Bulk rockery and natural boulders delivered throughout Gig Harbor and Kitsap County. Columbia Granite from $83.99/ton, St. Helens volcanic from $107.99/ton, natural boulders from $91.99/ton.
Rockery is the Pacific Northwest's answer to a hillside lot. Stacked dry from large natural stones, leaned slightly back into the slope, backfilled with drain rock. No mortar, no rebar, walls under 4 feet usually permit-free. This page covers what we deliver to Gig Harbor: current per-ton pricing, the 1-man / 2-man / 3-man sizing system, which stone goes where, and how to handle delivery on a sloped Kitsap lot.
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We deliver rockery throughout Gig Harbor (zip codes 98329, 98332, 98335, 98349) and adjacent Kitsap and Pierce County communities:
- Gig Harbor: Downtown, Crescent Valley, Rosedale, Canterwood, Harborview
- Artondale, Wauna, and Fox Island (98335, 98333)
- Purdy and the Key Peninsula (98349): Lakebay, Home, Vaughn, Longbranch
- Olalla and the Burley-Olalla corridor (98359)
- Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, and Bainbridge Island
Our yard at 11612 WA-302 in Gig Harbor is centrally located for the peninsula. Most weekday orders deliver same-day or next-day depending on truck availability and load weight. Rockery is heavy (roughly 1.4 tons per yard equivalent), so trucks max out faster on stone than on bark or compost.
To check delivery for your address: visit harborsoils.com or call 253-857-5125.
Rockery Products We Deliver
Rockery is priced by the ton. All sizes within a stone type are flat-priced: 1-man and 3-man Columbia Granite are the same per-ton cost, so pay for the size that matches your project rather than trying to save by going smaller.
Columbia Granite — $83.99/ton
The most popular choice in our yard and the safe pick if you are not sure what you want. Dense gray granite with natural variation, consistent appearance, stacks well, holds up to decades of weather.
- Columbia Granite 1-Man · $83.99/ton. 50-250 lb pieces, 12-18 inches across. Garden borders, planting bed edges, low walls under 3 feet. DIY-friendly: a determined homeowner with a hand truck can build with these.
- Columbia Granite 2-4 Man · $83.99/ton. 250-1,500+ lb pieces, 18-36+ inches across. Residential retaining walls 2-4 feet tall. A small excavator or skid steer makes the install significantly faster.
- Columbia Granite Flats · $83.99/ton. Selected for at least one flat stacking face. The right choice if you are building an actual wall (versus placing feature stones). Flats give you tighter joints and a cleaner finished look.
St. Helens Volcanic — $107.99/ton
Quarried from around Mt. St. Helens. Rough texture, darker color with reddish and brown tones, character you cannot get from manufactured stone. Costs about 28 percent more than Columbia Granite, but a St. Helens wall looks like it grew out of the ground rather than being placed there.
- St. Helens 1-Man · $107.99/ton. 50-250 lb pieces. Premium garden borders, feature walls, accent placements.
- St. Helens 2-Man · $107.99/ton. 250-750 lb pieces. Standard size for visible residential walls where appearance matters.
- St. Helens 3-Man · $107.99/ton. 750+ lb pieces. Tall walls, slope stabilization on steep grades, large-scale features. Requires heavy equipment to place.
Natural Boulders — $91.99/ton
Natural boulders are not quarried to a size. Each is selected from riverbeds, glacial deposits, and construction sites for its individual shape and character. Use them as standalone landscape features, at the base of a water feature, or as accent pieces. We have boulders in the yard ranging from a few hundred pounds to several tons. Come pick your favorites in person: boulder shopping is the one part of this business that really does not translate to a website.
Browse the full rockery collection at harborsoils.com.
Common Gig Harbor Rockery Projects
Residential Retaining Walls
The main use case. Gig Harbor sits on hillsides above the harbor and Henderson Bay; almost every lot has at least one grade change that wants a wall. For a 2-3 ft wall on a typical residential lot, 1-man Columbia Granite is the default DIY choice ($83.99/ton, 8-12 linear feet of coverage per ton). For 3-4 ft walls, step up to 2-Man. Walls over 4 ft usually need an engineered design and a Pierce County permit.
