# sticker shock!



## stacker (Jan 31, 2006)

i had to go buy mason sand this morning(first time since the last month).
i was paying 15.95 a ton for sand.when i got my ticket,they had raised the price to $22.00 a ton!!! i asked what the deal was and the manager of the concrete plant said the price of fuel had made them raise it.:no: i told him that was a bunch of crap,since fuel in our area is lower than it has been for quite a while.i think the concrete plant thinks they have us by the nads since they no one else in town sells sand.what they dont understand is that i can buy it from the same place they do and pay same price that they do,but it is 70 miles away.

anyway,what are some prices you all pay for mason sand a ton?


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

Picked up price or delivered? Quantity?

Here we have cheaper sand prices because we have plenty of good mason sand all around the area. If you build a small basement and need 1/2 load, you buy a full load because the freight is the same per load and you can always lose the excess if you don't need it.

Most masonry jobs here that are larger than a single house or any commercial work (has a lift) is strictly the big bags (3,000#).

It started 15 years ago with commercial jobs using colored mud and has gone to plain mortar also.

Near me there is a defunct fast food store that is being converted to a small branch bank by adding on a small addition(front entry) and a drive-through. Uncolored split face block with lots of corners. All the mortar was pre-proportioned. A combination of big bags (3000#) and small bags.

Dick


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## stacker (Jan 31, 2006)

that price is picked up at the concrete plant,or going 70 miles and picking it up at the sand plant.
i have asked the local lumber yard to look into spec mix,but so far i havent seen any down there yet.im going to jump them again about getting some in,just for these small jobs.i had to do a little fireplace last saturday,used two batches of mud on it.that meant hauling sand and cement to the job,40 miles from home,my mixer,and other tools.would have been so much easier to haul 4-5 bags of spec mix and my mixer.


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

It is hard to beat the pre-blended bags for small jobs. Little waste and absolutely uniform.

You can keep a pallet of it covered and take what you want or go the route of using bulk sand and bags of cement. It is not uncommon for a mason contractor here to use pre-blended 80# bags of mortar for an addition with a basement.

The problem with the big 3000# bags of SpecMix is the requirement of having a high enough lift to fill the silo. Scheduling a silo can also be a hassel. Here, contractors can get caught short when things are busy if they don't think ahead. I don't know what the availability is in the 40 or so states big SpecMix bags is available in. Most of the SpecMix in those areas is bagged by Quikrete to SpecMix's specifications in the SpecMix bags, so I imagine the small bags are sold as generic mortar under the Quikete name.

I always wonder about the Quikrete/Sakrete products and the proportions they actually use for 80# bags, since the specs for mortar can be pretty loose. Also, each bagger uses local aggregate, so the same name of the bag does not mean you get the same mortar (fine sand, coarse sand, sand color). Variations can be a problem if you move around and get different suppliers.

I don't know where SpecMix is available in 40 to 80# bags. They are based here so you can get Type M in Portland/lime/sand or in mason cement/sand. Same for Type S. I can't remember about Type N. The same applies for colored mud. We have a huge block market here and a pretty good brick market, so there is enough demand to justify the selection even though SpecMix has no competition except a contractor mixing his own sand, lime and cement.

At one time the commercial and larger residential contractors thought it was cheaper to mix their own, but those days are disappearing (or have disappeared) because of the hidden costs in proportioning on site. It has been an education just watching it happen.


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## stacker (Jan 31, 2006)

i checked on spec mix awhile back and can get it out of okc,about 150 miles from here.60 pound bags were priced to me at $3.27 a bag.i dont know how many brick a 60 pound bag would lay.but seems to me that is a good price.i have used spec mix while working big commercial jobs and i like the quality of the product.but of corse that is the 3000 pound bags,but i am sure the quality would be the same.i do not like to use quikcrete.:no:


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## denick (Feb 13, 2006)

We pay $26.00 a ton


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## mdshunk (Mar 13, 2005)

I don't buy sand but on occasion for pipe trenches. It's 3.77 a ton, picked up at the sand quarry.


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## tkle (Apr 15, 2006)

I thought sand was free in Oklahoma.Just wait for the wind to blow.:whistling 
I'm paying $25 a ton from the ready mix companies and $35 elsewhere.Depending who's at the batch plant,I usually end up with a bit over a ton.With Spec mix and similar products,I get 20 to 25 block per 96# bag at a cost of around $0.23/ block compared to $0.125/block traditionally.I do see some of the bigger outfits using it exclusively.No worry about coming up to test,no color variation.It does have an advantage.It sucks here in the summer.The tenders have a hard time keeping it tempered.I prefer common and liquid lime.You just got to hide the bottle so they don't use it up on a few batches.I do like the convenience of the premix and use it exclusively on phony stone.It sticks.It also sticks to the mixer.If you have a barrel mixer you might as well throw the first bag away.


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## 6stringmason (May 20, 2005)

I pay $22/ton to pick up.


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## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

on average how many tons a month do you use? 1? 100?


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## concretemasonry (Dec 1, 2006)

6stringmason -

A friend was over in Milwaukee doing some wotk. He was accustomed to our round sand (almost like silica sand) and thought what he had was harsh and angular. It really wasn't coarse. Is there any manufactured (crushed) sand used in the area.

I know Packerland is a little way north and closer to heaven, but thought you might have the same kind of sand.

Dick


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## Brickie (Jun 15, 2006)

I pay $20.75 a ton


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

$20-28 a ton, here.


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## POOLMANinCT (Oct 7, 2006)

denick said:


> We pay $26.00 a ton


 
me too, prob @ the same place


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## dougchips (Apr 23, 2006)

mahlere said:


> on average how many tons a month do you use? 1? 100?


You waiting for him to answer 1/2 ton? The increase seems small, will laugh if the answer is 1/2 ton.


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

I pay just about $25 a ton here in CT. It's OK. BUT! I can drive 45 minutes, buy it cheaper and get a MUCH higher quality sand. Depends on the job. Most times I will pay more for a slightly lower quality sand because it's closer to most of my jobs...and I don't use alot of sand. My BIG jobs only use 3-6 tons.
If i'm going to do a really nice brick job I will get the better sand. Either I will drive to get it or I will have it delivered.
Some guys here will sell "mason sand" depening on it's size right from the bank. Like I said it's OK, and sometimes it's washed sometimes it's not. But the crushed/filtered/washed sand is AWSOME and you can tell as soon as you sink a trowel into it.


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

I just got a price quote this week for a job we need about 160 tons of sand to bed pipes in and it's around $25.00/ton delivered.


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## Double-A (Jul 3, 2006)

While a more than 30% price increase seems unfair, you might consider how long the price has been at 16.00/ton. Perhaps they have been holding off as long as they can.

At an additional 6.00 per ton, I'm not sure I'd worry about it. Just pass that cost along to your customer. Sand doesn't cost you, its costs your customer.


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## mahlere (Aug 6, 2006)

dougchips said:


> You waiting for him to answer 1/2 ton? The increase seems small, will laugh if the answer is 1/2 ton.


exactly...i have no idea how many tons of sand are needed...i mean if it's 100 tons a month, ok. but 1/2 a ton a month...different story..


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## JasontheMason (Dec 30, 2006)

I get it for around $3-4 a ton.


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