The sky’s the limit with options for landscaping your front and back yards to create an environment that best suits your personality. Whether you prefer a lush green lawn, shady trees and seating areas, or low-maintenance rock gardens, there are endless options available to choose from at Hilton Landscape Supply. Large boulders and slabs of rock or granite will make a statement in almost any design and give height and dimension to features in your landscaping. One aspect that stands in the way of using these heavy materials for many homeowners is knowing how to move large landscaping rocks safely.
Seven tips for making moving large landscaping rocks, boulders, and slabs more manageable:
Seven tips for making moving large landscaping rocks, boulders, and slabs more manageable:- Protect your body. Use proper gear such as leather gloves, eye protection, and steel-toed boots to move heavy materials on your own. If you drop a slab or a boulder moves differently than anticipated, protecting yourself from injury is the priority.
- Work when the ground is hard. Make your plans during the rainy season, but wait until the weather warms up before you place heavy materials in your yard. Regardless of your technique for moving and positioning large landscaping rocks and slabs, if the ground is soft and mushy, you’ll rip up turf and destroy the leveled ground.
- Hire a professional to do the work for you. The staff at Hilton Landscape Supply can help you find a landscaping professional who can place large landscaping rocks, boulders, granite slabs, and other heavy materials in the location you want for you. It may cost a little more than doing it yourself, but you won’t risk injury to yourself, and the professional should have insurance to cover the cost of repairs for any damage to your current landscaping.
- Rent a backhoe. Professional landscaping equipment like a backhoe can make the work much easier if you are skilled at driving and operating large machinery. However, practice your technique in an open area to ensure the materials will move as you anticipate and are not too heavy for the equipment you’ve rented. If you doubt your abilities, hire a professional to do the work instead.
- Use a sled. A plastic child’s sled can be very effective for moving medium-weighted objects too heavy to carry. Wax the bottom of the sled well so it will glide easily over a grassy surface. Carefully move the rock or slab onto the sled. Moving the object by pushing it may be easier, and doing so will help avoid injury to your shoulders, arms, and back.
- Implement ancient techniques. From our early days, man has used a system with multiple cylinders to move heavy objects, which will also work in your yard. Use three 4-inch PVC pipes cut longer than the width of the rock or slab. Place one in front of the boulder and use a crowbar to lift the rock enough to shove the pipe under it. Either roll the stone over the first pipe to get a second under it or use the crowbar to place the second pipe under it on the opposite side. Once you have two tubes under it, roll it forward and add the third pipe. Keep moving it forward, and as it rolls off of a pipe, move it around to the front to keep it going.
- Use a strong dolly. Not all dollies are the same, and using a lightweight dolly can result in personal injury. A heavy-duty contractor’s dolly with pneumatic tires is best for hauling large rock slabs. Tilt the slab to get the lip of the dolly under it, and carefully rock it back and forth until it rests on the back of the dolly. Tilt the dolly back, and then walk it backwards to your desired location.
The team at Hilton Landscape Supply will make any landscaping project manageable for you!
If you have a vision for your front or back yard but don’t know where to start, our landscaping professionals can help get your project going. All you need to do is share your vision with us. We’ll help you understand all the steps required to accomplish your dream, help you explore various options in our extensive material yard, deliver your purchases to your location, and help you identify the best professionals to complete the difficult portions of the work. Stop by and see us at 8087 Blackwell Road in Central Point, Oregon.