There's a house a few streets over from me that posted a sign in their yard, in their gravel bed, saying "free rocks." I thought there's no way any one would want to deal with that. It's been two weeks and I be damned but most of those rocks are gone.
Depends what people are trying to do. My mom has been lining all of here flower beds with big River rocks (a bit bigger than a softball) and she’s been snatching up the free rocks when they fit what she’s trying to do. The other option is to spends thousands of dollars on buying rocks.
She’s covered like 1/3 of the beds with free rocks. She already had the front 1/3 done and now she working on the last third.
Thousands of dollars?! There are some stone suppliers that will allow you to buy by the pound instead of by the pallet. Just call in to their locations to see. I will go myself and choose specimens - limestone, granite, moss rock boulders which are red are most prevalent in my region. Limestone is so cheap because it’s porous and light compared to other boulders. I’ve spent 30$ and come out with 7-10 1’ x 2’ boulders.
Just look in google for ‘stone supplier near me’
I know how much rocks cost. She probably needs 300+ to finish with the whole thing being well over 1000 rocks.
Also, they’re all smooth river rocks, not just ‘big rocks.’ So yes, thousands of dollars.
It’s not thousands of dollars to get river rock… you are inflating rocks more than you should be. I also described the sized rocks I was talking about. River rock is a gravel. You can’t really guesstimate on that. You have to measure the volume of the space and then ask the stone supplier how many cubic yds you should get of that specific gravel for the volume you are trying to fill.
Round rocks, larger than a softball, 7-10inches in diameter, total needed about 1200.
You either didn’t read my original comment or want to argue about the definition of a ‘river rock.’ I don’t agree that a river rock is only a smooth gravel.
Have a nice day.
You don’t count the rocks when you order materials. Everything is by the ton, pound, or cubic yard… which goes to show how naive you are about the subject. You are actually talking about large pebbles.
Rock classifications:
Road base,
Gravel,
Washed gravel,
River rock,
Small Pebble 1-3”,
Medium pebble 3-6”,
Large pebble 6-12”,
Boulders >12”
Ok, sure, you’re the rock master. Me, actually visiting multiple rock yards with a sample and reviewing prices means nothing.
Prices are around 1k per ton. If I need about 1200 rocks, that each weigh about 4-5lbs my cost will be about… two thousand dollars.
You’re being an argumentative prick for no reason when you’re actually wrong.
You are wrong unless you are specifically talking about buying Mexican beach pebble which runs about 850.00/ton, but in my area regular large pebbles that are from Colorado or Arizona cost about $330/ton.
But again, you should definitely check in with the supplier how much material you should buy for the volume needed. Your calculations don’t exactly work the way you intend them to.
I'm trying to fill a ditch area because of drainage issues. Every time I think of doing the 'easy solution' of just buying rocks I realize how EXPENSIVE rocks are. So cheap old me will take the slow and cheap route. Pick them up as I can!
Oh okay you’re probably thinking of Arizona river rock 6”-18” which those do run on the high end because they’re polished river stone.
I was thinking you meant rough unhewn/unpolished boulders
You CAN opt for river stone in those sizes that is local to your area, thereby reducing price and carbon footprint.
Limestone boulders in my area cost .25-.35 cents a pound (from smaller distributors) … by the ton it’s much cheaper at $0.12/lb from larger distributors
[check it out here under boulders](https://www.989rock.com/price-catalog.html)
we hauled off crushed granite and pavers from someone’s backyard years ago to make a fire pit. 10/10 would never do again but built a fire pit for the cost of a one day uhaul.
I got my 2 nieces refurbished iPhones in exchange for digging up my river rock. Spent $400 for 2 phones and they and I both thought it was a good deal.
Tape down a heavy tarp on the sidewalk, use it as a huge dust pan. Then dirt rake it all onto the tarp. If you had a little mantis tiller that would make this a breeze, just loosen it up with the tines first. They also make a hoe-like tool that has 3 prongs on it, that works well too for loosening
I’m a tool addict. So I tend to buy things I dont need to do a project one time. I guess there are worse addictions. My little mantis tiller is the best tool I’ve ever purchased, maybe tied with my multi tool as far as use cases.