The full how-to (base prep, batter angle, drainage, course stacking) is in our pillar guide: Rockery Walls: Sizes, Types, Cost & How to Build One.
Terraced Beds on Sloped Lots
The clever move for a steep yard is to build two or three short walls (each under 4 ft, so each is permit-exempt) rather than one tall wall that needs engineering. Each terrace becomes a level planting area, and the combined retaining capacity exceeds a single tall wall. This is the dominant pattern on Crescent Valley, Canterwood, and the bluffs above Wollochet Bay.
Garden Borders
A line of 1-man rocks along a planting bed makes a border that will never rot, warp, or need replacing. Unlike timber edging, rock just sits there for decades. An afternoon to install, basically lifetime durability. The smaller end of the 1-man size range (50-100 lb pieces) is what you want for garden borders: still substantial, still moveable by hand.
Water Features & Dry Creek Beds
Natural boulders and St. Helens volcanic both work well for waterfall features, pond edges, and dry creek beds. The irregular shapes and rough surfaces give water flow a natural appearance that stacked block cannot replicate. For dry creek beds specifically, mix decorative rounded stone (from our decorative rocks collection) with a few accent boulders at the bends.
Slope Stabilization & Erosion Control
Hood Canal bluffs, Henderson Bay slopes, the cut banks along Gig Harbor's hillside lots. A few 2-man rocks placed at the toe of an eroding slope, with a small bench of 1-man behind, stops a problem before it becomes a $20,000 emergency. For shoreline armoring or larger erosion projects, we also deliver 4x8 Rock ($34.99/yard), which is rougher and cheaper than rockery and is designed to be dumped in place rather than stacked.
Driveway & Property Entrances
Large feature boulders flanking the driveway entrance, or rockery walls lining the drive, are a common Canterwood-area project. 2-man and 3-man St. Helens with the right flat-face placement creates the "estate driveway" look at a tiny fraction of the cost of engineered block.
How Much Rockery Do You Need?
Rockery is priced by the ton, but you buy it for linear feet of wall. The conversion depends on rock size and wall height.
| Wall height | Rock size | Coverage per ton | Material cost (Columbia Granite) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 ft garden border | 1-Man | 8-12 linear ft | ~$84/ton; 25 ft ≈ $210 |
| 2-3 ft low wall | 1-Man or 2-Man | 6-10 linear ft | 30 ft 1-Man ≈ $280; 30 ft 2-Man ≈ $336 |
| 3-4 ft retaining wall | 2-Man | 5-8 linear ft | 40 ft ≈ $504; 50 ft ≈ $630 |
| 4+ ft wall (engineered) | 3-Man | 3-5 linear ft | 40 ft ≈ $1,008; permit + engineering extra |
| Terraced slope (two 3-ft walls) | 2-Man | 5-8 linear ft | 2 walls × 30 ft ≈ $750-$1,000 |
Order 10-15 percent extra. You will reject more rocks than you expect when stacking; rocks that look fine in a pile look wrong on the wall. Surplus pieces get used as feature stones, garden edging, or held back for future repairs.
Do not forget base and backfill materials. Plan on $25-$50 of 3/4 Minus ($34.99/yard) for the base trench and gravel backfill behind the wall, plus landscape fabric. See our 5/8 minus gravel guide if you prefer that grade for the base.
Rockery Delivery: How It Works
- Pick stone type, size, and quantity. Columbia Granite ($83.99/ton) for value and consistency; St. Helens ($107.99/ton) for premium character; natural boulders ($91.99/ton) for one-of-a-kind features. Match the size to the wall height per the table above.
- Visit the yard for boulders or large feature stones. Boulder shopping really does not translate to ordering by phone. Drive out to 11612 WA-302 and walk the piles.
- Place the order. Call 253-857-5125 or order online at harborsoils.com/collections/rockery-rocks.
- Confirm delivery access. Rockery is heavy and the trucks need stable, level access to drop. Driveway or paved-area drop is standard; we do not drive on lawn or wet ground. For back-yard projects, we drop on the driveway and you skid-steer or wheelbarrow to the work area. Tell us about steep, narrow, or soft access points before delivery.
