Crushed Base Course, Sand and Gravel Delivery in Yellowstone County, MT
Montana Rock Supply delivers gravel, stone and aggregate delivery in Yellowstone County, MT. If you are building a drive, a shop pad or a parking area, crushed base course is the material that carries it.
Ground here runs from river terrace sand and gravel to silty loam benches and shale clay on the rims. That mix decides how much base you need and how well water moves under it.
Ground Conditions Across Yellowstone County
The Yellowstone Valley and the Beartooth foothills hold two very different ground types. River terrace sand, gravel and cobble drain fast, so water passes straight through them.
Silty loam bench soils above the terraces hold moisture longer, and shale-derived clay on the rims and slopes can stay slow and soft well into spring.
An under-built base on that clay ground is where drives rut and break up. The soil moves under a load instead of carrying it.
Frost heave is a real factor through the winter here. Chinooks off the Beartooths bring frequent thaw and refreeze rather than one long frozen spell, so a drive surface works up and down all season.
Figures quoted for Billings and the surrounding plains run about 36 to 42 inches, with deeper figures on the higher ground toward Red Lodge. The local building department sets footing depth, so check with them on any structure.
Spring is also when bank scour hits hard and runoff overloads the coulees. Riprap and clean rock are the answer in those spots, not a fines-bearing material.
The working season is one of the longer ones in the state on the valley floor, running from early spring into late autumn. It shortens quickly as you climb toward the Beartooth front.
Materials Delivered in Yellowstone County
Start with the job, then pick the material. Each product page has a calculator, and quantities are ordered by the ton or by the yard.
Crushed base course is the one to understand first. In Montana it is specified as crushed base course under the MDT Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, Section 701.02.4.
Those grades are named by nominal top size: Grade 5A at 2 inch minus and Grade 6A at 1 1/2 inch minus. A 3/4 inch minus grade, 7A, was developed for MDT as pit sources for the larger sizes ran short.
City and county work is more often written against Section 02235, Crushed Base Course, of the Montana Public Works Standard Specifications. County road standards call sizes out as 3 inch minus sub-base and 1 inch minus crushed base or top course.
Order it for driveways, shop pads, parking areas and shed bases.
Pit run is the other end of the base build. It is unprocessed pit gravel for deep fill and raising grade, sitting under a crushed base course rather than acting as the surface itself.
For drainage, washed rock does what a fines-bearing material cannot: French drains, curtain drains, foundation drains and downspout runs. Crusher fines handle paver bedding and packed paths, and screened topsoil covers lawns and bed prep.
Choosing the Right Material
Big Horn County ground is bentonite-rich gumbo clay weathered off marine shale, with badlands, scoria beds and broken ground. That clay swells and holds water, so it needs more separation under a base than the free-draining river gravel here.
Musselshell County sits on deep silty and clayey prairie soils over the benches, with gravelly terraces and shallow stony ground on the island ranges. Those fines hold water much like the bench soils in this valley.
Carbon County spans more than one zone, taking in the Yellowstone Valley and the Beartooth foothills along with southwest and south-central mountain valleys. It shares this county's ground region, so the base and drainage reasoning is the same.
Delivery Across Yellowstone County
You order online, choose a quantity by the ton or by the yard, and pick a delivery date at checkout. A dump truck then tips the load on site in one pile.
Delivery covers Billings, Laurel, Shepherd, Worden, Huntley, Ballantine, Broadview, Custer, Acton, Pompeys Pillar and Molt. Valley floor ground and the higher benches toward the Beartooth front are both served.
Size the load before you order. Each product page has a calculator, and it is worth using it rather than guessing at a quantity.
Questions About Base Material in Yellowstone County
When is the best time of year to order base material in Yellowstone County?
The valley floor has one of the longer working seasons in the state, running from early spring into late autumn. Winter brings chinooks off the Beartooths and frequent thaw and refreeze, so ground can stay soft and heaving for weeks at a time.
Ordering while the ground is workable saves you fighting frozen or rutted conditions.
What is the difference between topsoil and fill dirt?
Topsoil is screened and holds the organic content and texture that lawns, grading and bed prep need over thin or stony native ground. Fill dirt is bulk material for backfill and raising grade before a base course goes down.
It is not a growing medium, so it goes under the top layer, not at the surface.
What is crushed base course and what is it used for in Yellowstone County?
Crushed base course is the standard Montana base material, usually ordered by top size as 3/4 minus. It is specified locally under MDT Section 701.02.4 and, for city and county work, Section 02235 of the Montana Public Works Standard Specifications.
It goes under driveways, shop pads, parking areas and shed bases.
Order Crushed Base Course in Yellowstone County
Crushed base course is the material that carries a drive, a pad or a parking area in Yellowstone County, and it is specified here by nominal top size. Montana Rock Supply delivers it by the ton or by the yard, with the load tipped on site.
Pick your material, size the load, and choose a delivery date to get your order started.