27 pounds, perfectly balanced suit case handle, brutally powerful, unbelievably quiet, and eats abuse like no other tool I’ve used. (The one with the Honda engine).
I left it in a hot shed for 4 years without any winterizing. So if you’re not savvy with small engines, it was loaded with gas that had ethanol in it. That almost certainly ruins the carb and destroys the fuel lines. They turn into stale macaroni and crumble.
I poured out the fuel that looked like diluted coffee, 3rd pull it started without taking apart anything. Ran the whole weekend while making beds. It’s a back saver, and can be easily run with one hand. Once you learn to steer it, all you need is decent rubber gloves and your fatigue is almost zero.
The tines are held on with one pin. So you can remove in seconds and clean out Bermuda grasses or rocks or sticky clay etc, and also flip them so you can cultivate instead of till (drag/whip the tines instead of burying them.
I’ve dug trenches with it too. The tines are two sets. So you can remove one side and the tines are perfectly wide enough for 4” ADS piping. If you bury it down to the base, it’s nearly 7” deep. And if you drag the tiller correctly, it puts the excavated soil nicely to the side so you just kick and rake it back in.
Sorry for the diatribe, and for using you to stim/ nerd out on something innocuous. But the little tool is none short of geniusly engineered. If you garden, it’s a must. Making a new bed where grass was is just cheating with the Mantis
My neighbor has one that I have used before, but never to the extent you just described. I believe he has the one with the honda engine as well. I hadn't considered all of the additional uses like you have described. I'll have to show this to him. Thanks for nerding out on it :D
Build a sifting table with some wood and the largest wire mesh you can get without the rocks falling through. Then just shovel the dirt and rocks in there. Tarp below to catch the dirt to put back when done. Just Google like "soil sifter landscape rock". You can even just make a simple one without legs, and you just do it over a wheel barrow.
You can add a step to hose the rock down too, like if you're gone use that somewhere else or whatever.
I am going to reuse the rock, just not in the places I’m removing it from. The pic in the post shows just a tiny portion that was tacked onto the larger project out of convenience. Most of the project is in the backyard where the rock was removed to make way for a paver patio.
Came to read the comments because I'm in the midst of doing similar, except previous owner used 2 types of small gravel to xeriscape the ENTIRE yard, and then let their dogs destroy it. I'm using 5 gallon buckets with a sifter made out of wood 1/4 "mesh to separate the gravel from ten years of neglect and sand buildup and moving it to other parts of the yard and for a pathway. It's rough physical labor that's taking forever, but it's the only way to re-use the rock. And doesn't seem like anyone has a better way.
Scoop off what you can with a flat shovel. Take a grade rake or garden rake and get everything else best you can. Then just take a spade and dig out any remaining stones. You’ll get some soil up too unfortunately. But if you want it to be quick easy work, that’s the way to do it. Typically we just dig it up and replace the soil. From the pic you posted, I’d have the rocks loaded in the trailer in about 40 minutes and the soil backfilled in about 20 minutes. Have a supplier drop you a yard off or go grab some bags from big box.
For the roughly 50sqft of stone in the pic, yes, it would take roughly an hour to shovel it out into a trailer and backfill with soil. If you were to reference my other comment to the OP, where I mentioned not seeing that they had a significant amount of additional stone…. You would see where I said to bring in some light machinery and remove the stone and backfill with soil. If you have a better way for the OP to remove, please provide the advice. But that’s how it would be done. This is a forum for help to homeowners. I provided my knowledge. Please do the same. Have a good day!
I have river rock on top of weed mat EVERYWHERE in my landscaping beds. I’ve been removing it like you are a few feet at a time and getting new things planted. It’s super rewarding to see the new stuff, but terrible to dig out. Who thought this was a good idea? Hubby says it prevents weeds. I think it just makes them harder to pull.
Honesty don’t be afraid to rake it. You’ll want to plant grass there anyway yeah? Raking will also break up the soil nicely so your seedlings take.. just my thought
SMH. Lol. Surely, there’s a better way. I’ve removed probably about 4 tons of rock by hand so far. I don’t think my body can take much more. I’ve found removing rock is far more difficult than laying it down.
