Landscaping Rocks/Stones - ugh..

[Insanity]

What is the easiest way to move about 4-5 yards worth of landscaping stone that are distributed around the outside of a house?  I want to move them under an existing deck.  2 hours of shoveling + wheelbarrow has left me thinking I don't have a year to do this...

[kc2006]

I own a landscaping company and I hate those jobs.  There's no way around it taking a lot of muscle.  If the job is small enough to not bring in machinery we'll use a hard rake and rake it into small piles all over the beds then use a flat shovel and shovel them up.  It's really hard to get 100% of the stone out unless there was a weed barrier down because the stone starts to sink into the dirt.

[Insanity]

I own a landscaping company and I hate those jobs.  There's no way around it taking a lot of muscle.  If the job is small enough to not bring in machinery we'll use a hard rake and rake it into small piles all over the beds then use a flat shovel and shovel them up.  It's really hard to get 100% of the stone out unless there was a weed barrier down because the stone starts to sink into the dirt.

I was afraid of that answer.  But thanks for the tip on using the rake.  I've been using the flat shovel, but didn't use a rake first.   It is really not the ideal location (nor is there enough - I think) to warrant machines. 

[LMSunshine33]

What a pain. This is why I hate landscape rocks - give me mulch any day!

Good luck with a big project. Maybe hire teenagers/local kids?

[Mr.Macinstache]

Yes get some kids, pay them in soda and dollars to move the rock. Don't break your back.

[Spork]

What is the easiest way to move about 4-5 yards worth of landscaping stone that are distributed around the outside of a house?  I want to move them under an existing deck.  2 hours of shoveling + wheelbarrow has left me thinking I don't have a year to do this...

I'm not sure how much room there is under the deck... but if there was enough room and it were me: I'd use a front end loader. 

Assuming you don't have one sitting around: I'm not sure how much that'd cost to rent... probably in the $200 a day range.

[Dr.Vibrissae]

This has me thinking that someday, someone may curse my name as they try to remove the pea gravel we put in around the back patio.  Haha.  (Totally makes the whole place useable instead of an alternating dust pit/mudpit, so I don't care.)

[Insanity]

Spork - The issue is both where it currently resides and the height of the deck (just about 3 ft).   It is next to the house shrubs and a landscape edging around it.  It makes for a pain in the ass.  I thought I read somewhere about a rock vac.   That would certainly come in handy!  Especially if it had a reverse where I could take the hose under the deck and just spray it in there.  (Side note: was watching a "Holmes: Making it Right" episode and they had a stone thrower truck to put down pebbles as an underlay for a concrete pad - it was awesome)

I am finding it to be very good exercise ;-)