3/8 Clean for Patios in Longview, WA

Washington Rock Supply handles gravel and aggregate delivery in Longview, WA, for contractors building flatwork and for homeowners setting a patio or path. Both groups run into the same question: what goes under the pavers.

In this part of Southwest Washington the answer starts with 5/8 minus, the crushed surfacing top course that packs hard and sheds water.

Longview sits in Cowlitz County, where terrace soils along the river hold water instead of letting it go. That shapes every bedding decision below.

Ground and Conditions in Longview

Across the Lower Columbia, Chehalis valley and the Willapa Hills, the ground is river terrace silt and gravel, weathered hill soils, and ash and lahar material draining Mount St. Helens.

Fine-grained terrace soil holds water rather than shedding it.

A thin base over that ground fails in a predictable way. The bedding layer pumps, the pavers rock, and joints open at the edges.

The fix is a free-draining structural course under the bedding, not more bedding.

Valley flooding and slow-draining silt are the drivers here. The lower Cowlitz backs up in winter storms, so pads and drives need a course that drains instead of soaking.

The working season runs October to April wet, with two days the limit on exposed unworked soil. Grading in the river valleys gets planned around the winter flood season as much as around the rain.

Winters are mild and wet, with only shallow frost. Ground that softens here softens because it is full of water, not because it froze and thawed.

Cowlitz County publishes a 12 inch frost depth for footing work, and the building department sets the figure that applies to your permit.

Materials for Longview Projects

Bedding under pavers and flatwork is where the material choice shows up first. Get the layers right and the surface stays flat through a wet winter.

Stone Screenings, also called crusher dust or 3/8 minus, is the classic setting bed for pavers and flagstone. It is a minus product, so it compacts rather than drains, which is exactly what a bedding layer needs.

3/8" Crushed Stone is the washed counterpart. With the fines taken out, it drains instead of packing, so it suits permeable paver joints and small drain runs.

Under the bedding, 5/8 Minus is the Washington default surfacing course, known locally as CSTC. Crushed rock with the fines left in, it packs hard and sheds water instead of soaking it up.

It works for driveways, parking pads and shed slabs.

On soft or wet ground, 1 1/4 Minus goes below the 5/8 minus as the structural course. Larger top size and fewer fines, so it carries load and stays workable.

Where water needs to move rather than sit, Drain Rock is the washed, fines-free stone for footing drains, French drains and infiltration trenches. It keeps its voids where a perched water table sits.

Delivery to Longview and the Surrounding Area

You order online and choose a quantity by the ton or by the yard. Each product page has a calculator if you want to size the load before checkout, and you pick a delivery date there.

A dump truck tips the load on site in one pile. From there it is yours to move, so it helps to know where you want it before the truck arrives.

Delivery covers Longview and the rest of Cowlitz County, including Kelso, Woodland, Kalama, Castle Rock and Ryderwood.

Questions About Gravel and Bedding in Longview

What gravel is best for a driveway in Longview?

For most drives, 5/8 minus is the surfacing course. It is crushed rock with the fines left in, so it packs hard and sheds water instead of soaking it up.

On soft or wet ground, put 1 1/4 minus underneath as the structural base. Where the drive crosses a wet spot, drain rock keeps its voids and moves water away.

How much material will my project need?

Quantities are ordered by the ton or by the yard. Each product page has a calculator, so you can size the load from your own project numbers before you check out.

That keeps the order matched to the area you are covering rather than to a guess.

Size Your Load and Place Your Order

Work out your quantity on the product page calculator, then order the bedding, base and drainage stone your Longview project needs. Washington Rock Supply delivers bulk aggregate across Cowlitz County by the ton or the yard.

Place your order online and pick a delivery date at checkout.