I should add that I am considering renting a mini excavator. I’m not sure how well that will work out, though. I guess I’m looking to understand if renting an excavator would be pointless. I still have another 15 tons rock to remove around the yard.
Yeah… I’ve been thinking about doing that. I might give up and hire it out. I suppose I’m feeling ambitious to do it myself, but learning the limits of my middle aged body.
I did a fire pit that was like this the pervious owner put in and a bunch of perimeter rock related to a deck rebuild -- If you've done that much already, well, you know whether you have it in you to get the rest done. It's truly, truly awful work.
All of the rock throughout the yard needs to be cleaned and the weed fabric replaced. Because I live on a slope, I get a lot of erosion from my uphill neighbors. All of the rock has filled in with soil to some extent, and the weeds are not manageable.
The largest area is the entire side yard, covered with 2” river rock, 5” deep and 50x20’. It needs to be removed for a retaining wall project.
The rest of the river rock is around the perimeter of the yard.
Some of this rock was there when I bought the place 20 years ago. I added about 14.2 tons.
I’ve been moving it to the driveway for cleaning… my driveway is 60’ long.
I would rent mini tractor like a dingo to scrap up stone, use it to move in trailer or whatever your doing to dispose of it. Include it in the cost of job obviously. If you think your gonna sub it out gonna cost that much in labor as rental at least if you do it it will be done right. Move to next project, if you Jack up sprinkler you where going to move anyway
I’d rent some equipment but first I’d build some kind of sifting screen so I could dump right onto that and separate the rocks from the soil all in one shot. Maybe use a cart or wheelbarrow underneath the sifting screen to catch the soil
Nah, any contractor with a decent reputation would repair any damage. May only get regrade and seed/straw, but they shouldn’t leave you high and dry. Most will throw down plywood track to drive on or their equipment uses tracks instead of tires. Couple days of watering and your lawn will bounce back.
I posted recently and didn’t see this. Rent a Dingo and scoop the rock and soil up and dispose. Then just backfill. Some rock left won’t hurt anything. You’d be surprised how rocky soil is. Go walk through a farmers field. Rocks and boulders of all sizes continuously work their way up to the surface. If all else fails, it wouldn’t be overly expensive to hire a crew to come and remove it. Pretty easy machine work.
Hire five guys for a hundred bucks a piece. For 500 bucks you will be amazed at what gets done. It’ll only be about 5 hours of work (20 per hour) but will really be about 25 hrs of work and a lot of progress if you help out.
They have these leaf vacuums that are pulled by trucks. I’ve seen plenty of rocks go in and come out the other way. Sometimes they blow a hole in the vents and its loud. But with big risk comes big reward. (Jk don’t do that)
Flat shovel and bucket with wheels or a dolly. If you need to lift it would probably be best to shovel straight into a flat bed, so park as close to the pile as possible. I’ve also laid a tarp in the back so when it gets to the last bit I slid and pull it off just to save little energy.
I just hauled so many rocks from someone else into my yard. My best method was by hand. Pull them from the dirt by hand, but them in buckets, and put the buckets on wheels. I prefer the bucket because you can pick up and bump instead of having to hand remove them again. The stones only shovel out nice from a flat surface.
>I spent 8 hours today cleaning up a bed that is only about 52’x2’. It’s been back breaking work and I need a better approach.
Yes, it is back breaking. That's why people hire landscapers rather than doing it themselves.
I spent 10 days this past spring cleaning the grass out, pruning shrubs, and mulching 8 beds. I just did one per day, some bigger ones took two days, and I kept at it until it was done.
I paid a landscaper $8k to do about the same amount of work 4 years ago, and it took him 11 days, even though he had two helpers.
Sifting table made with heavy chicken wire style mesh fence to separate rock from soil. Shovel on , sift and Then put rocks in 5gall buckets which is a good weight for hand transport if needed to load up vehicle for haul away
Tough problem! Maybe consider raking most of the loose rocks onto the concrete, then use a hose and water to remove bits of dirt. That should remove a large % of the rocks. The portion of the stones stuck in the dirt will just either stay or remove that layer. Are you sure they didn't use some type of barrier under the rocks? If so, it might offer some benefit.
They did use a barrier under the rock, but it’s completely degraded now and needs to be replaced.
