Bulk Aggregates near South Bend, IN, 46613

Sandy loam under the surface

At the ZIP's center point, the USDA soil survey maps Urban land-Hillsdale complex on 1 to 5 percent slopes. For a driveway or patio base, shape the finished aggregate so water leaves the gentle slope rather than resting on the surface. The map unit is 50 percent urban land, and Hillsdale makes up 40 percent of it.^[1]

The USDA soil survey describes the top mineral layer as sandy loam, with well drained conditions and hydrologic group B (moderate infiltration). A geotextile beneath a crushed-stone base keeps native sandy loam from mixing into the aggregate. In the top 100 cm, shrink-swell is low at 1.5 percent. A compacted angular-stone base such as Crusher Run provides a locked layer over ground with low shrink-swell movement.^[1]

Shale and aggregate layers

The mapped ground at the ZIP's center point is 760 feet in elevation and lies on the Ellsworth Shale unit, identified as shale and black shale. Where excavation reaches firm shale, use crushed angular stone to bring a driveway or patio base to its needed grade rather than relying on loose excavated fragments.^[2],[3]

The Ellsworth Shale mapped here is Devonian in age. That mapped bedrock information helps separate excavated material from clean base stone or drainage stone during deeper digging.^[3]

Rain and freeze call for free drainage

The NOAA station at S Bend, IN, about 3 miles away records 40.9 inches of average yearly precipitation and 133 days when the low reaches 32 F or colder. For a driveway or patio, use a free-draining stone layer below the finished surface to keep water from remaining in the base through freeze periods. The median last spring freeze is April 23, and the median first fall freeze is October 23. Use washed sand only where a bedding layer is needed, and keep drainage stone open rather than filling its voids with fines.^[4]

The soil at the ZIP's center point is well drained, while the NOAA station still records 40.9 inches of yearly precipitation. Drain Rock around a drainage path moves water through the stone while the sandy loam handles infiltration below.^[1],[4]

Materials for the ZIP's housing stock

ZIP 46613 has 4,758 housing units, and 87 percent are detached single-family houses, compared with 47,775 units and 72 percent detached single-family houses across South Bend. For work at a detached home, keep driveway base stone and patio bedding material in separate layers, and reserve Top Soil for planting areas.^[5]

The median construction period for homes in ZIP 46613 is 1939 or earlier, compared with 1955 across South Bend. When replacing an existing drive or walk at an older home, remove loose old surface material before placing a compacted crushed-stone base.^[5]

Indiana DOT names its road-building standard Compacted Aggregate, No. 53, Section 301 Aggregate Base, INDOT Standard Specifications 2026. The median size of Indiana customer orders was 5 tons.^[6],[7]