3/8 Clean for Patios in Olympia, WA

For gravel and aggregate delivery in Olympia, WA, most flatwork starts with the bedding under it. Washington Rock Supply sells bulk material by the ton, and 5/8 minus is the surfacing course that carries the base of a patio, walkway or drive here.

This is glacial ground across the Puget Sound lowland. A dense till cap sits under the loose upper soil, and water backs up against it all winter.

Ground and Conditions in Olympia

When a paver patio or a slab shifts, the base under it usually went soft rather than the surface. Rain soaks the loose upper soil, reaches the dense till and stops, so the water table sits close to the surface all winter instead of draining away.

That perched water is the reason a base has to be drained and not just compacted. On soft wet ground, a 1 1/4 minus base course stays workable under the bedding layer instead of pumping.

Timing matters too. The wet season runs October through April, and exposed soil in western Washington has to be stabilized within two days in that window against seven days in summer.

The ground seldom freezes deep here, so it is saturation that softens a base, not frost. A pad that was firm in August can rut in February.

Materials for Olympia Projects

Bedding is where the finish lives. Get the setting bed right and pavers sit flat for years; get it wrong and every joint opens.

Crusher dust, also called 3/8 minus or screenings, is the standard bedding for pavers and flagstone. It is a minus product, so it compacts rather than drains, which is what a setting bed needs.

See Stone Screenings.

Where water has to move through the bed instead, 3/8 clean is the washed, fines-free alternative for permeable paver joints and small drain runs. Order it as 3/8" Crushed Stone.

Below the bedding, 1 1/4 minus, also called crushed surfacing base course, is the structural course. It has a larger top size and fewer fines than 5/8 minus, so it carries load on soft ground.

It is listed here as 1 1/4 Minus.

Above the base, 5/8 minus (crushed surfacing top course) packs hard and sheds water instead of soaking it up. It is the default surfacing course for driveways, parking pads and shed slabs, sold as 5/8 Minus.

For sand bedding and joint sweeping, mason sand is the fine, clean option. It is also called masonry sand or plaster sand, and you can find it as Mason Sand.

Delivery to Olympia and the Surrounding Area

You order online and choose a quantity by the ton or by the yard. Each product page has a calculator that helps you size the load before you check out.

Pick your delivery date at checkout and a dump truck tips the material in one pile on site. From there it is your job to move it where the work is.

Washington Rock Supply delivers across Thurston County, including Lacey, Yelm, Rochester, Rainier and Tenino. Olympia sits in the county's center, so most addresses are a straight run in.

Ordering the Right Material for Your Olympia Project

Get your area and depth into the calculator on the product page, and the quantity comes back in tons or yards. Match the material to the job: screenings and mason sand for bedding, 5/8 minus for the surface, 1 1/4 minus underneath when the ground runs soft.

Then place your order for delivery in Olympia.