# Getting rid of river rock



## Shadoglare

So the previous owners of our house just went nuts with river rock on the landscaping - it surrounds the house, there are large patches of it surrounding every tree, it lines the driveway, it surrounds the garage, and there's about a 20' square pad of it behind the house. 

My fiancé and I HATE it and want it to go away. 

I've tried calling a few of the bigger landscaping companies in the area to see if any of them would be interested in coming to haul the stuff away in exchange for getting a bunch of free rock they can re-sell, but none of them have seemed interested (most saying they don't have the right equipment for the job).
I've tried posting it up for grabs on FreeCycle, and all I got through there was several people wanting to know if they could stop by and shovel up a couple of buckets worth of the stuff, which isn't going to even scratch the surface of what we need to get rid of. 

I've even thought about renting a mini frontloader or backhoe for the day just to dig the stuff up from most of the yards and at least centrally locate a giant pile of rock somewhere, but even if i were to do that, I wouldn't know how to get rid of the rock afterwards, and don't just want a giant river rock mountain in the middle of the back yard.

The fiancé has even admitted to going so far as to sneak a few pounds into the trash every week for a while just to get rid of some of it (she REALLY hates it).

Would any of you guys have any experience with something like that? It seems I have countless options when it comes to *adding* rock to the yard, but I can't get rid of it to save my life! 

Any suggestions would be appreciated - thanks!


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## worsley22

River rock is very cheap, thats why the Landscapers dont want it, Iam not sure where you are but i would probably take 2 tons of it, as i need it for a small job iam doing.. Iam more of a Mulch person myself, and it looks good in the right area but not the whole landscape. Hope you have luck getting rid of it.


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## DangerMouse

If you put it all in a pile, THEN you'd likely be able to have a landscaper come haul it away. 
It's all about the $$$. 
If THEY have to shovel it all up it's simply not worth it to them to pay hourly wages to employees..... but to just come scoop it up and resell it? 
You might even be able to sell the pile via CL for $100 or so? I'd try that before giving it away.

DM


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## nap

if you will deliver it to my house, I will take every last rock you have.


I would suggest the "making a pile" and then advertise it. People hate to work. That's why we hire people to work for us but if it was centrally located in one pile, it is less work to remove it.

Once you have a pile, advertise it as a take it all or nothing thing.

If that doesn't work, as the landscapers if they sell rock like that and you would be willing to give it to them if they let you bring it to them.



or, you could create a market for the rocks. Maybe start selling pet rocks.

Oh, never mind. Somebody already had that idea.


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## DangerMouse

nap said:


> if you will deliver it to my house, I will take every last rock you have.


Heck, I'll come pick it up! LOL
I have about a million uses for it here.

DM


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## Scuba_Dave

I've picked up rock, brick, stone dust & patio block & other stuff off craigslist
Never paid anything for any of it
The stone dust was a PIA to shovel into the truck
But they had the patio block that I wanted &the deal was to take everything

Pile it up in an easy access area & see if anyone wants it for free
I need some to go around the edge of my pool fencing
Do you deliver ?


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## nap

well, it would seem if you are in the SW MI area or wherever Dave is you have a means to unload the rock. 

If you found 3 folks willing to take it by only what you posted, I would think there are others out there close to you that would like it as well. Maybe you just gave up too easily.


maybe there is a river close by that is needing to have it's rock replenished.:whistling2:



I don't know where you live but there are a thousand places I could get rid of it around my area, and I mean legally.


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## Shadoglare

Unfortunately no I don't deliver - I don't think I'd be able to haul much in the trunk of my Malibu


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## nap

ever watch Shawshank Redemption? Poor old Andy Dufrane dug out a tunnel from his cell wall and carried the rock and dust in his pockets to the ball field.

Ingenuity. That's all it takes.


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## High Gear

Maybe you could find a use for it on your own property, like maybe a mounded garden or some type of water feature.

It may be worth your time to have a landscaper take a look at it and 

offer ideas . It may cost a few bucks but may be money well spent.


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