When you learn that your soil is not naturally compatible with Perma-Zyme, your first thoughts are probably: Can I still use this stuff? and Is the cost of amending my soil worth it? The answers are yes and yes!
You can still use Perma-Zyme for lasting, low-maintenance soil stabilization with a few simple amendments. And since Perma-Zyme lasts 10+ years with minimal maintenance, those amendments are worth the price.
In this blog, we’ll walk through eight reasons people choose to amend their soil to work with Perma-Zyme and why it could be the right move for you, too. The reasons are:
One of the biggest reasons our customers choose Perma-Zyme is that it’s low maintenance. Just one application lasts 10+ years on unpaved roads that see normal traffic. The hard, concrete-like surface protects roads from significant ruts, potholes, frost damage, washboarding, and other erosion. Without those issues, you’ll find your workload considerably lighter.
Our friends in Washington County, Utah, know this firsthand. They had to grade Main Street so often, they parked their grader beside the road instead of taking it back to the shop. Weekly grading cost them thousands of dollars per year—until they applied Perma-Zyme. Then, the road was maintenance-free for over 70 days. That’s at least 10 grading sessions they got to skip.
Many of our customers report grading treated roads just one to four times per year. So, consider how those long-term savings could impact your bottom line by asking questions like:
When you consider everything that goes into maintenance, you’ll unearth a lot of hidden costs. But, those costs will shrink with Perma-Zyme. Some customers in Michigan have reported saving up to $5,800 per mile per year—which adds up to nearly $60,000 in that treated mile’s 10-year lifespan.
Your own savings will vary based on the current maintenance and expenses you’re replacing with Perma-Zyme. But, good news: Most customers say Perma-Zyme pays for itself within one to two years because of the money and time they save on maintenance.
Most of the cost of amending your soil doesn’t come from buying the material itself. The biggest expense is hauling the material to the jobsite.
But here’s the thing: you’re going to pay those hauling costs and more if you keep using traditional products. You have to pay to truck in gravel or magnesium chloride, repeatedly. But what if you could pay for hauling one last time?
Perma-Zyme can lock in a gravel topcoat to prevent material loss, so you won’t have to keep trucking gravel to your roads. You can even lock in mag chloride so it lasts longer without running off. Using less gravel and less mag chloride will save you thousands of dollars on material and hauling over the life of the road.
So, if you’re already hauling material anyway, bringing in an amendment is about like buying a pair of socks to go with new shoes: it’s a small purchase that’ll make a big difference to your comfort! Want to see for yourself? Take a look at the chart below that shows how Perma-Zyme helps you save year after year.
Customers across the country have told us that they didn’t just reduce material and hauling costs; they eliminated them. Several counties went one to two years without using mag chloride for dust control after applying Perma-Zyme. One county in Wyoming even found that they had to stop applying mag chloride to a newly treated road because the chloride made it too slick. The county’s Gravel Roads Manager told us that’s just fine because Perma-Zyme is keeping the dust down on its own!
Many counties import gravel for their roads, and it could be just the ticket to amend your soil. Around 70% of all crushed rock in the U.S. comes from limestone, which is highly compatible with Perma-Zyme.1 So, if you already have your own reserves of gravel made from crushed limestone, you’re good to go!
Other materials, such as dirty gravel or clay-based material, can also work. So, be sure to talk to your Substrata rep about any material you currently have in storage or bring onto your roads—even if you’re not using it on the road you plan to treat. That’ll help us make the best possible recommendations for how to amend your soil and potentially save you even more money.
Many customers have choices to make when sourcing material—whether that’s choosing which amendment will work best or which supplier’s pricing works with their budget. We’ve walked other customers through this process, and we’re happy to guide you, too!
Your sales rep can help you research which amendments are most available in your area. For instance, we often recommend clay to our Texas customers because it’s easy to source, whereas limestone is more common in Michigan. We can also help you find the solution that’s best for your soil, such as using fine material to help Perma-Zyme bind coarse soil together or using dirty gravel to strengthen high plasticity soil. Your sales rep can even help you find quarries or pits in your area to keep your hauling costs as low as possible.