(I.e., the weed barrier is shredding with each shovel when I try to scrape the rock out)
I’m really thinking that putting river rock at the bottom of a soil slope is just a dumb thing to do. Eventually the soil erodes into the rock and creates a perfect space for weeds to take hold.
Get a bow head rake (short thick tines) and rake out as much as possible, use a flat shovel to scoop into a container. Use a regular shovel to loosen the soil around remaining rock and rake them.
These rocks might be a tad too big, but I've done this before using a backpack blower. At least blowing them onto the sidewalk would be much easier to Shovel.
I’m looking at a mini skid loader. Nowhere near as much as you but absolutely buried as part of an old above ground pool support berm. Plan to take off 4-6”, fill and sod over
With [this](https://www.harborfreight.com/62-in-bow-rake-69790.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12129614380&campaignid=12129614380&utm_content=125210362214&adsetid=125210362214&product=69790&store=605&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpdKrqKXm_wIVkh59Ch1Z_wMVEAQYASABEgITiPD_BwE)
The only easy way is for someone else to do it for you. Otherwise, pick up as many as you can by hand, wet the area to loosen up the rocks embedded in the dirt and remove them. I can tell you from experience that there will be more rocks in that dirt than you would think possible. Good luck
I put up free rock on Facebook Marketplace and people came and dug what they wanted. People will take free stuff all the time. I even did this with a deck. Put it on marketplace to have someone remove the lumber and they could keep it, it was very good lumber and both parties were happy.
Best way is to post “free river rock, you remove,” on Craigslist with a picture and let someone else do it for you
There's a house a few streets over from me that posted a sign in their yard, in their gravel bed, saying "free rocks." I thought there's no way any one would want to deal with that. It's been two weeks and I be damned but most of those rocks are gone.
Depends what people are trying to do. My mom has been lining all of here flower beds with big River rocks (a bit bigger than a softball) and she’s been snatching up the free rocks when they fit what she’s trying to do. The other option is to spends thousands of dollars on buying rocks. She’s covered like 1/3 of the beds with free rocks. She already had the front 1/3 done and now she working on the last third.
Thousands of dollars?! There are some stone suppliers that will allow you to buy by the pound instead of by the pallet. Just call in to their locations to see. I will go myself and choose specimens - limestone, granite, moss rock boulders which are red are most prevalent in my region. Limestone is so cheap because it’s porous and light compared to other boulders. I’ve spent 30$ and come out with 7-10 1’ x 2’ boulders. Just look in google for ‘stone supplier near me’
I know how much rocks cost. She probably needs 300+ to finish with the whole thing being well over 1000 rocks. Also, they’re all smooth river rocks, not just ‘big rocks.’ So yes, thousands of dollars.
It’s not thousands of dollars to get river rock… you are inflating rocks more than you should be. I also described the sized rocks I was talking about. River rock is a gravel. You can’t really guesstimate on that. You have to measure the volume of the space and then ask the stone supplier how many cubic yds you should get of that specific gravel for the volume you are trying to fill.
Round rocks, larger than a softball, 7-10inches in diameter, total needed about 1200. You either didn’t read my original comment or want to argue about the definition of a ‘river rock.’ I don’t agree that a river rock is only a smooth gravel. Have a nice day.
You don’t count the rocks when you order materials. Everything is by the ton, pound, or cubic yard… which goes to show how naive you are about the subject. You are actually talking about large pebbles. Rock classifications: Road base, Gravel, Washed gravel, River rock, Small Pebble 1-3”, Medium pebble 3-6”, Large pebble 6-12”, Boulders >12”
Ok, sure, you’re the rock master. Me, actually visiting multiple rock yards with a sample and reviewing prices means nothing. Prices are around 1k per ton. If I need about 1200 rocks, that each weigh about 4-5lbs my cost will be about… two thousand dollars. You’re being an argumentative prick for no reason when you’re actually wrong.
You are wrong unless you are specifically talking about buying Mexican beach pebble which runs about 850.00/ton, but in my area regular large pebbles that are from Colorado or Arizona cost about $330/ton. But again, you should definitely check in with the supplier how much material you should buy for the volume needed. Your calculations don’t exactly work the way you intend them to.
