Craigslist: solving homeowner mistakes since 1995

When you act as your own general contractor, what do you do with the big pile of stuff left on the driveway after the project?

I had a brick walkway installed. It was a small, one-day project, so I decided to buy the base materials myself and pay the mason for the labor—be my own GC. He and I discussed how much of what I should order. Now, it could have been that we spoke at 9:00 p.m. on a Wednesday and I was groggy from falling asleep on the train ride home, or that his cellular connection was lousy, or that I was focused on a how to story, showing readers how to build and affordable outdoor kitchen, I was working on for the July/August issue. Pick any one of those, but as the GC, it was my mistake when I misunderstood his instructions: “Have three yards of RCA and one yard of fine sand delivered by Saturday.” I heard, and subsequently ordered, six yards of RCA, which was dumped in my driveway.

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is commonly used as a base for roadways, patios, and walkways. I paid $16 a yard for it, making it one of the cheapest base materials out there—even when you order three yards too much. After the project I was left with a mound of RCA about as tall as my Civic. I’ve kept the material on my driveway, covered, for a few weeks while planning how to get rid of it.

I don't have other hardscape projects planned. The bluestone patio I’ve been researching was still a couple of years away. I called the stone yard that sold me the material and asked them to come pick it up. No deal, it’d take too long to shovel the three yards of material into their truck. I tried to give it to my mason, but he didn’t want to haul it around in his truck—something about gas being kind of expensive.

Then I remember the story in our June issue that we dubbed around the TOH office as the “Craigslist kitchen,” where a couple saved big bucks on their kitchen renovation using the popular website. I offered up the three yards of RCA on craigslist.com's free section and a few hours later I had five offers to come by to pick it up.