Gravel & road base delivery Margaret River

Gravel gets quoted both ways on our board, and it isn't arbitrary. Decorative and drainage gravels are priced per cubic metre, because you buy them by the look and the volume they fill. Road bases are priced per tonne, because what matters is the compacted mass you're building a surface out of.

The conversion worth carrying in your head: road base runs about 1.8 to 2.0 tonnes per cubic metre. So a tonne is roughly half a cubic metre — which is why a trailer, capped at about 2.4 tonnes, holds a lot less gravel than it does mulch.

That compaction allowance is the mistake we see most often. Loose road base settles substantially once it's rolled or driven on, so ordering the exact calculated volume leaves you short of the finished depth. Add roughly a fifth.

MRD Gravel Road Base ($54/t) — Main Roads spec gravel, the standard base for driveways, shed pads and hardstand. Graded so the fines lock the larger material together when compacted, giving a surface that holds its shape rather than rutting.

MRD Limestone Road Base ($56/t) — same job, limestone rather than gravel. Sets harder and finishes paler, and is the usual choice closer to the coast. It'll track white onto paths and tyres until it beds in.

Blue Metal Road Base ($90/t) — crushed blue metal graded for base work. More expensive, and worth it where the load is heavy or the ground stays wet.

Cracked Gravel 5/12/18mm ($260/m³) — angular orange gravel in three grades. The 5 mm tops a path neatly, the 18 mm holds up better under vehicles. Angular edges mean it knits rather than rolling underfoot the way a rounded pebble does.

Filter Rock 19–25mm ($260/m³) — clean, single-sized and free of fines, which is exactly what a soakwell or French drain needs. Fines would clog the drainage, so don't substitute a road base here.

Laterite Fines ($240/m³) — fine red laterite. Compacts to a firm, natural-looking surface for paths and garden tracks where a formal road base would look out of place.

Blue Metal 10/14/20/50mm ($120/t) — grey angular crushed rock; choose 10, 14, 20 or 50 mm. The 10 mm is the common pick for levelling under sheds and around studios; larger grades go into drainage and concrete work.

Cracker Dust ($90/t) — compacts to a tight fine surface, useful as a paver bedding or path topping.

Rip Rap ($90/t) — the opposite end of the scale: large rock for erosion control on banks and drain lines.