Decorative stone/gravel

mloc123

I am looking to dig up a 5m x 4m section of our back lawn and putting down gravel instead. If I dig down 10cm and put in the gravel should that be fine or do I need a compacted base?

There will be no cars etc.. On it so I don't think I would need a compacted base?

TopTec

You don't need any compacted sub-base for decorative gravel, just a landscaping fabric, (a porous covering allowing moisture to seep through), spread on top of the soil. You can pin this down with some pegs/twigs at the corners if you want. Once the gravel is on top remove the pegs. The fabric provides a barrier against weeds/grass growing up through the gravel.

You might not need 10cm, just enough to cover the fabric.

Make sure to overlap any joins by at least a foot.

TT

DenisCork

mloc123 wrote: »

I am looking to dig up a 5m x 4m section of our back lawn and putting down gravel instead. If I dig down 10cm and put in the gravel should that be fine or do I need a compacted base?

There will be no cars etc.. On it so I don't think I would need a compacted base?

My advice is don't do it. I put loose chippings in my back garden about 4 years ago. I'm in the process of removing it now. It looked very well at the time but gets dirty over time and is very difficult to clean.

ThisRegard

You can clean stone easy enough, I only cleaned a pile of it the other weekend with a regular hose and lawn mower grass collection bin.

DenisCork

ThisRegard wrote: »

You can clean stone easy enough, I only cleaned a pile of it the other weekend with a regular hose and lawn mower grass collection bin.

Yes, but twigs and fallen leaves and everything else have to be removed by hand, you can't power wash or sweep it like a hard surface. It's high maintenance.

CJhaughey

Leaf blower cleans gravel really quickly.
3/4" washed is a nice size, too big to get stuck in shoes and small enough to move around if you need to.
Also drains freely and doesn't go green like concrete can in this climate.