FAQ: Your Questions, Answered

Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just acquiring your green thumb, everyone has questions; we get asked them every day! Truth be told, when you stop asking questions you stop learning.

At Coast Aggregates we are here to help you as much as we can, which is why we have our onsite garden experts to assist you when you come to our landscape depot location in Squamish. Whether you’re just curious about our products or you’re looking for a more in-depth answer pertaining to a specific project, we are willing to bet someone else has had the same question. And while there is never a silly question, we have compiled a few that get asked time and time again, in the hopes that they can help you further your passion for getting dirty and accomplishing your DIY projects quicker.

Don’t see the question you’re looking for below? Don’t worry – just give us a call or stop in.
Contact Us

 

General |

How much is one yard (quantity) of material?

We sell all our landscape products in yards from our drive-in depot. One yard is 27 cubic feet.  It is also easier to picture it when you think of a 3’x3’x3’ box.  One cubic yard will cover approximately 100 square feet at 3” deep, and is one full scoop in our loader bucket in the depot.

Do I have to purchase a full yard of material?

Not at all! While you can purchase either a full or half yard, we also have a ‘pail’ price for all of our landscape products. This makes it easier for people in cars to pick up soil/gravel if they only need a small amount.

If you’re doing this: Don’t forget to BYOP, Bring Your Own Pail. We classify a pail as a 20L or 5 Gallon pail. We even have shovels here for you to help load up your material, or if you ask nice enough– our landscape attendants will do it for you!

 

Do you sell your products in bags?
Yes! If you would rather have a bag for your material, we have those available for you. We have sand bags, which are equivalent to our pail price, or we even have one-yard bags, which can easily hold material and be delivered to your house, that way it doesn’t leave a mess on your driveway or lawn. These bags come at a small price, but are yours to keep. They can even be reused for next time!

Retail Items: We even sell potting mix and garden blend bags in a variety of sizes, grass seeds, beat peats and numerous landscape tools and decor items!

Do you deliver material to my house?

We certainly do; we do deliveries throughout the Sea to Sky region.  We can bring you bulk loads in our large dump trucks or for smaller deliveries (between .5 – 5 yards) we can use our smaller landscape truck. Price of delivery varies depending on the truck size used.

We can also put any material for delivery in our one-yard bags and crane them off onto your drive way or in some cases, even over your fence.

 

Can you load my pickup truck?  What if I have a canopy?

Absolutely we can load your pick-up truck, we have a small compact wheel loader that is ideal for loading small trucks.  We do have the ability to load trucks with canopy’s but sometimes the trucks are just to small for our conveyor belt to reach in-side.  If at all possible it is best to remove canopy’s or be prepared to help us shovel!

 

Where are you located?  What are your hours?

We are located at 2600 Centennial way in Squamish.  That’s about 2 km’s past Brennan Park along the dyke. If you go up that road, you will pass Alpine Paving and Millar Capilano’s yard, and you will drive straight through our gate and into our yard – be sure to keep an eye out for the signs.

Coast Aggregates is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. However, in March until the end of September, we are also open on Saturday’s from 9:00am – 3:00pm.

 

How can I pay for my material?

We now accept Visa, Mastercard, Debit, and cash for when you come into our landscape depot and wish to take away material yourself. However, if you are going to place a delivery for material, we require a credit card in order to do a pre-authorization. The reason we do a pre-authorization is because often material amounts or delivery time can change, and we only want to charge you for the amount you take.

 

Why is there a second amount showing on my credit card? 

As per our answer above, our deliveries require a credit card for a pre-authorization; this system works just like the gas pumps.  Your card is initially charged a larger set amount at the start (which would cover any costs associated with your order), but once the billing is completed (allow 2-3 business days after your delivery for the processing) the card is actually charged the exact amount– any remaining balance goes back on to your card. Don’t worry you haven’t been charged twice!

 

Products |

What type of soil do you have? Where do you get it from?

We have two types of compost here at Coast Aggregates.  Our Organic Soil, which comes from Net Zero Waste in Abbotsford, and our Commercial-grade Compost that comes from Augustine Soil and Mulch.

 

What is the difference between organic top soil and regular top soil?

