Confused by "gravel" types

[oh-DIY-io]

I've got 60 tons of 57 gravel showing up tomorrow. I'll use it to raise the floor of the pool a bit because we dug too deep. I'll use the rest of it to back fill behind the walls.

Apparently there's different kinds of gravel. When I ordered it today she said, "this gravel is round. That's the kind you want right?" (I think there might be round 57s and then limestone 57s)

What kind of 57 (3/4) gravel do I want for this? (or will either work?)

 

[ajw22]

@jimmythegreek @Rich D a gravel question for you

 

[Rich D]

Crushed stone would be preferred however, Don't sweat your decision. Either will work. Typically a crushed stone is preferred for structural purposes and a round stone is preferred for drainage and aesthetic purposes. The sharp angles of crushed stone will lock together better for more stability but your stone will be encased on all sides so there will be nowhere for it to move to.

 

[Rich D]

What type of pool is this? If your soil does not drain well then all that stone next to your pool may end up "holding" water and saturating the surrounding soil and you might want to put a sump pit in or run a drain line to daylight.

 

[oh-DIY-io]

Crushed stone would be preferred however, Don't sweat your decision. Either will work. Typically a crushed stone is preferred for structural purposes and a round stone is preferred for drainage and aesthetic purposes. The sharp angles of crushed stone will lock together better for more stability but your stone will be encased on all sides so there will be nowhere for it to move to.

So this round stone will be fine for backfilling behind my walls.

My other use if for raising the pool bottom to grade. Will I have any issues spreading pool crete on it?

 

[oh-DIY-io]

What type of pool is this? If your soil does not drain well then all that stone next to your pool may end up "holding" water and saturating the surrounding soil and you might want to put a sump pit in or run a drain line to daylight.

IG liner. I'll have a retaining wall around the back corner and half of the far wall. My plan was to run some corrugated pipe and gravel behind the retaining wall. I'm assuming that would divert a fair amount of it before it reaches the pool.

Sound about right?

And thanks for the help!

 

[duraleigh]

Will I have any issues spreading pool crete on it?

Probably. That's a pretty coarse surface and you will use a lot of pool crete.

A better choice might have been (it's coming today, right?) crusher run or smaller diameter gravel but, aside from some extra pool crete, the #57 will do OK

 

[Rich D]

So it sounds like you're doing your own contracting for the pool?

Did you encounter any ground water with the dig?
Do you know if there's a possibility of the groundwater getting up above the floor of the pool level?

If you could post some pics it would be easier to help with the drainage issues.

Thanks, Rich..

 

[oh-DIY-io]

Probably. That's a pretty coarse surface and you will use a lot of pool crete.

A better choice might have been (it's coming today, right?) crusher run or smaller diameter gravel but, aside from some extra pool crete, the #57 will do OK

Appreciate the input! You helped me make the decision to switch gravel types. I'll close out this thread with more detail below.

 

[oh-DIY-io]

So it sounds like you're doing your own contracting for the pool?

Did you encounter any ground water with the dig?
Do you know if there's a possibility of the groundwater getting up above the floor of the pool level?

If you could post some pics it would be easier to help with the drainage issues.

Thanks, Rich..

Correct. DIY baby! lol

No groundwater and no reason to believe it'll get above the floor of the pool level later.

It wasn't as much a drainage issue as it was a "we dug the hole too deep" one...

 

[oh-DIY-io]

To close out this thread!

With the help of this wonderful forum I decided the round 57s were the wrong stone for the job. Thanks all!

I drove up to the gravel yard and spent some time with the owner understanding different types of gravel and their best uses. (Huge shout out to Jerry Wysong with Wysong Gravel in West Alexandria, Ohio!) It was very interesting to learn his trade! (FYI - I've asked 3 gravel yards why "57" is called "57" and no one has any idea.)

I ended up with what they call small course crush. It's gravel that's 3/4" and less. They don't wash it so it's not "clean" but there's little to no dust because it's sifted out before another round of crushing. Their testing shows that it's close to 95% compaction after dropping from a bucket.

I paid $12.75/ton which is cheaper than the 57's I was looking at.

The driver just left. Thankfully he was able to get the about 12 tons dumped in the hole and the rest dumped close by.

Thanks again for everyone's input!

 

[MinerJason]

(FYI - I've asked 3 gravel yards why "57" is called "57" and no one has any idea.)

Because it has both AASHTO size #5 & size #7 rocks. Probably doesn't help explain it much, but trying to understand or explain the naming conventions for AASHTO aggregate sizing is an exercise in frustration.