Joe Cooling & Sons

Based in Cherry Valley, Illinois, Joe Cooling & Sons supplies topsoil, landscape materials and mulch to homeowners, landscapers and contractors across the area. Google lists the business under 6 categories — Topsoil supplier, Landscaping supply store, Mulch supplier, Sand & gravel supplier — which points to a broader inventory than a single-product yard carries.

The business holds a 4.7-star Google rating from 65 reviews. That sits above the Illinois average of 4.5 measured across 658 listed suppliers.

What Joe Cooling & Sons supplies

Screened topsoil is the workhorse material for new lawns, raised beds and regrading work. Yards typically screen to ½" or ⅜" to pull out rocks, roots and clods, and many sell blended mixes that cut native soil with compost or sand to improve structure and drainage.

Ask which blend you are buying. Straight screened topsoil suits filling and levelling; a 50/50 or 70/30 soil-compost blend performs far better as a planting medium. Pure fill dirt is a different product entirely — unscreened, often clay-heavy, and meant for structural filling rather than growing.

Full-line landscape supply yards stock soil, mulch, decorative stone, boulders, pavers, edging and often sod under one roof. That matters when a project needs several materials, because combining them into a single delivery avoids paying separate trip charges to multiple suppliers.

Because Joe Cooling & Sons carries several material lines, it is often possible to combine an order across products — soil, mulch and stone on one truck — rather than paying separate delivery charges to two or three different yards.

How much material you need

Topsoil is sold by the cubic yard. A cubic yard of topsoil weighs roughly 2,000–2,400 lbs depending on moisture, so a half-ton pickup safely carries about one yard.

As a rough guide: 1 yard covers about 100 sq ft at 3 in; 3 yards covers about 325 sq ft at 3 in; 10 yards covers about 1,080 sq ft at 3 in.

Have length, width and target depth ready when you phone. Yard staff convert those into cubic yards far more reliably than a generic online calculator, and they know how their own material settles.

Ordering and delivery

Ask about delivery minimums and trip charges up front — for smaller orders these often matter more to the final bill than the headline per-cubic yard price.

Check where the truck can actually dump. Tandem trucks need overhead clearance and firm ground, and most drivers will not reverse across a soft lawn or a new driveway. If access is tight, ask whether they run a smaller truck or can leave the load at the kerb.

Ratings and reputation

Of the 65 reviews on file, 56 are five-star (86%) and 3 are four-star. 4 reviews sit at one or two stars, and those are worth reading directly — complaints at material yards usually concern delivery timing or short loads rather than the product itself.

Among the suppliers we list across Illinois, this rating places Joe Cooling & Sons in the top 50%.

Across the 4 suppliers we list in Cherry Valley, the average rating is 4.3.

Review volume matters as much as the score. A 4.7 drawn from 65 reviews reflects a substantial track record.

Hours and visiting the yard

Joe Cooling & Sons is open 6 days a week, closed on Sunday. The yard opens as early as 7 AM and runs until 4 PM, early enough to load before a normal work day begins.

Saturday opening makes this a practical option for weekend projects — a real advantage, since plenty of bulk yards shut for the weekend and leave homeowners unable to collect material outside working hours.

Loading is weather-dependent whatever the posted hours say. Heavy rain turns yards to mud and makes wet material heavier and harder to spread, so call the same morning if conditions look poor.

Best time to buy in Illinois

In Illinois, the buying window is compressed. Yards get busiest from the first thaw through early June, and again briefly in autumn. Ordering topsoil in early spring often means waiting in a queue and paying peak rates, so booking delivery before the rush — or in late autumn for spring work — usually gets both a better price and a firmer delivery date. Many yards in colder states reduce hours or close outright through deep winter, so confirm seasonal availability before planning a January or February project.

Other suppliers nearby

There are 6 other suppliers we list within a short drive, the closest being Joe Cooling & Sons Inc. in Cherry Valley, roughly 0 miles away. 74 suppliers sit within a 25-mile radius of this yard.

If this yard is short on what you need, the suppliers listed below carry overlapping inventory and will often deliver into the same area.

Buying topsoil in Cherry Valley

We list 4 bulk suppliers in Cherry Valley and 658 across Illinois, spread over 229 cities and towns.

Bulk material pricing is intensely local. Trucking is a large share of the delivered cost, which is why a nearby yard usually beats a cheaper one further out once the full quote lands.