HELP/suggestions replacing grass with stoned

Hmm_Messiah

Hi
I have twio distinct questiosn so hope its ok to make two posts

My back garden is a nightmare, it is end of row and I think the wind channels all the seeds etc so weeds are a bigger problemthan any other garden in my row
I've decided its a losing battle and think I should take away the grass and eith put gravel or slabs

so

whould any one recommend one over the other

are slabs easily put down by a DIY-er _ gettign them level etc ?

I like the idea of gravel/stones myself as it would make it an area to just read in and enjoy the outdoors with some oversized pots for shrubs etc

Specific Q's :
Is there anything that will kill the grass to make it easuer to remove but so the soil could still be used the garden is on a slope and I was thinking of re using the soil lifted for the pebbling to level heighten a patch and use as a little veg garden

A man gave me a price for a load of stone from a quarry - I'm guessing this is the most economicl option

And is there any specifc membrance any one would recommend

I am googling etc - but any one with experience of doing this would be a great help to me


Thanks folks

tryu

I had slabs which I replaced with gravel and planters -I am delighted with the change and there is very little/no maintenance. The only issue now is with autumn with leaves etc. My garden seems to attract leaves from everywhere and acts as a trap.

I had the job done by a landscaper and he supplied the membrance. I think I could have saved a couple of thousand if I could have done the job myself. I had the front garden done a few years ago also and the membrane there is still fine. Very rarely, you will get weeds where the weed/seed has blown in and this will grow on top of the membrane. These are easily spotted and therefore removed easily. Looking out now I see that I have two small weeds growing!

Don't know if this is much help but best of luck!

VL

Hi, stone is the way to go, as its porous, so you wont have the same water problems which can occur when large areas of grass are replaced with slabs.
[1 ] First, kill off grass with some roundup. You should be able to get this in Glanbia co-ops
[2] If you can get a small digger in strip off soil till you get down to subsoil , then lay teram down and cover with your stone /pebble.

Should all only take a day or so and cost about €1000

k123456

Kill grass with roundup, paying extra attention to where the grass meets the walls, lay mypex, peg mypex down with mypex pegs then gravel, about 2inces depth. Point to note not terribly easy to walk on gravel/stones a bit like walking on soft sand . Not a bad idea at this point to plant some large shrubs to visually break up the gravel.


If you garden is close to a road, end of terrace etc, ask for a truck with a boom, that way they can drop the gravel into your garden

The Sweeper

Just a note on the delivery of any garden material, including compost, gravel, sand etc.

Try and get the truck driver to deliver as close to where it needs to be as is physically possible. If you're doing a large area, ask the truck driver to move as he's tipping, so you end up with a long 'strip' instead of a large mound.

Spreading and ferrying garden materials is one of the most backbreaking, labour intensive jobs going - second only to working a large expanse of hard earth with a pick-axe or mattock. Don't kid yourself that you can 'just push it about a bit' - it's exhausting, and anything you can do to get the truck delivering the gear to help out is invaluable.

(Seriously. When I build a raised bed, I'm not short of seeing if I can get the truck driver to reverse up to it and dump mushroom compost right into the thing - because my gardens are all accessible to vehicles.)

joconnell

Another vote for the gravel - it's easy to keep clean, looks neat and sharp and it's cheap. I used a fair bit in my back garden but broke up the sections with some wood sections - you can add a bit of interest by using some bark or slate chippings so you've got nice areas of block colour. I've got some planted beds too but the idea of having moveable pots is quite appealing - as a novice gardener it'd be great to be able to move plants easily as you figure out what places they like in your garden.

Hmm_Messiah

Hello

thanks for all the replies

I have a problem in the back garden is only accessible through a side gate and the flat area outside is owned by a not so pleasant neighbour

I also wondered about getting a digger - do I not only have to go down a few inches (2-3) and roll the earth for the membrane gravel

The garden area is about 30 m2

The real problem is the enclosing wall and the damp seeping thro it as the house behind it is on ahigher elevatioon. I need some way to disguise this as otherwise the garden will never look great - will post pics

again thanks for the help so far

Oh and we are planning it as a DIY effort - probablty a big effort but like the idea of completing it