Crush N Run

KnotRight

KnotRight

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Around my fire pit is dirt. Was thinking about putting crush n run (CNR) around the pit. I know nothing about CNR. If chair are going to be put on top of the CNR and walking on it, how thick does it need to be? Is it very hard to put down? Is it something that I should try doing myself?
 
No expert here, but I’ve used a fair bit for projects. Super easy to work with, and you can do whatever needs to be done yourself as long as you can sling it around (via shovel or equip).

I don’t know if I would put it around a fire pit unless you are good with the surface being somewhat “edgy”. We use CNR for areas vehicles will be on - and small river rock for dedicated for traffic areas. Different rock for different uses.
 
fieldgrade said:
I put crush n run in driveways. I put something like this in front of my outdoor fireplace. Looks better. 1” river stone.
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Agree. Crush n run wont be the best for your firepit. Unless you just want a good hearty base for nicer stones on top.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
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When I built this fireplace, I needed a foundation for the four tons of block I was getting ready to stack, and a base for the prettier stone in front of the hearth. Dug down 8” into this asphalt we call red clay and tamped in about a ton of crush n run as a footing. Perfect for that job. But you see what I put in front of the fireplace.

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Fieldgrade, with the river rock, what kind of base did you use? I have red clay around the pit. Also, do you have problems with the chair legs digging in? Here is what I am trying to work around. The guy that built the pit said put grass around it or have him put some flat rock down.
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fieldgrade said:
When I built this fireplace, I needed a foundation for the four tons of block I was getting ready to stack, and a base for the prettier stone in front of the hearth. Dug down 8” into this asphalt we call red clay and tamped in about a ton of crush n run as a footing. Perfect for that job. But you see what I put in front of the fireplace.

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Fieldgrade that look great!!!!!
 
Crush and run will create a solid base and should not take over a couple inches if compacted a little if you are just after a mud free area. It will let grass grow pretty freely back over it. Looks wise it is not real decrative unless you want it to look like a driveway.
 
KnotRight said:
Fieldgrade, with the river rock, what kind of base did you use? I have red clay around the pit. Also, do you have problems with the chair legs digging in? Here is what I am trying to work around. The guy that built the pit said put grass around it or have him put some flat rock down.
View attachment 285101
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Crush n run. Check the post above
Chair legs dig a little, but only a little. I also have water that runs across that in a storm so I had water management to deal with, and the round stone on top is permeable which lets water flow though it.
 
@KnotRight I only put an inch or two of crush n run as a base for my river stone in front of the fireplace. Works great.
Mostly to cover the red clay.
 
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KnotRight said:
Around my fire pit is dirt. Was thinking about putting crush n run (CNR) around the pit. I know nothing about CNR. If chair are going to be put on top of the CNR and walking on it, how thick does it need to be? Is it very hard to put down? Is it something that I should try doing myself?
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ABC (crusher run) will compact to around 60% of its loose thickness. It lasrs best if compacted while wet. A plate compactor works well in 2” lifts, and I would suggest 3-4” compacted depth.

When you place it, shape it so that water will run off of it. Then put a thin layer of screenings, 78’s etc on the top for decorative purposes.

Remove all organic material and mud from below it befor placing and compacting, else you will have soft spots.
 
Scsmith42 said:
ABC (crusher run) will compact to around 60% of its loose thickness. It lasrs best if compacted while wet. A plate compactor works well in 2” lifts, and I would suggest 3-4” compacted depth.

When you place it, shape it so that water will run off of it. Then put a thin layer of screenings, 78’s etc on the top for decorative purposes.

Remove all organic material and mud from below it befor placing and compacting, else you will have soft spots.
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Yep ^^^^
Suggest you put heavy mil poly under it.
 
Scsmith42 said:
ABC (crusher run) ...
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Yes. OK. Please humor me and help me learn something if possible.

For me, it's always been "Crusher Run", aka "ABC".

I didn't hear "crush AND run" until a few years ago. The abbreviation or initials "CNR" is totally new to me when speaking of quarried stone.

Is this a new term created by people mis-hearing "crusher run"?

Or am I the one that's been mistaken for 90% of my life?
 
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Aardvark said:
Yes. OK. Please humor me and help me learn something if possible.

For me, it's always been "Crusher Run", aka "ABC".

I didn't hear "crush AND run" until a few years ago. The abbreviation or initials "CNR" is totally new to me when speaking of quarried stone.

Is this a new term created by people mis-hearing "crusher run"?

Or am I the one that's been mistaken for 90% of my life?
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so what you are saying is you thought you were wrong once but you were mistaken? I had always heard it called crusher run or ABC my self and am not familiar with crush n run. Then again I am an elechicken and not a master of the yard and driveway arts.
 
Aardvark said:
Yes. OK. Please humor me and help me learn something if possible.

For me, it's always been "Crusher Run", aka "ABC".

I didn't hear "crush AND run" until a few years ago. The abbreviation or initials "CNR" is totally new to me when speaking of quarried stone.

Is this a new term created by people mis-hearing "crusher run"?

Or am I the one that's been mistaken for 90% of my life?
Click to expand...


Generally I trust @Scsmith42 on this sort of stuff, and he did call it "crusher run". But you obviously figured out what OP meant without difficulty. Maybe it doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong on this.