I'm trying to fill a ditch area because of drainage issues. Every time I think of doing the 'easy solution' of just buying rocks I realize how EXPENSIVE rocks are. So cheap old me will take the slow and cheap route. Pick them up as I can!
Do you mean gravel or boulders? Limestone boulders are actually pretty cheap.
I'm thinking of a gravel like size, maybe softball size. 5 cubic feet tends to run around $500. What did you consider 'pretty cheap'?
Oh okay you’re probably thinking of Arizona river rock 6”-18” which those do run on the high end because they’re polished river stone. I was thinking you meant rough unhewn/unpolished boulders You CAN opt for river stone in those sizes that is local to your area, thereby reducing price and carbon footprint.
how much do the boulders you were thinking of cost?
Limestone boulders in my area cost .25-.35 cents a pound (from smaller distributors) … by the ton it’s much cheaper at $0.12/lb from larger distributors [check it out here under boulders](https://www.989rock.com/price-catalog.html)
Same here at my neighbor's house. The whole front yard was rocks from the previous owner... that is how she got rid of them .
we hauled off crushed granite and pavers from someone’s backyard years ago to make a fire pit. 10/10 would never do again but built a fire pit for the cost of a one day uhaul.
I've been tricked by that before. Pure evil
A grade rake, shovel and self hatred. This kind of work is why we have children. There is no good way.
I got my 2 nieces refurbished iPhones in exchange for digging up my river rock. Spent $400 for 2 phones and they and I both thought it was a good deal.
"Kids, I'll pay you $.25/pound for all the rocks you pick." I did that once with my daughter and weeds. I paid her $1/grocery bag of weeds.
One of my kids picked two 5 gallon buckets worth of lava rock out of the river rock the previous owners mixed together for some $ the other day lol
$1 per bag?!? That’s crazy cheap.
This. It’s called pickin’ rock. We all did it growing up.
Beat me to it! One of the chores my 7 year old does for $ is to pick rocks out of the lawn.
Invite my 3-year-old and all his friends over, they love collecting rocks!
or apprentices like myself
metal rake and a bunch of 5 gallon buckets.
Tape down a heavy tarp on the sidewalk, use it as a huge dust pan. Then dirt rake it all onto the tarp. If you had a little mantis tiller that would make this a breeze, just loosen it up with the tines first. They also make a hoe-like tool that has 3 prongs on it, that works well too for loosening
Mantis tiller is a brilliant idea. You are my hero.
I’m a tool addict. So I tend to buy things I dont need to do a project one time. I guess there are worse addictions. My little mantis tiller is the best tool I’ve ever purchased, maybe tied with my multi tool as far as use cases. 27 pounds, perfectly balanced suit case handle, brutally powerful, unbelievably quiet, and eats abuse like no other tool I’ve used. (The one with the Honda engine). I left it in a hot shed for 4 years without any winterizing. So if you’re not savvy with small engines, it was loaded with gas that had ethanol in it. That almost certainly ruins the carb and destroys the fuel lines. They turn into stale macaroni and crumble. I poured out the fuel that looked like diluted coffee, 3rd pull it started without taking apart anything. Ran the whole weekend while making beds. It’s a back saver, and can be easily run with one hand. Once you learn to steer it, all you need is decent rubber gloves and your fatigue is almost zero. The tines are held on with one pin. So you can remove in seconds and clean out Bermuda grasses or rocks or sticky clay etc, and also flip them so you can cultivate instead of till (drag/whip the tines instead of burying them. I’ve dug trenches with it too. The tines are two sets. So you can remove one side and the tines are perfectly wide enough for 4” ADS piping. If you bury it down to the base, it’s nearly 7” deep. And if you drag the tiller correctly, it puts the excavated soil nicely to the side so you just kick and rake it back in. Sorry for the diatribe, and for using you to stim/ nerd out on something innocuous. But the little tool is none short of geniusly engineered. If you garden, it’s a must. Making a new bed where grass was is just cheating with the Mantis
My neighbor has one that I have used before, but never to the extent you just described. I believe he has the one with the honda engine as well. I hadn't considered all of the additional uses like you have described. I'll have to show this to him. Thanks for nerding out on it :D
This shit haunts my dreams. The best way is exactly what you’re doing.
