A | Yes you do if at all possible, For the sake of both parties it is best that you are there to show the driver exactly where to dump the load. There on occasions we will waive this requirement if you mail or fax us an exact hand drawn map of where you would like the material so there will be no confusion or mistakes. It is at the discretion of our helpful office staff if we will allow a delivery without your presence.
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A | Yes you can, we were the first company in WNY to create a special divider system in our boxes that allow us to bring 2 entirely different products and amounts at one time. This allows you to receive a discounted price because you do not have to pay for 2 separate deliveries. Please speak with our office to make sure the quantities you wish to order can be accommodated. Because of weight restrictions, we may not be able to bring the quantities you want if the order is larger than the truck can carry in 1 trip.
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A | We sell our products in Cubic yards, to put this in perspective visualize a square box that is 3' x 3' x 3' cube. That equals 1 cubic yard or (27 square feet).
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A | Yes you can however, for any of our Soil and Mulch products we require a minimum 1 yard purchase even if you only need less than a yard. We will however, allow half yard purchases of any of our stone products and sand.
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A | Sorry, we do not. Our company is a high volume, fast moving bulk supplier. For the safety of our customers we suggest that you go to a small nursery or home improvement store if you need small amounts.
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A | Topsoil is a natural product harvested directly off the top layer of the earth. It is not a manufactured product made in a factory that is controlled to be the same all the time. Unfortunately the topsoil layer has some imperfections that go along with it that are beyond ours and any other topsoil company"s control. Below is a short list of some concerns we have had to address over the years to help customers understand the topsoil product that they are buying.
A) Small sticks, stones and balls:
All companies in this industry use very similar processing machines when screening topsoil products. This equipment is only capable of breaking down and eliminating unwanted materials to a certain extent and unfortunately are not miracle workers as far as making every load a perfect baby powder like product. Raw earth when it is stripped by developers has some clay, sticks and stones mixed in with the good topsoil and there is nothing we can do to avoid it. This is simply nature. Our machines are only capable of removing debris that is larger than our 12/16 of an inch screen mesh. Anything smaller will undoubtedly fall through the screen. Even the topsoil I use at my personal home has debris in it and I have come to accept it and deal with it. We do our best to give every customer a fair amount of additional product to make up for the debris that comes in the load so that you are not short changed and receive every bit of what you paid for. Having a small amount of clay in the soil is not as awful as everyone has been lead to believe. Clay has nutrients and moisture retention values that few people are aware of. Think of this scenario: The roots of the trees in your yard certainly go far below the 4 or 5 inches of topsoil on the surface of your property. If clay was that devastating, how could they live and continue to grow? Most people are simply not educated enough in the area of horticulture to understand that a little bit of clay won't hurt at all. Clay and topsoil are obviously touching each other on this earth and it is impossible to take off the soil without at least a little bit of the clay getting harvested also. When most people complain about their load, it is prior to them ever using it in their application and seeing how it performs. They are prejudging the product based on visual appearance and not performance. The old cliché "Don't judge a book by its cover is the point I am trying to get across here. I personally have every pile of raw topsoil tested at a laboratory for proper PH levels and Organic matter content before purchasing it so it meets the standards that are necessary for proper growth of all vegetation. Rest assured, that what you received has passed the test for quality or else I wouldn't have sold it to you. B) Weeds are growing in the soil
Again, in nature the ground and air is filled with small seeds and pollen that are undetectable to the naked eye and will result in the growth of weeds. The only advice and remedy to the situation is A) pull them out B) Apply a weed control product such as "Preen" or Scotts weed and feed which will help but is not a miracle remedy , or C) Use a professional lawn care company such as Lushlawn to treat the weeds with organic weed and lawn treatments, which over time will eliminate unsightly weeds. A couple of causes for weeds to be more apparent than the grass you planted are: whether or not the grass seed was properly raked in to the soil after seeding. (most people just throw the seed on top of loose soil and leave it. This leaves the seed susceptable to being washed away by a heavy rain and never taking root, thus giving the weeds free reign to take over where the grass seed once was. There are proven techniques for planting grass seed and if not done to the tee will result in little or no growth. Most people also don't realize that grass requires at least an inch of water per week, especially when in the critical germinating stages. The soil must be kept damp for 2 straight weeks without fail, anything less will hamper the proper growth of your grass. It is also very helpful to apply an economical starter fertilizer to give the seed that added boost it needs to get started. If you follow these simple yet vital steps, you cannot go wrong and the soil you purchased will perform at its maximum level. C) My topsoil got hard