To me, "crusher run" doesn't make much sense, but then again neither does "crush n run" really I guess.



I'll use whichever one annoys people more.
 
Aardvark said:
Some of are not in an eternal contest and just seek clarity.
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GoWolfpack said:
Maybe it doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong on this.
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Or maybe we're all just bags of 98 degree fluid floating through space and responding to stimuli. Use whichever term makes you happy, clearly either one conveys the same intent.
 
For home DIY projects that involve ABC, I find this gets the job done. I did a 60 foot curving brick sidewalk that sustained and weathered a lot of flowing water over it in heavy rain, and stayed nice and level over the years.

When I filled my 8” deep ABC foundation for my fireplace above, I would dump a wheelbarrow load of gravel in the hole, spread it, level it, tamp it hard, wet it, then repeat.

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I deal with just about every rock quarry in both Carolina's and East TN. ABC, Crusher Run, Crush and Run, Class A, B, and C Rip Rap, #2's, #4's, Ballast, Rail Road Ballast, 57's, 68's, 78's, 789's, screenings to pond slurry, go to 10 different quarries and you may get 10 different designations for 10 different products.

Coke, Pepsi, pop or soda, it's all the same.

Edit: Most names have to do with specs according to state requirements or job specific material.
 
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fieldgrade said:
For home DIY projects that involve ABC, I find this gets the job done. I did a 60 foot curving brick sidewalk that sustained and weathered a lot of flowing water over it in heavy rain, and stayed nice and level over the years.

When I filled my 8” deep ABC foundation for my fireplace above, I would dump a wheelbarrow load of gravel in the hole, spread it, level it, tamp it hard, wet it, then repeat.

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Rent a whacker. Be careful cause females in your life might steal it from you. ;)

Compactor Rentals - Tool Rental - The Home Depot

Rent a compactor and break down sand and gravel for pavers and blocks fast. Our compactor rentals have jumping jacks and vibratory plates for big and small jobs.
www.homedepot.com
 
REELDOC said:
Rent a whacker. Be careful cause females in your life might steal it from you. ;)

Compactor Rentals - Tool Rental - The Home Depot

Rent a compactor and break down sand and gravel for pavers and blocks fast. Our compactor rentals have jumping jacks and vibratory plates for big and small jobs.
www.homedepot.com
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I could have on both projects. I had a tamper I used for the sidewalk, moved from that house, gave the tamper away with lots of other stuff, moved to the new house, decided to build a fireplace and bought another tamper. Three neighbors have used it since. It just suits me, and I can’t see that the results of my projects would have turned out differently, plus I didn’t have to hoist that heavy rental thing in and out of the bed of my FX4 with the jacked up tailgate like a cat’s a$$.
 
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Slacker said:
That's nice!!!
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Just sits in the shed till needed. Got it to lift jetski engines. Engines only weigh 60-100lbs but leaning over and trying to lift them out of the hull they might as well be 300lbs.

Last use was to lift some monster lead thing for the tractor balast from @frakncylons.
 
Ok. Let’s put this to bed, permanently.

crush n run? Is it the same as crusher run or is it just something that somebody pronounced wrong and got passed along.

You know, uncle dip stick said it was so it must be?
 
Tailhunter said:
Ok. Let’s put this to bed, permanently.

crush n run? Is it the same as crusher run or is it just something that somebody pronounced wrong and got passed along.

You know, uncle dip stick said it was so it must be?
Click to expand...
Don’t you have some traps to check, or some critters to skin, or something?

😜
 
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I have been told that the reason it is nicknamed "crush n run" or "crusher run" is because it is directly from the rock crusher without being washed or screened. The fact that it is a mix of sizes including fines allows it to compact more solidly for making a base. The different sized rocks key into each other and the fines fill in some of the gaps. It is not the prettiest, though. River rock or another prettier stone on the top will look nicer, but tends to move around a bit more.

If you have a lot of clay, you may want to lay down a couple of layers of nonwoven "weed-stop" fabric before putting on the stone. This is pretty much the same as the "geotextile fabric" used by contractors. The contractor grade is just thicker. It allows water to pass through it and helps keep wet clay from migrating up into the rock and turning the whole thing into a muddy mess. It is amazing how clay can migrate into clean stone over a few years.
 
I have heard it called "crush and run", "crush n run" and "crusher run" in the Carolinas. All make sense since since you can run it out of the quarry as soon as you have finished crushing it with the rock crusher. It confused a couple of out of state contractors because they didn't know what we were talking about. It makes me wonder if the specs vary a bit across the country. I would imagine that the composition would vary depending on what type of rock was being crushed.
 
Tailhunter said:
Ok. Let’s put this to bed, permanently.

crush n run? Is it the same as crusher run or is it just something that somebody pronounced wrong and got passed along.

You know, uncle dip stick said it was so it must be?
Click to expand...

Ok, let's do this. ABC, crush and run, crusher run, crushed and run the hell over or whatever, for all intensive purposes, or for official CFF purposes, let's call it "inch and a half minus", cause that's what it is. It's the stuff that passes through a one and a half inch screen, fines and all.
 
I didn't mean to claim any designation or anyone was "wrong". I was just curious about a nomenclature that I hadn't heard until a few years ago.

Martin Marietta calls it "Product 0585 - ABC". ABC is what I tell them when I want to get what I expected.
 
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