Our organic top soil is certified organic and is OMRI listed.  The organic soil is made from green waste, and food scraps.  The commercial grade top soil can be made with dimensional lumber from construction waste and has not been certified as organic.
View Soil Products

 

What does secondarily screened turf blend mean?

Secondarily screened turf blend means that the material has gone through the screener twice.  Once in the final composting stage to remove the overs that need to compost further, then a second time to take the compost down to ¼” minus product and blend in the sand.  The process takes all the clumping material out of the compost to allow for better drainage and proper mixing of the sand.

 

What type of bark mulch do you have?

We have three different bark mulches to choose from.  The first option is our “bright bark mulch” which is a blend of cedar, hemlock and fir.  This material tends to be a reddish-brown colour and will help protect against weeds.  The second option is “aged bark mulch” which is a mix of hemlock and fir, this material will also help with weed suppression and water retention.  The third option is our “bark nuggets” which are a 2”-5” bark chip mostly composed of fir bark.
View Bark Mulch

 

Can the cedar (in Bark Mulch) kill my plants?

The Bark mulches are a mixture of cedar, hemlock and fir.  The cedar will not kill your garden.  Cedar is a natural bug repellent as well as a weed suppression.

 

Do you sell road salt?

Yes, we do have road salt.  This year Coast Aggregates is pleased to introduce a winter sand/salt blend which is perfect for your driveway and path ways. It is a mix of 25% salt, and 75% sand. This material is sold in our one-yard bags and can be conveniently delivered to you.

Don’t need a whole yard bag? We also sell our sand/salt blend in our small sand bags.

 

Do you sell basalt products?

Yes, we have a few different basalt products such as wall rock, basalt columns, as well as landscape feature rocks (water features, benches, etc.). Come by for a visit to see all of these products!
View our Newest Basalt Product

 

What type of landscape fabric do you have?  Which one should I use?  Why?

We have a few options for landscape fabric from our small 3×50 rolls to our larger 6×300 rolls.  All Fabrics have their place and benefits, so choosing the right fabric for the job is essential.  If you are putting the fabric under any type of aggregate it is best to go with the grey contractor grade fabrics (these can also be used for gardens).  If you are looking for weed barrier in your garden you can choose one of the smaller, black rolls that will help with weed suppression and moisture retention as well.  The benefits of using landscape fabrics is to keep materials separated, keep drainage clean, moisture retention, and weed suppression in gardens.

I’ve heard you have plastic in your organic soil – why?

Unfortunately, yes there are plastics in our organic soils.  The reason for the plastics is largely due to what we (as households) are throwing into our compost bins.  The main supply of the plastics are fruit tags and compostable bags.  In order to be 100% plastic-free we need to be aware of what we are putting into the compost bin. Next time you toss your banana in the green bin, remember to remove the sticker first!

 

Do any of your products have bio solids?

Our organic soils do not contain any bio-solids and that is a 100% guarantee.

 

What product would I use to mix with my bag of cement?

The best product to mix your own concrete is the Navvy Jack.  Using a 5-1 ratio (5 Navvy to 1 Cement powder).

 

Do you have play/beach sand?

Yes, we do have play sand.  Play sand is commonly referred to as masonry sand – so be sure to check it out in our landscape depot!

 

Do you have crusher dust?

Yes, we do have crusher dust.  This product is also referred to as screenings, or as we call it here at Coast Aggregates, “manufactured fines”.  This product is a 6mm minus crushed granite perfect for pathways, driveways, or even laying pavers. Take a walk through our landscape depot garden pathway to see it in use!

 

What is the difference between a drainage material vs. a road base material?

The difference between drain rock and road base is the amount of fine material in the finished product.  Drain rock has no fines therefore it allows water to pass through the gaps in the rocks easily, whereas road base has the fine particles of sand which allow it to compact and hold its shape.
View our Aggregates Products

 

Is the Mamquam River rock, washed and screened?

The Mamquam River rock is an unwashed, screened product.  This means there is no water added to separate it from the rest of the smaller aggregates, therefore leaving it dirty and dusty as a finished product.
View our Decorative Rock

 

What does “import” mean?  Where does the import material come from?

Import means that we do not make or produce the product here in Squamish.  Take our import river stones on site for example, they are from the Fraser valley in Rose Dale.