top course on an existing drive, look at Driveway Gravel.

Loose rounded stone will not lock up the way crushed limestone does.

How much material will my project need?

Use the calculator on the product page to work out the quantity, then order by the ton or the yard. Have the area and the depth you plan to build to ready before you start.

The calculator gives you a number you can order directly at checkout.

Size the Load, Then Place the Order

Start with the calculator on the product page to size your load, then order CA-6, screenings or clean stone by the ton or the yard for delivery in Elwood. Pick your delivery date at checkout and a dump truck will tip the material on site.