Ordering Garden Materials: Overage, Delivery Minimums and Returns

You have measured the bed and run the numbers. You know you need 2.3 cubic yards of mulch, or 6.6 tons of base gravel, or 564 pavers. The next step is turning that number into an order, and suppliers do not sell in the units a calculator gives you.

How each material is sold

These vary from one supplier to the next, which is why the first phone call matters. Two details change orders more than any others:

Rounding. If you need 2.3 yards and the supplier sells whole yards, you are buying 3. That is a 30% overage whether you wanted it or not. Ask about increments before you settle on a supplier, because one who sells half yards saves you real money on a small job.

The unit itself. Some yards sell soil by the ton and others by the cubic yard. Some sell mulch by the “scoop”, meaning one loader bucket, which can be anything from half a yard to a full yard. Always ask what the unit is and how big it is.

Rounding your number sensibly

Take the quantity from the calculator, which already includes an allowance, and round up to the supplier’s next increment. Do not add another allowance on top.

• Need 2.3 cu yd of mulch, sold by the half yard: order 2.5.
• Need 6.6 tons of gravel, sold by the quarter ton: order 6.75.
• Need 564 pavers, sold in layers of 60: order 10 layers, which is 600.

The one exception is material that is hard to match later, such as pavers, composite decking and natural stone. For those, a few extra from the same batch are worth having, because the next batch may be a slightly different color.

What to ask on the phone

Have your quantity in front of you, and ask:

1. What is the price per unit, and what is the unit?
2. What increments do you sell in?
3. What is the delivery fee to my address? Fees are often by zone or distance.
4. Is there a minimum order for delivery?
5. Can you deliver two materials on one truck? Many trucks have a divided bed and can carry, say, mulch and soil in one trip for one fee.
6. What size of truck will come? This tells you whether it fits your driveway.
7. Can I choose the day and a time window?
8. What is your return or credit policy?
9. For stone: what does it weigh per cubic yard? This lets you check their tons against your volume.
10. For soil and compost: what is in it, and is it screened?

Write the answers down. If you call two or three suppliers, you will find larger differences in delivery fees and increments than in the headline prices.

Go and look, if you can

For mulch, soil and stone, a ten minute visit to the yard beats any description. Colors on a website are unreliable, and “screened topsoil” covers everything from fine, dark loam to gray clay with the stones taken out.

• Soil: squeeze a handful. It should clump loosely and break apart easily. If it forms a hard ball, it is mostly clay. If it will not hold together at all, it is mostly sand.
• Compost: it should smell earthy. A sour or ammonia smell means it is not finished.
• Mulch: check the color and the size of the pieces, and look for trash or large chunks.
• Stone: take a sample home and wet it. Stone looks different wet, and different again against your house.

Preparing for delivery day

Choose the spot. Pick somewhere a truck can reach and tip, as close to the work as possible. Look for overhead wires and branches, soft ground, septic tanks, and sprinkler heads. A loaded dump truck is far too heavy for a lawn after rain.

Mark it. Lay a tarp where you want the pile, and weigh down the corners. The tarp marks the place, keeps the driveway clean, and makes the last shovelfuls easy to gather.

Tell the driver. If you will not be home, leave clear written instructions with the order, and a marker on site. “On the tarp, left side of the driveway” prevents a great many problems.

Think about the neighbors and the street. A pile on the road or the sidewalk may need a permit, and is a hazard at night. Keep it on your own property.

Have the tools ready. A wheelbarrow with a pumped-up tire, a square shovel for scooping off a hard surface, a rake, and gloves. Mulch moves fastest with a pitchfork or a mulch fork.

Plan to move it soon. Mulch can sit for a week or two. Soil should be moved before rain turns it to mud. Sod must go down the day it arrives. Pavers and block can wait indefinitely.

Check what arrived

Before the driver leaves, or as soon as you can:

• Is it the right product? Compare it with what you saw at the yard.
• Is the quantity about right? You cannot weigh a pile, but you can measure one. A cone-shaped pile has a volume of roughly one quarter of its width × width × height. A pile 10 feet across and 3 feet high is 10 × 10 × 3 ÷ 4 = 75 cubic feet, or just under 3 cubic yards.
• For pavers and block: count the pallets and layers, and check for a consistent batch.
• For lumber: look for badly split or twisted pieces before the truck goes.

If something is wrong, call at once. Suppliers are generally fair about mistakes that are reported the same day.

What can be returned

This changes how you should think about overage. For returnable goods, a generous allowance costs nothing if you take the spares back. For bulk material, the allowance is a real cost, so keep it modest, and have a use in mind for what is left.

Using up the surplus

A small surplus is the sign of a well-judged order.

• Mulch: top up the thin spots, mulch around a tree, or leave a small heap to use in the fall.
• Topsoil and compost: fill low spots in the lawn, top up containers, or start a new bed.
• Gravel: widen a path, fill a soggy spot by a downspout, or keep a few buckets for future post holes.
• Pavers and block: stack a few spares out of sight. They are the only ones that will ever match.
• Lumber offcuts: stakes, braces, and blocking.

A one-page order checklist

• Quantity from the calculator, with allowance included
• Rounded up to the supplier’s increment
• Price, unit, delivery fee and minimum confirmed
• Product seen in person, or a sample approved
• Delivery spot chosen, checked for overhead and underground hazards, and marked with a tarp
• Day and time window agreed
• Tools and helpers lined up
• Return policy noted

Every calculator on this site has a Print shopping list button that gives you the quantity and your measurements on one page. Write the supplier’s answers on the same sheet, and you have the whole order in one place.

Written and checked by Bertha
Last updated October 4, 2026 · How we work out our numbers