Topsoil in its natural state is hard. What we do is take it out of its natural state, grind it and screen it into a loose easy to work with product. As it continues to be exposed to the weather it will naturally try to return to its original state. This is why it is important to cover your topsoil when there is the chance of rain so it will not get wet and turn hard if you cannot get at it when it arrives. Pick a time that you can complete your entire project before the next rain. Never put grass seed onto soil that has been spread and then rained on. The seed will never adhere to the already starting to compact soil and the seed will simply wash away. The soil must be loose and then the seed applied and raked in with a leaf rake to surround the seed and protect it from washout. Applying straw from a local farm on top of the seed is also an effective way to help the seed stay put and retain moisture. D) I Found some Clay in my Topsoil
You are absolutely correct, there is some amount of clay in all topsoil, in fact Clay is one of the 3 components that make up the definition of topsoil and can be as much as 33% of the material you have purchased. Sand Silt and Clay are the 3 components that make up the Product Topsoil . If any company tells you that their soil does not contain any clay is simply not being truthful. At C.J. Krantz Topsoil we strive to find topsoil in the area that has the lowest amount of clay as possible to give our customers the highest grade product we can. I hope these explanations have helped you understand the topsoil industry a little better. I apologize for any inconvenience and imperfections in our product. If you would like a copy of the test results for the soil you received please call us and I will mail one to you. You are also welcome to stop out to our farm and see for yourself in person how this industry operates if you still have questions.
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A | We purchase Topsoil from local development projects that have excess Topsoil. For example; If a company needs to put in a parking lot, they need to get the topsoil out of the way first. If the Topsoil is of the quality we require we will come in and buy that raw Topsoil. There are many projects that have had Topsoil available for sale in this area and many times we have had to pass on buying it because the quality did not meet our standards. Before you buy any soils for your own yard make sure you ask the supplier where it came from and did you have your soil tested. Ask them for the PH level and the Organic Matter content. We have our soils tested by an independent laboratory in Ohio called CLC Labs. It is also important to note that: Soils purchased from the Niagara County region are of less quality than those from Erie County in many instances. The first indication and most obvious is the color. Niagara County soil for the most part is lighter in color and has a higher clay content. Erie County Soils for the most part are darker and have a more "Loamy" quality to them. The darker the soil, the more organic it contains. When purchasing Raw Topsoil I try to avoid buying in Niagara County.
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A | Our Black Mulch which is the most popular comes right from us. Our company asks local Tree Cutting Contractors if they have access wood from their jobs that they need to get rid of to dump it at our facility. We in turn take that wood, grind it and color it with an E.P.A approved colorant let it age briefly and sell it to our customers. If you would like more information about the Colorants we use simply go to: amerimulch.com. That site has a wealth of information regarding the mulch coloring process. Because of the high demand of the colored mulches, we do not have the time to make some of the other types of Mulch we sell. Our 3 natural mulches we sell: Alabama Ground Bark mulch, Triple Ground Hardwood Mulch and Pine Bark Mulch come from 2 Different suppliers in other Towns that specialize in high volume mulch production.
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A | In the event that it is raining when your delivery is scheduled, we will call you before we send the truck out. You may also call us and have it rescheduled if we haven't called you first.
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A | In the tens of thousands of deliveries we have done over the years there are times when the weight of the truck has cracked some driveways. We require each customer to sign a waiver before our truck touches your property. This waiver explains in detail that it is the customers responsibility for any damage done to your property once we are on it. It would be impossible for us to predict how strong your driveway is because we do not know who the contractor was or how strong the base was put in. I can say for the most part we do not have a problem with either type of driveway for loads that are 6 yards or less for topsoil. Mulch is light and will most likely not be an issue. Let me be clear in saying that if the customer decides to allow the truck on the driveway after signing our waiver and the driveway cracks, it is the customers responsibility to pay for the repair. C.J. Krantz will NOT pay for any damage to a driveway. If you have reservations about this issue then please have the load dumped down on the apron to avoid any potential problems.
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A | We prefer to not go off of solid hard ground if at all possible. We have left it at the drivers discretion to make the determination if the conditions will allow the truck to go where you would like it without getting stuck, however if the truck does get stuck it is the customers responsibility to pay for any towing costs associated with extracting a stuck truck plus a rate of $2.00 per minute for the time the truck is sitting still unable to work for our company. Please click on our WAIVER to read what you are going to be signing when the driver arrives so you are fully aware of these items.
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