My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. They came in my requested time frame (afternoon) and dropped it off where I asked on my driveway. The topsoil was exactly what was a...
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How Much Material Do I Need?
Two inches is standard for decorative stone beds and three to four inches for pathways and drainage channels. Expect roughly 100 square feet of coverage per ton at two inches with small to medium stone.
Use our free stone calculator
What is a Yard?
A yard is approximately 27 cubic feet. As a general guideline, one yard of material can cover an area of about 100-160 square feet at a 2-3 inch depth.
My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. They came in my requested time frame (afternoon) and dropped it off where I asked on my driveway. The topsoil was exactly what was a...
How Much Material Do I Need?
Two inches is standard for decorative stone beds and three to four inches for pathways and drainage channels. Expect roughly 100 square feet of coverage per ton at two inches with small to medium stone.
Use our free stone calculator
What is a Yard?
A yard is approximately 27 cubic feet. As a general guideline, one yard of material can cover an area of about 100-160 square feet at a 2-3 inch depth.
My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. Th...
Read full review
My experience with Mulch Mound was great and super easy. I ordered two yards of screened topsoil and was able to get it delivered within 2 days. They came in my requested time frame (afternoon) and dropped it off where I asked on my driveway. The topsoil was exactly what was advertised, clean with no rocks or other debris. The price was reasonable. I plan to use them again in a couple weeks to order compost for my garden beds.
Really appreciate the care and follow thru that this company had with our order. A hiccup came up but they were quick to respond and address all co...
Read full review
Really appreciate the care and follow thru that this company had with our order. A hiccup came up but they were quick to respond and address all concerns, which made our garden day a success! Thank you for your prompt care.
Measure your area in square feet and choose your depth, usually two inches for decorative coverage and three to four inches for drainage or high traffic areas. Remember stone is priced by weight, so heavier products like granite cover less ground per ton than lighter limestone. Round up rather than down, because a second small delivery costs more per ton.
Complete Your Outdoor Stone Project
Finish the job with steel edging to hold the stone line against Round Rock clay movement, a woven landscape fabric underlay, and base rock beneath any decomposed granite path.
Install steel edging on every rock bed. Round Rock clay expands and contracts several inches through the year, and without a hard edge your stone slowly migrates into the lawn where it becomes a mower hazard. Steel edging set a half inch above the stone line contains the material through the swell and shrink cycle and gives you a clean mowing edge. Plastic edging fails fast here because summer heat warps it and clay movement pops the stakes.
Mulch Mound Pro Tip
Size your drainage rock to the storm, not to the average. Round Rock averages 36 inches of rain but it can drop three or four of those inches in an afternoon. Design swales and dry creek beds to move that peak flow with rock in the four to eight inch range in the fast moving sections. Undersized pea gravel looks fine in April and ends up in your neighbor's yard after the first real storm.
Mulch Mound Pro Tip
Use local limestone products where you want the yard to feel native. Round Rock sits on the limestone shelf at the Hill Country edge, and cream to tan colored stone reads as belonging here in a way that imported colored rock never quite does. Limestone also reflects heat rather than absorbing it, which keeps paths and patios noticeably cooler underfoot in July than a dark granite or river rock alternative.
The Unique Landscape of Round Rock
Round Rock sits right where the Blackland Prairie meets the limestone of the Hill Country, so decorative stone is not just a look here, it is part of the local geology. Stone is the most practical answer to a black clay yard, because it does not decompose, it does not wash out in a hard downpour, and it never needs replacing the way mulch does. On lots with slope down toward Brushy Creek or the many drainage swales in Round Rock subdivisions, river rock and rip rap keep soil from moving during our concentrated rain events. Stone also handles the summer beautifully, staying put through 100 degree stretches when organic material is breaking down. Limestone products in particular blend visually with the native rock outcrops you see all over town. For pathways, dry creek beds, and low water zones, stone is the material that outlasts everything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click a question to see the answer
Answer
Will rock beds make my yard hotter in the summer?
Yes, noticeably. Light colored limestone reflects heat and dark river rock absorbs and radiates it, and in Round Rock a full rock bed on a west facing wall can add ten degrees or more to the air right around it. Use stone on north and east exposures, in drainage areas, and along paths, and stick with mulch in beds holding shrubs and perennials on the hot sides of the house.
Answer
What size rock works best for a dry creek bed in Round Rock?
Mix sizes. Use two to four inch river rock for the channel bed and set six to twelve inch boulders along the banks and at direction changes. Our rain arrives in short heavy bursts, and uniform small rock will simply relocate downstream during the first big May or October storm. The larger anchor stones hold the smaller material in place.
Answer
Does decomposed granite hold up in our clay and rain?
It does if it is installed on a compacted base and edged. Round Rock clay moves seasonally, so a DG path laid straight on bare clay will develop soft spots and low areas. Put down two to three inches of compacted base rock first, then two inches of DG, compact in lifts, and edge with steel. Done that way, paths here stay firm for years with an occasional refresh.
Answer
Can I put rock over my clay without weeds coming through?
Weeds in rock beds almost always germinate in the dust and debris that collects on top, not from below. In Round Rock our windblown clay dust and oak leaf litter build up quickly, so plan on a leaf blower a few times a year and a pre emergent in late February and again in September. A quality woven fabric underneath helps keep the rock from sinking into clay, which is its real job.
Answer
How much stone do I need for a bed and how is it sold?
Decorative stone sells by the ton in Round Rock, and one ton of river rock covers roughly 80 to 100 square feet at two inches deep, depending on stone size. Larger stone covers less per ton. For a typical 200 square foot side bed at two inches, budget about two to two and a half tons.
Answer
What stone should I use around my foundation?
Larger washed river rock or a limestone rock is fine at the foundation, and it is actually better than mulch there because it does not hold moisture against the slab. What matters more in Round Rock is grade. Keep the ground sloping away from the slab and do not let stone build up above the weep holes or the slab edge, since our expansive clay already puts enough stress on foundations.
Answer
Is stone a good choice for cutting my water use?
It is if you use it deliberately. Rock does not need water and it holds up under Round Rock watering restrictions, but a big field of rock creates a heat island that makes nearby plants need more water. The best approach here is stone for paths, drainage, and accents combined with drought adapted plantings in mulched beds, which is what most successful low water Round Rock yards look like.
