Bulk Aggregates for Drainage in Portland, MI

Michigan Rock Supply handles gravel and aggregate delivery in Portland, MI, and the material most local jobs start with is 21AA limestone. It is the standard Michigan driveway base. Around Portland it goes under drives, parking pads and pole barn slabs.

Not every job here is a driveway, though. A lot of them are drainage jobs, and that is where the washed stone sizes earn their place.

Materials for Portland Projects

Drainage is the work that decides how a Portland property holds up. Spring snowmelt and heavy rain move fast through sand and gravel, but they stand on the clay till flats and in the low spots. A French drain, a drywell or a downspout run only works when the stone around it stays open, and that means washed stone with the fines taken out.

Drain rock is the workhorse for French drains, drywells, foundation drains and downspout runs, including in slow-draining clay ground. Drain Rock stays porous because there is no fine material left in it to pack tight and hold water.

For finer drainage, pipe bedding and a topping over a compacted base, 3/8 inch crushed stone is the size to reach for. 3/8" Crushed Stone also works around foundation edges where a coarser stone would not sit right.

Where a drain needs more open void space, #57 stone handles drainage, French drains and concrete aggregate. #57 Stone is a washed size, so water moves through it instead of ponding on top. #67 stone does the same work at a slightly smaller size. #67 Stone suits drainage and concrete work where the smaller stone fits the trench.

Heavier drainage calls for #4 crushed stone. #4 Crushed Stone goes into construction entrances and trench bottoms where the load is heavy and the water has to keep moving.

On the coarser end, rip rap armors lakefront, stream bank, culvert outlet and slope work against waves, ice and spring runoff. RipRap is the answer when runoff is scouring a slope or a ditch bank and you need stone that will not wash out.

Once drainage is settled, the base and surfacing materials go down. 21AA limestone is the standard base. 21AA Limestone packs hard under a drive or a pad. 22A road gravel is a different class, a hard-packing mix of stone, sand and fines for unpaved drives and private roads, not for drainage work.

For the surface layer, driveway gravel tops a compacted 21AA base, and walkway gravel gives paths a finer, walkable finish. Driveway Gravel and Walkway Gravel both come in bulk.

Sand and soil round out most orders. Mason sand beds brick and block work and fills paver joints, washed sand levels and beds under slabs, and screened topsoil rebuilds a lawn over the sandy or clay glacial soils common here. Mason Sand, Washed Sand and Top Soil all ship in bulk loads.

Delivery to Portland and the Surrounding Area

You order online and pick your delivery date at checkout. Choose the quantity by the ton or by the yard, and use the calculator if you want to size the load before you commit. A dump truck then delivers to your site in Portland.

Portland sits in Ionia County, and coverage reaches the rest of the county as well, including Ionia, Belding, Orleans, Lake Odessa and Saranac. Whether the drop is a driveway in town or a building site out on a township road, the load arrives the same way.

Timing matters more than most buyers expect. Frost laws limit heavy trucks on many county roads during the spring thaw, so a delivery date that works in July may not work in March. Build that into your schedule when you plan a spring pour or a base install.

Ground and Conditions in Portland

This part of the Southern Lower Peninsula moraines and till plains is a patchwork of glacial deposits. You get loamy and clay loam till on flat to rolling plains, sandy and gravelly moraines and outwash, and wet muck or peat in kettle holes and other low spots. Two sites a mile apart can drain completely differently.

That is why drainage drives so many projects here. Water moves quickly through the sand and gravel ground, but it stands on the clay till flats and in poorly drained depressions and outwash channels, where many sites rely on tile or ditches. A drywell or a French drain packed with washed stone gives that water somewhere to go.

Runoff from heavy rain and snowmelt also scours sloping moraine ground, roadside ditches and stream banks. Rip rap and large river rock hold those edges in place.

The working season runs from the spring thaw into late fall, and frozen ground stops compaction in winter. Freeze-thaw comes every winter and spring. As frost comes out of the ground the soaked soil loses strength, so gravel drives and thin bases can rut and heave. Frost depth under the Michigan Residential Code is 42 inches, which is a footing depth set by the building official, not a gravel spec.

Order Aggregate Delivery in Portland

Michigan Rock Supply delivers 21AA limestone, washed drainage stone, sand, topsoil and decorative rock to Portland and the surrounding Ionia County area. Order online, choose your quantity by the ton or the yard, and pick a delivery date at checkout. When your drainage or driveway job is ready, place the order and we will bring the material to your site.