When you know your options, you can strike the right balance between what’s easiest to get, what works best with Perma-Zyme, and what’s most cost-effective for your budget.
Whether you’re already importing your own material or you’re going to bring in something new, we can help you find out how that material will affect your soil’s reaction to Perma-Zyme.
To do this, we’ll need a sample of your soil. That’s easy: since you’ve already done a soil evaluation, we have your soil on hand. So, you’re halfway there! Next, we’ll need a sample of an amendment that will work with your soil. There are two ways to go about this:
Option 1 gives you the most precise information about how your specific amendment will make your soil react to Perma-Zyme. This is a good option if you have a supplier lined up or want to make sure the material you already have on hand is a good match.
If you’re still trying to choose an amendment or supplier, or you’re comfortable with a ballpark estimate, we recommend Option 2. We keep limestone and clay in our lab, and we’re always happy to mix it into your soil along with Perma-Zyme to give you an idea of how an amendment would work.
Note: Due to U.S. importation laws, we can only check soil amendments for public and private commercial customers in the U.S.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: money. Buying and hauling additional material can put a project out of reach, especially when you’re working with limited funds. We understand, and we never want you to spend money you don’t have. We do want you to get long-term savings and durable roads. Remember, the sooner you get Perma-Zyme into the ground, the sooner you can start saving on maintenance, material, fuel, and labor.
But if soil amendments just aren’t in the budget right now, don’t break the bank. We’ll help you find a better time and way to work them in! Here’s how we’ve helped some of our customers work around budgeting issues:
First things first: If you’re going to amend your soil, you have to know how much material to buy. Our team has helped dozens of customers determine how much amendment they needed for their projects so they could budget more accurately. We can do the same for you.
Sometimes, when The Powers That Be see the numbers in black and white, they’re willing to invest more in the short-term to get those long-term savings. Your Substrata rep can give your team the breakdown and share case studies from other customers who got great results with their amendments.
Some counties split costs with other counties, precincts, or townships. For example, the county may pay for Perma-Zyme and labor while the township pays for limestone to amend the soil. Our Michigan customers especially have lots of successful partnerships that work great for the county, the township, and the residents! Once you have prospective partners, we’ll help you teach them about Perma-Zyme’s value.
The great thing about budget cycles is that they’re like buses: there’s always another one coming. If there’s just no way to get the necessary approvals or find someone to share costs during the current quarter, how can we make it happen next quarter? We’ll help you walk through the scenarios, plan ahead, and talk to your team so you can apply Perma-Zyme, save on maintenance, and free up your budget for other urgent needs.
When choosing a soil stabilizer, you’re wise to see how it compares to other options so you can find the one that’s most cost-effective. We always recommend that our customers ask two questions:
We’ll shoot straight with you: when it comes to upfront costs, Perma-Zyme isn’t always the cheapest. Some other methods, like grading, cost less. That’s where Perma-Zyme’s long lifespan comes into play. Like we talked about earlier, 10 years of low to no maintenance puts a lot of money back in your pocket!
And in many cases, Perma-Zyme is the cheapest method upfront—especially since other soil stabilizers often require amendments.
One Iowa county was using a polymer soil stabilizer that required them to import six inches of gravel. On top of that, they had to buy over 250 gallons of product to treat one mile of road. With Perma-Zyme, they were able to import less gravel and buy only 15 gallons of product to treat the mile. The county saved nearly 75% on construction when they switched to Perma-Zyme.
Since Perma-Zyme’s invention more than 50 years ago, hundreds of customers have amended their soil to get the most out of their application. And they’ve achieved the same great, lasting results as people whose soil was naturally compatible.
One example is Solomon Road in Barry County, Michigan. The county treated this road in 2021 to reduce dust and maintenance. Since the silty soil wasn’t naturally compatible, they imported limestone and gravel to make it work. In 2025, our team traveled to Michigan to check on this road. It was still rock-hard and produced minimal dust, even when vehicles traveled in excess of 30 miles per hour. After four years, the road is holding up great, and Barry County expects at least six more years of high performance and low maintenance.
So, if you’re ready to take the plunge and amend your soil, we encourage you to contact your Substrata rep today! Want more proof? Click the button below to take a video tour of an amended Perma-Zyme road.
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