- We deliver and stage. Larger orders (over 5 tons) are usually multiple loads; we coordinate timing so the staging area does not overflow. For 3-man stone, you will want the delivery driver to position pieces near where they will be placed, since moving 1,000+ lb rocks across a yard is a project.
For the full delivery walk-through, see our pillar guide: Bulk Material Delivery: What to Expect & How to Order.
Contractor & Commercial Orders
Landscape contractors, builders, and excavation crews working Gig Harbor and Kitsap County projects can order:
- Volume pricing on orders over 10 tons
- Multi-load coordination for retaining wall and slope stabilization projects
- Same-week recurring delivery for active sites
- Mixed loads where weight permits (rockery + base gravel for the same job)
- Special-order large boulders (waterfront armoring, public-works specs) on request
Reach the office at 253-857-5125 or [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does rockery cost per ton in Gig Harbor?
Per-ton pickup pricing at Harbor Soils is currently $83.99 for Columbia Granite (any size: 1-Man, 2-4 Man, or Flats), $107.99 for St. Helens volcanic (1-Man, 2-Man, or 3-Man), and $91.99 for natural boulders. Delivery fees are added based on distance from our Gig Harbor yard.
What is the difference between Columbia Granite and St. Helens?
Columbia Granite is dense gray granite with a uniform, consistent appearance. It is the safe, value-priced choice ($83.99/ton). St. Helens volcanic is darker, rougher, and has reddish and brown tones; every piece looks different. St. Helens is the premium choice ($107.99/ton) when appearance matters more than budget. Both stack equally well.
What does 1-man, 2-man, 3-man mean?
The sizing system describes how many people it takes to move one rock by hand. 1-Man rocks weigh 50-250 lbs and can be moved by one person with a hand truck and pry bar. 2-Man rocks are 250-700 lbs and need two people with pry bars (or a small machine). 3-Man rocks weigh 700+ lbs and require an excavator or skid steer.
Do I need a permit for a rockery wall in Gig Harbor?
Walls under 4 feet generally do not require a permit in Pierce County or the City of Gig Harbor. Walls over 4 feet usually need engineered plans and a building permit. Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, and unincorporated Kitsap each have slightly different rules, so call your local planning department before starting anything tall. A pro tip: build two shorter walls (each under 4 ft) terraced into the slope instead of one tall wall, and you stay under the engineering threshold.
Can you deliver boulders to Bainbridge Island and Bremerton?
Yes. We deliver rockery throughout Gig Harbor, Port Orchard, Bremerton, Silverdale, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Olalla, Purdy, Fox Island, and Key Peninsula. Bainbridge and north-Kitsap deliveries take longer and the delivery fee reflects the distance from our Gig Harbor yard.
How much rockery do I need for my wall?
For a starting estimate: 1-Man covers 8-12 linear ft per ton on 1-2 ft walls; 2-Man covers 5-8 ft per ton on 2-4 ft walls; 3-Man covers 3-5 ft per ton on 4+ ft walls. Add 10-15 percent for pieces you will reject as not fitting. Call 253-857-5125 with your wall length and height and we will dial in a number.
Order Rockery for Your Gig Harbor Project
Visit harborsoils.com/collections/rockery-rocks to browse current products and pricing, or call 253-857-5125 to talk through your project. For boulder selection, come out to the yard at 11612 WA-302 and walk the piles in person.
Harbor Soils
11612 WA-302, Gig Harbor, WA 98329
253-857-5125 · [email protected]
More Gig Harbor & Kitsap Resources
- Rockery Walls: Sizes, Types, Cost & How to Build One (pillar guide)
- Retaining Wall Rocks: Complete Buyer's Guide
- 5/8 Minus Gravel: Complete Guide (base prep)
- Crushed Rock Delivery in Gig Harbor
- Decorative Rock Delivery in Gig Harbor
- Drainage Solutions Complete Guide: Gig Harbor
- Cubic Yard Calculator: Soil, Mulch, Gravel & Bark
- Bulk Material Delivery: What to Expect
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