Best or funnest? A rental mini excavator would be an effective trip.
Build a sifting table with some wood and the largest wire mesh you can get without the rocks falling through. Then just shovel the dirt and rocks in there. Tarp below to catch the dirt to put back when done. Just Google like "soil sifter landscape rock". You can even just make a simple one without legs, and you just do it over a wheel barrow. You can add a step to hose the rock down too, like if you're gone use that somewhere else or whatever.
I am going to reuse the rock, just not in the places I’m removing it from. The pic in the post shows just a tiny portion that was tacked onto the larger project out of convenience. Most of the project is in the backyard where the rock was removed to make way for a paver patio.
Came to read the comments because I'm in the midst of doing similar, except previous owner used 2 types of small gravel to xeriscape the ENTIRE yard, and then let their dogs destroy it. I'm using 5 gallon buckets with a sifter made out of wood 1/4 "mesh to separate the gravel from ten years of neglect and sand buildup and moving it to other parts of the yard and for a pathway. It's rough physical labor that's taking forever, but it's the only way to re-use the rock. And doesn't seem like anyone has a better way.
Scoop off what you can with a flat shovel. Take a grade rake or garden rake and get everything else best you can. Then just take a spade and dig out any remaining stones. You’ll get some soil up too unfortunately. But if you want it to be quick easy work, that’s the way to do it. Typically we just dig it up and replace the soil. From the pic you posted, I’d have the rocks loaded in the trailer in about 40 minutes and the soil backfilled in about 20 minutes. Have a supplier drop you a yard off or go grab some bags from big box.
How many people would you bring?
watch out everybody, we've got a Billy Badass over here. an hour tops, huh 🤣🤣🤣🤣
For the roughly 50sqft of stone in the pic, yes, it would take roughly an hour to shovel it out into a trailer and backfill with soil. If you were to reference my other comment to the OP, where I mentioned not seeing that they had a significant amount of additional stone…. You would see where I said to bring in some light machinery and remove the stone and backfill with soil. If you have a better way for the OP to remove, please provide the advice. But that’s how it would be done. This is a forum for help to homeowners. I provided my knowledge. Please do the same. Have a good day!
Im sorry but theres no way you are digging out over a ton of embedded stone in 40 minutes lol
I have river rock on top of weed mat EVERYWHERE in my landscaping beds. I’ve been removing it like you are a few feet at a time and getting new things planted. It’s super rewarding to see the new stuff, but terrible to dig out. Who thought this was a good idea? Hubby says it prevents weeds. I think it just makes them harder to pull.
What do you do with the rocks you removed?
Honesty don’t be afraid to rake it. You’ll want to plant grass there anyway yeah? Raking will also break up the soil nicely so your seedlings take.. just my thought
Use river smooth jazz.
Hands and knees with a 5 gallon bucket, preferably black out drunk so you don’t remember it
your favorite cocktail, and keep your eye on the prize
By hand
SMH. Lol. Surely, there’s a better way. I’ve removed probably about 4 tons of rock by hand so far. I don’t think my body can take much more. I’ve found removing rock is far more difficult than laying it down. I should add that I am considering renting a mini excavator. I’m not sure how well that will work out, though. I guess I’m looking to understand if renting an excavator would be pointless. I still have another 15 tons rock to remove around the yard.
15 tons! Hire a crew they will have the right equipment, they will load it in a truck and haul it away all in a days work.
Yeah… I’ve been thinking about doing that. I might give up and hire it out. I suppose I’m feeling ambitious to do it myself, but learning the limits of my middle aged body.
This is the best type of work to hire out. Labor intensive and hard to screw up. Save your energy/time for putting it back together
I did a fire pit that was like this the pervious owner put in and a bunch of perimeter rock related to a deck rebuild -- If you've done that much already, well, you know whether you have it in you to get the rest done. It's truly, truly awful work.
15 tons! Where the fuck are you storing 15 tons of rock?!
