Free field guide No. 01 9 chapters
Rock crushing in Texas: the free landowner's guide
Everything to know before you crush rock for a road, a pad or a pasture in the Hill Country. Written by the family crew that crushes Hill Country rock for a living.
- What sits under Hill Country soil, and why it fights every shovel
- How crushing depth changes the road you end up with
- How long a crushed rock road lasts, and the drainage that decides it
- Crush it or haul it in: truckload math from a drive to a mile of road
5-star Google reviews Family-owned in Spring Branch, TX
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- 9chapters
- 10tables
- 2checklists & worksheets
- 23glossary terms
- 70cited sources
What is inside
Built on Rock: The Texas landowner's guide to rock crushing
What is under your land, why it fights every shovel, how deep to crush, which rules apply and how to build a road that lasts. Everything to know before you crush rock in the Hill Country.
- 01
What is under your land
Hill Country rock is old, hard and close to the surface. Know it before you plan a road, a pad or a pasture.
- 02
Why rock makes every job harder
Rock does not just slow one job down. It touches the road, the house, the septic system, the water line and the pasture.
- 03
What rock crushing is (and is not)
Rock crushing turns the surface rock on your property into fine, compactible road base, right where it lies.
- 04
Depth changes everything
Most crushing machines only scratch the surface. Depth decides how much of the problem actually gets fixed.
- 05
How long a crushed rock road lasts
A crushed rock road lasts as long as water stays off it and out of it. Build it in two layers, and build for drainage first.
- 06
Doing it right, step by step
This is how 9 Arrow builds a road on rock, from brush to finished base.
- 07
Crush it or haul it in?
If your land has rock, you already own most of your road base.
- 08
Rules before you crush
Mulching clears brush without breaking ground. Crushing, grading and road building break ground, and that is where most of the rules start.
- 09
Before you hire a rock crushing crew
The questions that separate a crew that crushes rock from a crew that builds roads.
| Road | Compacted base | About tons | About truckloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 ft drive, 12 ft wide, 6 in deep | 222 cu yd | 430 | 18 to 22 |
| 1/4 mile, 12 ft wide, 6 in deep | 293 cu yd | 560 | 23 to 28 |
| 1/2 mile, 16 ft wide, 6 in deep | 782 cu yd | 1,500 | 60 to 75 |
| 1 mile, 20 ft wide, 6 in deep | 1,956 cu yd | 3,750 | 150 to 188 |
| 1 mile, 20 ft wide, 10 in deep | 3,259 cu yd | 6,250 | 250 to 313 |
Why we wrote it
From the crew that does the work.
Hill Country rock is the hardest part of most jobs we see. It breaks equipment, stops post holes and turns a simple driveway into a hauling bill. Most landowners only learn how it works after the work is done.
We wrote this guide so you can plan the road, the pad or the pasture with your eyes open, ask any crew the right questions and know which rules apply before the first pass.
9 Arrow runs a large, dedicated rock crushing machine built to work far deeper than the skid-steer attachments most crews use. As far as we know, no other crew in the Hill Country runs one.
I have had 9 Arrow do multiple jobs for me and they come through every time. This business operates with all the values you'd expect from a Central Texas, Family run company.
Questions about the guide
Is the rock crushing guide really free?
Yes, the rock crushing guide is free. Enter your name, email and phone, and the download starts on the next page. The guide is a single HTML file that opens in any browser, works without a signal once saved and prints cleanly, so you can mark it up on the tailgate.
Who is the rock crushing guide written for?
The rock crushing guide is written for Texas landowners planning a ranch road, a driveway, a home site or pasture work on rocky ground, especially in the Hill Country around Spring Branch, Bulverde, Boerne and Canyon Lake. Builders and developers use it to check a crew's plan before work starts.
Does rock crushing need a permit in Texas?
Rock crushing can need permits in Texas because it breaks ground. Depending on where the land sits, Edwards Aquifer plans, the state construction stormwater permit at one acre, floodplain permits and a Texas811 call can apply. The guide gives each rule its own section. Confirm with the agency, since this is not legal advice.
What makes 9 Arrow's rock crushing different?
9 Arrow runs a large, dedicated rock crushing machine built to work far deeper than the skid-steer attachments most crews use. As far as we know, no other crew in the Hill Country runs one. We turn the rock already on your route into compactible road base, then grade it with a crown and drainage.
Get Built on Rock free.
What is under your land, why it fights every shovel, how deep to crush, which rules apply and how to build a road that lasts. Everything to know before you crush rock in the Hill Country.
