Gravel on Garden

ampleforth

Hi all,

lets us, for now, pretend that not all relevant shops for that kind of material are closed and move on to the question:

I have a section of my front garden (about 10-12 sqm) that I want to cover with gravel over some kind of foil that blocks the greens to poke through.

How much would I roughly need for this kind of space and how much would that roughly cost me for standard broken small stones?

Would you be able to point to suppliers who can drop a bag in Kildare without robbing me with it?

Suggestions? Good experiences? Please let me know...

Penfailed

You'll need roughly a ton if it's laid about 50mm deep.

looksee

Experience:

Lawn removed + 4inches of soil. Hardcore compacted in, weed membrane, about 4 inches of small pebbles - topped up about a year later with another bag or so. No weeds apart from the inevitable few that just grow in the gravel above the membrane and are easy to pull or rake out. Edit - on reflection I don't think there was membrane, it was just the absence of top soil and the compacted hard core that kept it clear of weeds.

Separately - adjacent lawn removed, area levelled, pebbles put on (I missed the fact that they had not put down a membrane till much later). Weeds and plants - lots of Japanese Anemone - grew enthusiastically. Pulling them out made the soil mix with the pebbles which made the situation worse. Only way to control was weedkiller. Very messy, poor job.

ampleforth

looksee wrote: »

Experience:

Lawn removed + 4inches of soil. Hardcore compacted in, weed membrane, about 4 inches of small pebbles - topped up about a year later with another bag or so. No weeds apart from the inevitable few that just grow in the gravel above the membrane and are easy to pull or rake out. Edit - on reflection I don't think there was membrane, it was just the absence of top soil and the compacted hard core that kept it clear of weeds.

Separately - adjacent lawn removed, area levelled, pebbles put on (I missed the fact that they had not put down a membrane till much later). Weeds and plants - lots of Japanese Anemone - grew enthusiastically. Pulling them out made the soil mix with the pebbles which made the situation worse. Only way to control was weedkiller. Very messy, poor job.

Mmm, why soil when you have a membrane and about 50mm of pebbles?

ampleforth

Penfailed wrote: »

You'll need roughly a ton if it's laid about 50mm deep.

How much should such a ton-bag cost me? roughly...

Penfailed

ampleforth wrote: »

How much should such a ton-bag cost me? roughly...

It depends on the type of stone and how far it will be delivered. I recently paid €50 per tonne delivered for 4t of decorative stone. Another fella I know was getting it for €15 a tonne but he needed 90t.

ampleforth

Penfailed wrote: »

It depends on the type of stone and how far it will be delivered. I recently paid €50 per tonne delivered for 4t of decorative stone. Another fella I know was getting it for €15 a tonne but he needed 90t.

Thanks for the info. i found a quote for around 80-110 Euro delivered per ton in Kildare (range between cheap to expensive) here:

https://www.donedeal.ie/gardenplants-for-sale/decorative-stone-price-varies-see-description-/24785251?campaign=14

Seems a bit pricy in that comparison, but I guess it depends where you live...

Penfailed

ampleforth wrote: »

Thanks for the info. i found a quote for around 80-110 Euro delivered per ton in Kildare (range between cheap to expensive) here:

https://www.donedeal.ie/gardenplants-for-sale/decorative-stone-price-varies-see-description-/24785251?campaign=14

Seems a bit pricy in that comparison, but I guess it depends where you live...

It's much much more expensive for smaller quantities. Having read back, I made a mistake with my post - I had to pay an additional €50 for the delivery. In total, I got 4t for €250, whereas my mate got 90t for €350 a load (roughly 22t per load)...

magicbastarder

looksee wrote: »

Lawn removed + 4inches of soil. Hardcore compacted in, weed membrane, about 4 inches of small pebbles

not that i have any experience with this, but have been looking at the possibility of a gravel driveway - i was told you shouldn't go more than 2" deep with the decorative pebbles, that otherwise it'll act like sand.

ampleforth

Is it necessary to compress the soil before applying? I was planning to a) even out the soil and remove as much of the weed in the soil as I can b) place a membrane and c) put about 4-5 cm of pebbles on top. Makes sense?

standardg60

ampleforth wrote: »

Is it necessary to compress the soil before applying? I was planning to a) even out the soil and remove as much of the weed in the soil as I can b) place a membrane and c) put about 4-5 cm of pebbles on top. Makes sense?

As long as you're not going to be driving on it all you have to do is level it out and put a (breathable) membrane down and cover with pebble. The cost of the pebble is completely dependent on which type you go for.
You should really spray off any weeds with a glyphosate weedkiller beforehand.

standardg60

magicbastarder wrote: »

not that i have any experience with this, but have been looking at the possibility of a gravel driveway - i was told you shouldn't go more than 2" deep with the decorative pebbles, that otherwise it'll act like sand.

That is true, driveways are a completely different story. Though I don't agree with having to excavate a load of compacted subsoil if it's been there years.
Remove topsoil or sod down to subsoil, build up if necessary with hardcore, blind with crushed hardcore or coloured dust, no more than 2 inches of pebble on top.

Spanish Eyes

Don't want to rain on your parade, but from bitter experience the gravel lasts a year or so with no weeds, then it grows through. No matter what you do. Birds drop seeds!

If anyone has a solution I'm all ears. And I did have a tough membrane put down before the gravel.

But you may be thinking of something different.

standardg60

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Don't want to rain on your parade, but from bitter experience the gravel lasts a year or so with no weeds, then it grows through. No matter what you do. Birds drop seeds!

If anyone has a solution I'm all ears. And I did have a tough membrane put down before the gravel.

But you may be thinking of something different.

Spray them.
Pebble, like most things in life, requires maintenance.

magicbastarder

standardg60 wrote: »

blind with crushed hardcore or coloured dust

why coloured?

standardg60

magicbastarder wrote: »

why coloured?

You can get a gold coloured dust which works better with bright pebble as it's inevitably going to be churned by driving.