wroughtn_harv
Super Member
Materials here in the Dallas area run about thirty five dollars a yard. One of the things I had to adjust to when I moved here from southern California was the cost of sand.
In California I could back down to about any wash and shovel a load into the pickup to freshen up the play area for the kids.
Here we don't have much sand period. Where I'm at what we have is black clay, affectionately called gumbo.
So the rock and sand has to be hauled in which of course makes the price much higher than if it was mined locally.
When I was in Arizona on vacation we took on a project for my dad. I went to a local fence company and asked for the best place to get remix. Remix is when they recombine sand and rock for a concrete mix. Fence guys use it and so do contractors who are mixing their own concrete on small jobs. They told me to go to the cement mine.
I pulled up and parked at the office of the mine and asked the nice young lady how much it would be for about a yard or so of remix. She didn't know what I was talking about but sand and gravel cost eleven dollars a pickup load.
I told her the price sure sounded fair but she might want to look at my pickup before she committed herself on that price. She looked at Moby and told me to weigh in and weigh out and they'd price it by the ton.
The operator of the four yard loader knew what I was talking about. He had it over in a corner behind some other stuff. What was amazing to me was how he took that big old monster and picked up what turned out to be exactly three thousand pounds and place it in the truck gently. So many of those boys get their thrills by watching trucks shudder as they load them.
It cost me six dollars and some change for my remix. Yup it pays to have a big pick up. You can get more for less.
When I got back home I took the receipt over to my bud's place where I get all my materials. We have a relationship you might say.
I handed the receipt over to his wife, one of these true redheads, especially personality wise. As she examined the receipt I pointed out that I felt they'd been taking advantage of me all these years. Charging me twenty five dollars a yard and these complete strangers were charging about four dollars a yard and it was better stuff.
She handed me back my receipt, looked me in the eye, and said, "Harv I don't see a problem. The next time you need some materials you should had oughta go to Arizona for it."
In California I could back down to about any wash and shovel a load into the pickup to freshen up the play area for the kids.
Here we don't have much sand period. Where I'm at what we have is black clay, affectionately called gumbo.
So the rock and sand has to be hauled in which of course makes the price much higher than if it was mined locally.
When I was in Arizona on vacation we took on a project for my dad. I went to a local fence company and asked for the best place to get remix. Remix is when they recombine sand and rock for a concrete mix. Fence guys use it and so do contractors who are mixing their own concrete on small jobs. They told me to go to the cement mine.
I pulled up and parked at the office of the mine and asked the nice young lady how much it would be for about a yard or so of remix. She didn't know what I was talking about but sand and gravel cost eleven dollars a pickup load.
I told her the price sure sounded fair but she might want to look at my pickup before she committed herself on that price. She looked at Moby and told me to weigh in and weigh out and they'd price it by the ton.
The operator of the four yard loader knew what I was talking about. He had it over in a corner behind some other stuff. What was amazing to me was how he took that big old monster and picked up what turned out to be exactly three thousand pounds and place it in the truck gently. So many of those boys get their thrills by watching trucks shudder as they load them.
It cost me six dollars and some change for my remix. Yup it pays to have a big pick up. You can get more for less.
When I got back home I took the receipt over to my bud's place where I get all my materials. We have a relationship you might say.
I handed the receipt over to his wife, one of these true redheads, especially personality wise. As she examined the receipt I pointed out that I felt they'd been taking advantage of me all these years. Charging me twenty five dollars a yard and these complete strangers were charging about four dollars a yard and it was better stuff.
She handed me back my receipt, looked me in the eye, and said, "Harv I don't see a problem. The next time you need some materials you should had oughta go to Arizona for it."
