Most of Essex County sits inside our 30-mile flat delivery zone, so a load runs $100 to Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Beverly, Danvers, Andover and most points between. August's story is the overseeding window opening, which means loam and compost move first. Order the week before you seed, not the week you seed.
What does delivery to Essex County actually cost?
Essex is the county where this question has the easiest answer. Our fee is $100 plus $4 per driving mile beyond 30 from the yard at 18 Jan Karski Way in Dorchester, and most of the county is inside that line.
Flat $100 per load: Lynn, Saugus, Swampscott, Nahant, Marblehead, Salem, Peabody, Lynnfield, Beverly (including Prides Crossing at 24.0 miles), Danvers, Middleton, Topsfield, Wenham, Hamilton, Andover and North Andover — the populated middle of the county at the same rate as Cambridge.
Which towns fall outside the flat zone?
The northern tier and Cape Ann. These are per-load figures, and where a range appears it is real — different ZIPs in the same town sit different distances out.
| Town | Per load | Town | Per load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxford | $102 | Groveland / Haverhill | $124–$136 |
| Lawrence | $104 | Gloucester | $130 |
| Rowley | $105 | West Newbury | $133 |
| Methuen | $106 | Newburyport | $142 |
| Ipswich | $109 | Rockport | $149 |
| Essex / Manchester-by-the-Sea | $110 | Amesbury / Salisbury | $153 |
| Georgetown | $115 | Merrimac | $159 |
The further out you are, the more the load structure matters. The fee is charged per dump-truck trip, loads are counted per line item, and caps are 10 yards for mulch, 6 for stone, sand and soil. Two materials means two trips — in Rockport or Amesbury, roughly $300 in freight. Consolidating into one material is the biggest lever you have.
What moves in August?
The handover happens in the first two weeks. Mulch demand tapers after a July of bed refreshes, and three categories take over: loam, topsoil and compost for the overseeding rush; patio and walkway base — dense pack, concrete sand, stone dust — as soon as the heat breaks; and drainage stone, ordered by people who remember what their yard did last autumn.
When does the overseeding window open?
Mid-August to mid-September in eastern Massachusetts, the most reliable seeding window of the year. Soil is still warm from summer, nights cool, dew returns, and crabgrass stops pushing. Grass seeded then gets two solid months plus an entire spring before facing heat again.
We are not going to put a number on August's weather. Watch the NWS Boston forecast in the week you plan to seed and go when the nights turn. Anyone irrigating new seed should check local water restrictions first; the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is a starting point.
What should you order ahead?
Loam, earlier than feels necessary. Loam (Screened) at $55 a yard is what most lawn levelling calls for, and mid-August is when every yard in the county wants it at once. Weekend slots fill first. Take delivery in the first days of August, tarp the pile, and it is waiting when the forecast cooperates.
For yardage: cubic yards = (square feet × depth in inches) ÷ 324. Topdressing 1,000 square feet at a half inch is 1.54 yards. Keep each line item under 6 yards and you keep it to one trip.
Essex County questions
Is there a minimum order?
No. One cubic yard is a valid order. The load fee is the same whether the truck carries one yard or six, which is why it pays to order the season's full amount at once.
How far in advance should I book for late August?
A few days is normally enough, but the third week of August is the tightest stretch of the late-summer calendar here. If a weekend crew is booked, order earlier in the week.
Can I get an exact delivered price for my address?
Yes — the ZIP checker on any product page, in the cart, or on our delivery page returns the exact figure. That beats any number in an article, including this one.
Browse the full catalogue by the cubic yard, go straight to lawn levelling and repair or soil and loam, and see town coverage on our Essex County page. For borders rather than lawns, the late-July bed habits piece covers what to top up and what to leave. Text (617) 286-2740 with your square footage for a quote.
