Category: Products

Camping Meets Zen: The Ofuro Spa & Long Beach Campfield

August 26, 2025
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

The Ofuro Spa rises up behind a thicket of alders growing alongside a pond. Inspired by Japanese bathhouses, the spa’s architecture blends Pacific Northwest modernism with traditional bathhouse elements like a hot pool, a cold plunge pool, and a sauna clad in hinoki cypress wood.

The spa received the last part of its glow-up this year when Coastline Concrete Coatings, led by Pararescueman Josiah Stromstad, coated the walking surfaces with epoxy and Washington Rock’s Armorstone product.

Learn more about this unique woodland escape and Josiah’s story in our latest article.

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Happy Trails: Creating Hope through Horses at Sundance Circle Hippotherapy

June 2, 2025
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Not long ago, four-year-old Joey couldn’t sit up by himself or hold onto a toy. He didn’t speak much either. His parents were told these skills, which most people take for granted, were out of reach for Jamie.

Now Jamie can sit up by himself and hold on to objects. He’s also started talking more. This profound difference in outcomes was facilitated by a pony and the therapists at Sundance Circle Hippotherapy.

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Organic Topsoil from Orting: How It’s Mined

April 14, 2025
Washington Rock
by Washington Rock

Washington Rock’s Basic Topsoil is a naturally organic sandy loam.

It’s a fantastic base material that can be used to mound and build up yards and gardens. We use it to create bulk topsoil blends, but you can also mix in your own amendments like compost, manure, and worm castings.

But where does our sandy loam topsoil come from? Read more to learn about the mining process at King Creek Pit.

This article is the third in a three-part series about topsoil:

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Choosing a Topsoil Mix for Your Yard & Garden

March 27, 2025
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Which topsoil mix is best for your lawn and garden? In this article, we discuss our basic topsoil—screened sandy loam—and the formula for each topsoil blend that it’s used in. We’ll also talk about the applications for each product.

This article is the first in a three-part series about topsoil:

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Home Sweet Tiny Home: How a Veteran’s Tiny Home Dreams Came True

January 20, 2025
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

A Vietnam Veteran named Mike recently received a memorable 80th birthday gift: his own tiny home.

Mike’s tiny home is the culmination of over a decade of work by a nonprofit called Operation Tiny Home, which celebrated this milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday.

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The Prison Pet Partnership: Giving People and Pets a Second Chance

October 28, 2024
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

For the past two years, a black lab named Daisy has spent every day with her trainer learning to become a service dog. Daisy’s past life at a shelter is a distant memory. Now that she has learned tricks like turning on light switches and alerting, Daisy will soon leave her trainer’s care.

Daisy’s trainer, Mae, has learned valuable skills too. Over several years, Mae has become certified as a dog trainer through the Prison Pet Partnership. She already has a job lined up after she completes her sentence at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington.

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How to Buy Gravel: 15 Things You Need to Know

September 30, 2024
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Never bought gravel before? If you’re overwhelmed, you’re not alone. We covered some of the basics about buying gravel so that you can be more confident in selecting and ordering gravel for your project.

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Building the Seattle Sounders FC Training Fields: A Photo Essay

August 5, 2024
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

The Seattle Sounders Football Club celebrated their 50th anniversary last month at their new headquarters and training facility at Longacres: The Providence Swedish Performance Center & Clubhouse.

The transformation from office parking lot to training fields—two natural grass fields and two artificial turf fields—took less than a year. Venture General Contracting oversaw both the remodel of the offices and the construction of the fields. Nearly 80,000 tons of Washington Rock’s materials were shipped to the fields throughout construction.

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Safe Parking: A Stepping Stone for Families in Need

July 1, 2024
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

With no other place to go, a mother pulls her van into a newly graveled lot. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a godsend. It’s lit with a streetlight, and there’s running water, portable bathrooms, and outlets where she can charge her phone.

The entire lot is fenced, and the gate locks at night. Her kids can play in the field nearby. In the morning, there will be a hot meal ready at the church next door, and her whole family will be given bagged lunches filled with sandwiches, fruit, chips, drinks, and treats.

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Reimagining Tolt Avenue | A Carnation Story

October 23, 2023
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

You would probably recognize the Carnation name off of a can of sweetened condensed milk. After all, that’s the origin of the town’s name. But some locals prefer the original name: Tolt.

Occupying just over one square mile with a population of 2,220, you wouldn’t be the first to dismiss Carnation as a blip on a map. For the past century, the main street of Tolt Avenue has been less of a Disneyland-kind-of main street and more of a rugged thoroughfare. But over the years, passionate Carnationites banded together to elevate Tolt Avenue to the charming main street it is today.

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Bringing Back Lower Wapato Creek | A Wetland Restoration Story

September 26, 2023
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Millions of acres of American wetlands have been destroyed since the late 1700s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Early settlers viewed wetlands as disease-ridden swamps that impeded travel and agricultural development. Their solution was to drain the wetlands and turn them into farmable land.

In the mid 1960s, the port was growing in Tacoma. Shipping channels were being expanded, and more land was needed for industrial activities. Like many wetlands in the area, Wapato Creek was diverted into a channelized ditch. Its former path was filled with material removed from the waterways, solving both the need for expanded waterways and more land. The channelized ditch ran along 12th Street East in Fife, then followed Alexander Avenue west to a culvert that feeds into Blair Waterway.

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