By: Duane Blankenship | Category: Home Improvement | Issue: June 2007
Bryan Ketchum, owner of Rock Solid Materials, displays one of his build-it-yourself outdoor fire pits.
Rock Solid Materials offers “tons” of variety. If you are interested in enhancing your space with rocks, stones or veneers, you are sure to enjoy the fun, outdoor store. Bryan Ketchum, owner, and Kris Konkler, sales manager of the stone yard, have put together one of the most interesting displays of colorful rocks, stones and boulders imaginable.
Having grown up together in the Bixby area, the parents and grandparents of John Easton and Bryan Ketchum have been friends for years. They were early developers of the area, as well as sod growers and nurserymen. “We’ve always gotten along and done things for each other during our 80-year family relationship,” says Ketchum.
Rock Solid Materials sells many things in rock form, including flagstone, chopped stone, tumbled stone, thin veneer, creek rock, moss rock and builders. The stone selections come in a variety of beautiful colors; buff, peach, blond, chocolate, gray and multicolored swirls are just a few. Cherokee, Navajo, Wild Horse and Hickory are a few names of the colors. All stone in the yard is priced by the pound or ton.
The flat, irregularly-shaped flagstone selections vary in thickness, ranging from three-fourths of an inch to three inches. Recommended uses include patios, walkways, stepping stones, pool coping, interior flooring and pathways. Chopped stone selections are popular because of their unlimited design possibilities. Common applications include everything from exterior and interior veneers to fireplaces and garden walls.
Builders are irregularly-shaped stones that may be laid upright or stacked flat. Depths vary from three to five inches, and overall size and weight vary. Another type of rock, thin veneer, offers beautiful color variations and is used for fireplaces and exterior and interior walls. They are great for remodeling projects.
Rock Solid Materials recently featured build-it-yourself outdoor fire pits at the Tulsa Home and Garden Show. Kits to build fire pits are available, including everything but masonry concrete and water. Each fire pit is made of saw-cut natural stone and veneer rock. Corner stones for the projects are pre-cut, while the most popular stone selections are moss and hickory.
Rock benches, another feature of the store, come in a variety of sizes and colors. With such a wide variety of products and color selections at Rock Solid Materials, it is obvious that Konkler and Ketchum enjoy what they do. “We pride ourselves in the customer service we extend to all our patrons,” says Ketchum. “Customers are pleasantly surprised to learn that they can select landscape stones, building rocks, sod, topsoil, firewood and more in only one stop.”
Visit Rock Solid Materials for all your outdoor supplies. Ask about the property landmark, a piece of Oklahoma history, on your visit. The stone root cellar, built in 1934, is as interesting in person as it sounds. The rock and stone yards at Rock Solid Materials are located at 121st Street and Memorial, directly north of Easton Sod Farm. Check it out today.
Blankenship graduated from the University of Oklahoma and has enjoyed a lifetime career in advertising. He started his own advertising business in 1993 and enjoys creating graphic art and writing. Hobbies include hunting, fishing and pencil drawings. Duane and his wife, Janice, have been married over 50 years and are active in their church and community. He has been a contributing writer for Value News/Values Magazine since 2005.
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