Stone is an important element of many landscape designs. Some people use it as the base of a patio. Others use it as mulch over garden beds. The easiest way to get the stone you need is to have it delivered by a stone company. Here are a few questions you may have about that process.

How much stone should you order?

Stone is usually sold in either tons or cubic yards. It's pretty easy to calculate how many cubic yards of stone you need. Simply measure the length, width, and depth of the area you plan on filling with stone. Then, multiply these three values together. (The values should be in feet, and the result will be in cubic feet.) Divide your result by 27, and you then know how many cubic yards fill the space. There are also calculators you can use to compute this for you. 

Some landscape companies sell their stone by tons, not cubic yards. But if you tell them how many cubic yards you need, they'll calculate how many tons you need. The answer depends on the density of the specific stone you're ordering.

Where should you have them dump the stone?

You can have the landscape company dump your stone basically anywhere you want, as long as they can access the area with a truck. However, the best approach is usually to put down a tarp very close to the area where you want the stone and have them dump the stone on the tarp. This way, you can easily move the stone into its final location, and you won't get stone dust ground into the grass; it will stay on the tarp.

What if you end up with more stone than you need?

Some landscape stone companies have a minimum order, and it may be more stone than you need for a small project. You can always ask them to keep the excess stone, although they will still have to charge you for the minimum. Or, you can see if any of your neighbors want some stone. They may pay you a few dollars to take a wheelbarrow of it home, which will help negate some of your costs.

With these questions having been answered, you should feel more confident going into the landscape stone delivery process. Before long, you'll have a nice, newly decorated landscape with lots of stone as an accent.

For more information about landscape stone delivery, contact a local company.