Quartz Boulders at $0.15 per Pound: What a 500, 1,000 and 2,000 Pound Boulder Costs

You stand on the boulder lot at the yard in front of a white stone that catches the sun. You searched for quartz boulders for sale and every listing you found quoted a flat price for a rock. The tag on this one reads $0.15 per pound. Rockhouse sells quartz boulders by weight, and the weight of the stone in front of you decides the bill.

That price is a correct and complete price for one pound of stone. The arithmetic from there is short. A 500 pound boulder costs $75.00. A 1,000 pound boulder costs $150.00. A 2,000 pound boulder, which is one ton, costs $300.00. This guide covers how the yard weighs and loads the stone, what you need at the other end, and how quartz compares with the other boulders on the lot.

Rockhouse runs a 7-acre stone yard in Hot Springs Village with Bennett Brothers of Hot Springs heritage since 1972. The yard sells and delivers the boulder. Your own crew sets it.

What a quartz boulder looks like on the lot

Quartz Boulders sit in their own aisle at boulders/quartz. The stone has a crystalline texture and a high mineral content, and its surface catches light in a way no other boulder on the lot does. Color runs from clear white through soft earth tones, with shimmering inclusions across the face. No two match in shape or color.

Buyers put quartz boulders in gardens, beside water features, and as accent stones at an entry or the head of a bed. The stone is weather-resistant and built for long-term outdoor use on a residential or a commercial site. Look at each stone from the side you will see at home, because the sparkle and the color both change with the angle.

How big a boulder the spot takes

The weight decides the price, and the spot decides the weight. A boulder at the head of a planting bed looks right when it stands about as tall as the plants around it will grow. A boulder beside a water feature or at an entry has to hold its own against a wall or a driveway, and it takes a bigger stone. A single centerpiece on open ground takes the biggest stone of all. Match the stone to the spot first, and let the scale set the price after.

Part of every boulder sits below grade once it is set, so the stone you see in the yard will look smaller in the ground. Pick a stone a size up from what the spot seems to want. Measure the spot before you come, bring the tape to the lot, and hold it against the stone from the side you will see.

Priced by the pound against priced each

One boulder on the lot prices by the piece. Crystal Boulder - Decorative costs $300.00 each, and that flat price makes a clean comparison with the pound price. At $0.15 per pound, $300.00 buys a 2,000 pound quartz boulder. So a crystal boulder costs the same as one ton of quartz, and the question is whether the spot wants one premium crystal piece or a ton of sparkling white stone. Either way the yard weighs what leaves the lot and prints the unit beside the price.

The price math at $0.15 per pound

Weight per boulder is not on any product record, because every boulder is a different size. The yard weighs each one. Your counter question is short: what does this boulder weigh?

The scale sets the bill. A boulder that weighs 500 pounds costs $75.00. A boulder that weighs 1,000 pounds costs $150.00. A boulder that weighs 2,000 pounds is one ton and costs $300.00. A 1,500 pound stone falls between at $225.00. Pick the stone by its look, ask for the weight, and multiply by $0.15.

The same per-pound price covers the other natural boulders in the aisle. Mountain Boulders cost $0.15 per pound and River Boulders cost $0.15 per pound. So the choice between quartz, mountain and river is a choice about look, and the weight alone moves the price.

The other boulders in the aisle

The boulder aisle holds four boulder types and one pebble.

Mountain Boulders at $0.15 per pound carry rugged, irregular shapes, rich earth tones and patches of native moss. They anchor a landscape, build a retaining edge, or stand as a focal point, and their weathered surface fits a wooded lot.

River Boulders at $0.15 per pound are smooth and rounded by water. Their color runs from warm browns and tans through grays and muted reds. They go along borders and pond edges, into dry creek beds, and beside water features as natural seating.

Crystal Boulder - Decorative costs $300.00 each. It is the one boulder on the lot priced by the piece. It carries a crystalline structure and a light-catching surface, and it stands as a single focal point in a rock garden, a water feature or a modern design.

Mexican Beach Pebbles cost $0.40 per pound and fill the ground between and around boulders. The yard's June guide to landscape boulders in Arkansas covers how each type sits in a yard.

How the yard loads a boulder

The yard crew loads a boulder onto your trailer with a forklift. A single stone can run a ton, so bring a trailer rated above the weight the scale reads, and strap the stone before you pull out. Rockhouse sells the boulder and delivers it. It does not set it.

At your end you need a machine. A 500 pound boulder is past what people move by hand, and a 1,000 pound boulder needs a skid steer or a mini excavator with a strap to lift it off the trailer and set it in place. Plan the machine before the stone arrives, and know the path from the trailer to the hole. That plan is the most common thing a first-time boulder buyer forgets.

Pebbles and creek rock around the boulder

A boulder rarely sits alone. Mexican Beach Pebbles at $0.40 per pound cover the ground around a quartz boulder in a dark, smooth field that makes the white stone stand out. Rounded creek rock does the same job at a lower per-pound price. Arkansas Brown Creek Rock costs $0.15 per pound in three sizes, and a bed of it around a mountain boulder keeps the whole grouping in one earth-tone family.

The yard's River Rock and Gravel calculator turns the bed area into tons by rock size. A 100 square foot bed of 2 to 5 inch rock at 4 inches deep is about 1.7 tons, which is 3,400 pounds, or $510.00 in Arkansas Brown Creek Rock. Add the boulder weight from the scale and you have the whole grouping priced before you leave the lot.

Read the stone before you read the scale

Every quartz boulder on the lot is a one-off, and the buyer who gets the best stone for the money reads it before the forklift moves. Look for the face you want to see from the house, because a boulder has a good side and a plain side. Look at how it sits on the ground, because the base it rests on at the yard is the base it will rest on at home. Check the color in full sun and in shade, since the crystalline surface throws more sparkle in direct light and settles to a soft white in shade.

Then ask for the weight. The scale sets the price, and the same weight tells you what machine the stone needs at your end. A stone you love at 1,800 pounds costs $270.00 and needs a skid steer. A stone nearly as good at 900 pounds costs $135.00 and a mini excavator handles it. Both are on the lot the same day, and the yard weighs whichever one you pick.

Delivery to the site

Delivery is free on 3 or more pallets to Hot Springs Village and all of Garland County. Below three pallets the yard quotes the run. Freight to other regions runs through the yard, and contractors get delivery straight to the jobsite. Orders load by the pallet, the super sack or the full truckload. The yard will meet or beat any stone supplier's price.

Contractors who buy every week open a verified pro account for trade pricing and net terms. Qualified buyers can open trade credit, and the Rockhouse Rewards Program gives tiered discounts to repeat and volume buyers. The online store shows inventory and pricing. The yard takes the order on the phone.

Call 501-532-1905 before you come pick the stone

A boulder quote takes one call, and a boulder purchase takes one visit to pick the stone. Have these ready.

• Where the boulder goes, and about how big a stone that spot takes.
• Quartz, mountain or river, or a look at all three on the lot.
• The machine you have at your end to unload and set it.
• The delivery address, or the trailer you will bring.

Call 501-532-1905 and the yard will tell you what is on the lot this week and what the biggest stones weigh. Then come to 5643 N Hwy 7, Hot Springs Village, Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, pick your boulder off the ground, and watch the scale set the price.