Larm’s Building Material

Got a ½ a cubic yard of cement in one of their nifty trailers (free but you need to leave a deposit). Trailers are somewhat dirty but they do the job. Saved me tons of work and money. The woman that works their is quite a character.

This place is a good place to get retaining wall materials. I placed a pretty good sized order and there was 1 brick off. The owner himself delivered it personally to correct the situation. Thank you.

Be very, VERY careful about the charges and contract; we were grossly overcharged.
Foolishly offering up a credit card for some concrete, we didn’t realize until too late that they charged us **Fifty** dollars for a –broom-​. Yes, a broom.
$ 50. for a broom.
There are many businesses who offer a service at a competitive rate, and then overcharge in unexpected, predatory ways… beware.

This place could be better. Some of their staff is friendly and helpful. Some (one guy who used to always work on the weekends) of their staff is drunk and lost. The last two times I went their for half a yard of ¾″ drain rock I got way too many fines (small rocks) in my scoop. One time I went there during business hours on a Sunday and they were closed. One time I went there to pickup concrete and the machine was broken so I had to go back later in the day and do the job by myself (my FIL had to leave midday).
It’s a local place so I’d like to give a better review, but they’re just not reliable enough for more than 3 stars.

This place is a Gem; especially, for small and low income projects. It’s best if you know what you want before you go there; but, if you don’t, the staff is happy to help you pick what you need. Cubic yards of cement of all grades and high quality are made fresh. Special trailers to haul the stuff are available for rent at low rates per day and are professionally hooked up to your towing hitch by the staff.
Everyone who works there is friendly and helpful. They even provided the trailing ball for my hitch and installed and uninstalled it as well. The cement was easy to handle and set up perfectly. The trailer has a hydraulic jack that lifts the bin for easy pouring and cleaning.
The lady at the front desk is a lot of fun and a treat to work with so treat her well. Don’t forget to hose off the trailer bed before you return it and catch the drain water so it doesn’t spill in your driveway or make it’s way into our sewer system. Of course, save everyone the headache and be sure to return your trailer well before they close. I’m surprised I actually heard people criticizing them for not being told they had to do this. Isn’t that obvious? How stupid can some people be?
What ever happened to common courtesy? The employees want to go home just like everyone else. What about the other customers the next day who are going to need that trailer for their projects? My first project was delayed because several trailers were not returned the day before and we had to postpone the project a day because they ran out of trailers early and we couldn’t get started first thing in the morning.
Why do people concentrate so much on themselves today? We all have to live together, right? Does anyone realize how stupid and selfish they seem when they complain publicly about being charged for being a day late and a dollar short and not being verbally told they had an obligation to return a company’s equipment before it closed? Obviously, you don’t want to take responsibility for you’re own costly mistake. Be a man about it for God’s sake! Don’t blame the victim!
If that’s not so obvious to you, than you also might want to know that they expect you to bring back an empty as well as clean trailer. Take the time to carefully measure and calculate the cubic volume you need before ordering it! That’s right, they can’t and don’t take back unused cement and will charge you a disposal fee; and, not refund your money. So if you have more than you need, make some rocks in your yard. LOL If you don’t want a lot of rocks you can’t use taking up space in your yard, guess what, neither do they!
A little common sense and courtesy and you will love this asset to our community! If that’s too much to ask, go somewhere else, please!
This place is a bit hard to find so use the High Street Northbound on ramp to the 880 freeway as a guide. The place is on the same side of the street as the on ramp and is right next to it. If you remember that, you can’t miss it.
This is the second time this year I bought cement from Larm’s and I will definitely repeat. I recommend this establishment to everyone.

I needed something, they had it, reasonably priced, easy to find, no fuss.

I will give 5 stars for the fact alone that they have concrete carts that you can attach to your truck with a hitch if you are in need of a small amount of concrete. You can also get sand, rock etc by the ton.
Plus all the concrete finishing tools that you may need. This is a spot more for contractors or trades people. I don’t think the people are into
answering a bunch of questions for diyers, probably hit up home depot down the street for that. Oh yeah they also deliver

Larm’s is great. We needed ¾ yard concrete and this is a great way to get it. You can get 4,5 or 6 sack mixes. Everyone was really helpful and I was in and out fast. The trailer pulled like a dream with a regular truck. I think the price is only a little more than if I had just bought the materials. Great experience and great value.

