Why does July look different from May in Waltham?
Waltham splits into two kinds of property. The rental stock around the Brandeis and Bentley edges gets landlord-driven work, timed to turnover. The Highlands single-families get owner-driven projects finished over a few weekends. By July both have moved past the spring mulch install, and what's left is top-offs, lawn triage and hardscape.
1. Black Mulch — $58/yd
Bed refresh where colour is the point. Dyed double-ground hardwood — the highest-contrast option against green lawn and brick, and the default on rental front beds.
Typical order: 2 to 4 yards. A one-inch top-off over 400 square feet is about 1.2 yards; a full three-inch install over the same beds is 3.7. Keep it out of vegetable gardens — use undyed hemlock or pine bark for anything you'll eat. Order Black Mulch, or compare textures in the mulch bed refresh collection.
2. Loam (Screened) — $55/yd
Filling low spots, levelling after a wet spring, topdressing thin turf. Half-inch screened, so it rakes smooth and leaves no stones.
Typical order: 3 to 6 yards. A half-inch topdress over 2,000 square feet is 3.1 yards; filling a real dip three inches deep across 300 square feet is 2.8. Grade now, but hold the seed until late August — July seeding germinates into heat and dies before it roots. The UMass Extension landscape program is good on timing. Order Loam (Screened).
3. Dense Pack ¾" to minus — $76/yd
The compacted base under patios, walkways, shed pads and re-based driveways. Dense-graded from ¾-inch stone down to fines, so it locks hard under a plate compactor. Clean single-size stone never will.
Typical order: 4 to 6 yards — one load. A 12-by-16 patio at six inches of base is 192 × 6 ÷ 324 = 3.6 yards. Place it in two- to three-inch lifts, wetting each one — in July, dry base won't compact. Order Dense Pack ¾" to minus.
4. Paver Sand — $60/yd
The thin bedding course pavers sit in, and the setting layer under flagstone. Coarse washed sand — it beds and drains, but it is not a base.
Typical order: 1 to 2 yards. One inch over that same 12-by-16 patio is 0.6 yards, so a single yard covers it with margin. Order Paver Sand.
5. Compost — $50/yd
Tired soil rather than missing soil. Fully decomposed and screened — the right call for vegetable beds, borders and topdressing a lawn that's thin because the soil is exhausted rather than low.
Typical order: 2 to 4 yards. A quarter-inch topdress over 2,000 square feet is 1.5 yards; two 4-by-8 raised beds ten inches deep is 2 yards. It's also the cheapest yard in the soil and loam range.
What do these five cost delivered?
| Material | Per yard | Typical order | Load cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mulch | $58 | 2–4 yd | 10 yd |
| Loam (Screened) | $55 | 3–6 yd | 6 yd |
| Dense Pack ¾" | $76 | 4–6 yd | 6 yd |
| Paver Sand | $60 | 1–2 yd | 6 yd |
| Compost | $50 | 2–4 yd | 6 yd |
Waltham runs 11.7 to 14.4 driving miles from our Dispatch Office in Dorchester, inside the 30-mile zone, so $100 flat per load. The important word is load: the fee is per truck trip, counted per line item. Three yards of dense pack plus one of paver sand is two loads and two fees — $200 of freight on a small patio.
Frequently asked questions
What's the smallest order you'll deliver?
One cubic yard. There's no minimum, and plenty of Waltham orders are exactly that.
Can I get everything for a patio in one delivery?
Not in one trip. Base and bedding sand are separate line items and therefore separate loads, each with its own fee.
Where does the driver leave it?
Curbside or the top of the driveway. On-property drops require a signed liability waiver — relevant on the narrow Highlands lots where the only route to the back is a gate.
See prices for your address in the Waltham landscape supply collection or the full catalogue.
Related reading: How to Get a Lynn Backyard Party-Ready in Two Days and Last-Minute Patio Fixes for a Saugus Fourth of July.