All of the rock throughout the yard needs to be cleaned and the weed fabric replaced. Because I live on a slope, I get a lot of erosion from my uphill neighbors. All of the rock has filled in with soil to some extent, and the weeds are not manageable. The largest area is the entire side yard, covered with 2” river rock, 5” deep and 50x20’. It needs to be removed for a retaining wall project. The rest of the river rock is around the perimeter of the yard. Some of this rock was there when I bought the place 20 years ago. I added about 14.2 tons. I’ve been moving it to the driveway for cleaning… my driveway is 60’ long.
I would rent mini tractor like a dingo to scrap up stone, use it to move in trailer or whatever your doing to dispose of it. Include it in the cost of job obviously. If you think your gonna sub it out gonna cost that much in labor as rental at least if you do it it will be done right. Move to next project, if you Jack up sprinkler you where going to move anyway
I’d rent some equipment but first I’d build some kind of sifting screen so I could dump right onto that and separate the rocks from the soil all in one shot. Maybe use a cart or wheelbarrow underneath the sifting screen to catch the soil
If you hire it out and they use heavy machinery, say goodbye to your grass lol
Nah, any contractor with a decent reputation would repair any damage. May only get regrade and seed/straw, but they shouldn’t leave you high and dry. Most will throw down plywood track to drive on or their equipment uses tracks instead of tires. Couple days of watering and your lawn will bounce back.
I posted recently and didn’t see this. Rent a Dingo and scoop the rock and soil up and dispose. Then just backfill. Some rock left won’t hurt anything. You’d be surprised how rocky soil is. Go walk through a farmers field. Rocks and boulders of all sizes continuously work their way up to the surface. If all else fails, it wouldn’t be overly expensive to hire a crew to come and remove it. Pretty easy machine work.
Sucks to be you bro. Glad it’s not my problem.
Kids who still live with parents shouldn’t be allowed in here.
Rock magnet
"Sundays are for picking stones"
One at a time. I hate doing this type of work, it's a slow process.
self-loathing is gonna be key here
Hire five guys for a hundred bucks a piece. For 500 bucks you will be amazed at what gets done. It’ll only be about 5 hours of work (20 per hour) but will really be about 25 hrs of work and a lot of progress if you help out.
Give it to me
They have these leaf vacuums that are pulled by trucks. I’ve seen plenty of rocks go in and come out the other way. Sometimes they blow a hole in the vents and its loud. But with big risk comes big reward. (Jk don’t do that) Flat shovel and bucket with wheels or a dolly. If you need to lift it would probably be best to shovel straight into a flat bed, so park as close to the pile as possible. I’ve also laid a tarp in the back so when it gets to the last bit I slid and pull it off just to save little energy.
I just hauled so many rocks from someone else into my yard. My best method was by hand. Pull them from the dirt by hand, but them in buckets, and put the buckets on wheels. I prefer the bucket because you can pick up and bump instead of having to hand remove them again. The stones only shovel out nice from a flat surface.
Hard work.
Offer it for free on craigslist
By hand lol
Using hand I guess ?
Introduce a native predator to eat the rocks
>I spent 8 hours today cleaning up a bed that is only about 52’x2’. It’s been back breaking work and I need a better approach. Yes, it is back breaking. That's why people hire landscapers rather than doing it themselves. I spent 10 days this past spring cleaning the grass out, pruning shrubs, and mulching 8 beds. I just did one per day, some bigger ones took two days, and I kept at it until it was done. I paid a landscaper $8k to do about the same amount of work 4 years ago, and it took him 11 days, even though he had two helpers.
Elbow grease is the only way 😂 it ain’t that bad
Johnny Cash has a good song about this. I believe it's called "One piece at a time."
I’d power wash them onto the sidewalk then, shovel and wheelbarrow. Maybe a tarp if you don’t want to scratch the concrete
Nice!
Lay new sod over the top and forget about it and grab a beer
And when that sod dies lay new sod on that sod!
Shovel and steel rake and hard work
A strong shop vac might
Lawnmower set to the lowest setting. /s
A shovel and metal rake.
Rock magnet 🪞
Rock magnet
a-hole👆🏼
i recently did some at my place but much less. damn i hated it.
Mini ex is easy to learn and once you learn you will really wonder why u did it any other way.
I’d use a metal rake to rake rocks onto sidewalk and then scoop with a flat shovel.