I was looking for firebrick. They have it. They carry a dense firebrick like one would use in a fire place. I’m building a forge. I think this will do. They also carry fire clay. I’ll probably go back next week to get the fire clay once I figure out what to mix it with.
I was also impressed with their selection of raw materials such as rock of several types, marble, slate, and masonry tools. They also have the 2 yd. concrete trailers. Looks like they sell a lot of concrete.
This place is a good resource.
–jd

This business was a great resource for a small patio repair job at home. I bought base rock and ¼ yard of concrete and used one of their trailers. They gave me five bags of base rock but we only used four, and they allowed me to return the extra bag.
I got the impression the staff is used to dealing with contractors and other people who know what they are doing. They are not a cuddly group, but they were helpful and patient with this inexperienced DIY-​er.
Previous reviews were mixed so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was extremely happy with the balance of service and cost. I spent less than $ 100, which I thought was an exceptional value for saving me the time and effort of having to buy bags and mix my own concrete.
I will definitely return to Larm’s for future home improvement and landscaping projects.

I have worked with Larm’s over the years and found them to be quite good, knowledgeable. The sales people are helpful and the delivery people great.
Philip Anderson
HDR Remodeling Berkeley Ca

I got a yard of concrete from them this week. All went well with first load.
I came back for more and had the wisdom to ask what time they closed.
At 5:00PM he said and the trailer needs to be back at 4:45. If not there is a $ 20.- late fee per hour. I then asked, what if I come after closing? That will be $ 300.- I was informed. Lucky me I asked! They had not offered the information and I was not inclined to read a page of small print for renting a concrete trailer. I paid then for the additional concrete they already mixed, which they had to dump and left.
Buyer be aware. Flat tire? Traffic on 880? It will cost you $ 300.- if something happens. This is a free country and they can build in $ 1000.- per minute if they want. I just simply defies business logic where I stand and not telling me before I rented was really shitty.

I had a good experience with Larms– I called about getting some rock for a backyard project. They were helpful on the phone and even helped me to properly estimate the amount I needed for my project.
The delivery arrived right on time and they were able to put the rock right where I needed it. I’ll definitely be using them again.
A good fact to know: they can deliver 2 types of rock at the same time with their split dump truck.

A couple of years ago, I purchased what I thought was a bag of dolomite lime from Larms. I was going to use it in my garden, until I realized they’d accidentally sold me the wrong product: Dolomark Line, the stuff used to make lines on athletic fields. I didn’t catch the error until I’d already mixed some of it into the soil – and was none too happy to read that the stuff can cause cancer.
It was a completely understandable error, and I figured it would be easy enough for them to either trade the bag for the right stuff or just give me a $ 7.88 refund. Not so! Instead, when I presented my receipt and asked for a refund or exchange, I was treated in an incredibly rude and condescending manner in front of all the other customers in the store. «Can’t wait to see how you handle THIS one!» laughed one employee to the guy who was waiting on me, as though what I was asking for was totally unreasonable.
Having been treated so poorly, and over something that would have been so easy to fix, I turned on my heel, left the fifty-​pound bag of product on the floor, and walked out. Perhaps I shouldn’t have given ‘em the one-​finger salute, a gesture that so enraged the goons behind the counter (one was named Duke Hubbard – let’s call the other one Big Moronic Fatty) that they actually CHASED ME TO MY VEHICLE with clear intent of personal assault. I just barely made it inside with this red-​faced fool screaming, «You can’t do that to me!»
Would you believe it gets even better? Oh, it does. When I attempted to drive the hell away, Big Moronic Fatty rounded the corner with the 50-​pound bag I’d left behind and dumped it onto the hood of my car. When it failed to cause any real damage, he hoisted it back up and, get this–
HE HEAVED IT INTO MY WINDSHIELD, SHATTERING IT COMPLETELY. Somehow the heavy bag didn’t fall all the way into my lap, but hung suspended in a web of windshield glass. I sat there stunned and shaking for a few minutes, trying to collect myself and decide what to do. I didn’t have the Oakland Police Department’s number in my cell, and because I wasn’t physically hurt I decided not to call 911 (a huge mistake, I now realize). The goons had run back inside, so I got out of the car, carefully lifted the bag out of the destroyed windshield, set it down, and got my ass out of there as quickly as I could.
The owner of this business, Nick Derdevanis, is extraordinarily lucky I didn’t take him to court after his employees assaulted me, because I could have stripped him bare. I wish I had, but it’s too late for that, alas. Instead, I accepted replacement of my windshield and called it a day.
But it’s NOT too late for everyone else: stay the hell AWAY from We Will HARM You’s Building Materials, unless getting assaulted by store clerks is your idea of excellent customer service. Mr. Derdevanis stands behind his employees’ behavior, because they still work there.
Neat, huh?

This place is the real deal. Loud, hectic, and a bit crazy because of the contractors coming in and out (true drive-​through service) for gravel, rock, and sand. Be careful where you park. They have patio/​driveway pavers and concrete wall blocks. Good source of gravel, delivered, for backyard garden projects. Best if you know what you want when arriving. They deliver and you can count on them — rare enough anymore.