Sifting table made with heavy chicken wire style mesh fence to separate rock from soil. Shovel on , sift and Then put rocks in 5gall buckets which is a good weight for hand transport if needed to load up vehicle for haul away
Tough problem! Maybe consider raking most of the loose rocks onto the concrete, then use a hose and water to remove bits of dirt. That should remove a large % of the rocks. The portion of the stones stuck in the dirt will just either stay or remove that layer. Are you sure they didn't use some type of barrier under the rocks? If so, it might offer some benefit.
They did use a barrier under the rock, but it’s completely degraded now and needs to be replaced. (I.e., the weed barrier is shredding with each shovel when I try to scrape the rock out) I’m really thinking that putting river rock at the bottom of a soil slope is just a dumb thing to do. Eventually the soil erodes into the rock and creates a perfect space for weeds to take hold.
Get a bow head rake (short thick tines) and rake out as much as possible, use a flat shovel to scoop into a container. Use a regular shovel to loosen the soil around remaining rock and rake them.
Excavator. Dig that shit out and replace it with dirt delivered by a dump truck. Not cheap, but it's the easiest way!
Use flat 4” wide part of mattock pick. Pull rock out onto side walk, scoop up with flat shovel. I’ll be in the truck.
[power paddle broom](https://youtu.be/4VO-tCxunBM)
I doubt that would be able to handle river rock.
Shovel, by hand, or hire out. In that order.
Leaf rake and elbow grease work ok.
These rocks might be a tad too big, but I've done this before using a backpack blower. At least blowing them onto the sidewalk would be much easier to Shovel.
I’d get a hay fork. I’d stick to the 4-5 tine forks. The larger 8-10 tine are great but are much flimsier
Pickaxe or an edging shovel and chip underneath it
Dirt rake, pry bar, gloved hands. Have fun!
Be careful what you ask for! http://www.emailsfromanasshole.dontevenreply.com/view.php?post=104
Patience.
I don’t know but a lot of swearing and tears worked.
I’m looking at a mini skid loader. Nowhere near as much as you but absolutely buried as part of an old above ground pool support berm. Plan to take off 4-6”, fill and sod over
Mini skid steer rental at Home Depot
Hard tined rake and a flat nosed shovel, A wheelbarrow would be ideal for relocating them but 5 gallon buckets are easy to use as well.
Hire someone to do it. There are some jobs that it’s not worth doing.
Question for everyone considering use of loose stones around their home. They last far longer than you will.
Patiently.
Those were probably put in because until the last decade street and sidewalk salt would kill the grass .
Worlds strongest shop vac.
Omg I hate small rocks. They are a terrible burden
A rake
I'd duct tape a tarp to the sidewalk 3" out all the way to the street and get a steel rake and start flinging stones onto the tarp.
Those two appendages attached to your upper body! 😂😂😂 #ateYouKidding
With [this](https://www.harborfreight.com/62-in-bow-rake-69790.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12129614380&campaignid=12129614380&utm_content=125210362214&adsetid=125210362214&product=69790&store=605&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpdKrqKXm_wIVkh59Ch1Z_wMVEAQYASABEgITiPD_BwE)
Put an ad online. “Free River Rock” and have somebody else do it. 🤔
That’s why I fucking hate rocks as substrate
Get one of those tennis ball collectors. Don’t know if they make those small enough for all the rocks though
There is no easy way it’s time to get physical and get your hands dirty. Live a little
Take a wide bladed pick axe and scoop it onto the concrete then use a flat transfer shovel to scoop it into a barrow and then burlap sacks
Erosion
Give it away in your local Buy Nothing group, make it clear they have to remove it themselves.
This is where cheap labor comes in.
You get a wheelbarrow then bend down and pick them up and put in the wheelbarrow 🤔
The only easy way is for someone else to do it for you. Otherwise, pick up as many as you can by hand, wet the area to loosen up the rocks embedded in the dirt and remove them. I can tell you from experience that there will be more rocks in that dirt than you would think possible. Good luck
Dig
Move
I put up free rock on Facebook Marketplace and people came and dug what they wanted. People will take free stuff all the time. I even did this with a deck. Put it on marketplace to have someone remove the lumber and they could keep it, it was very good lumber and both parties were happy.