How to swap grass for gravel down the side of our house?
Discussion
Our rear garden is 100% patio (and the best thing we ever did - now gets used all the time and is literally another room of the house) anywayyyyyy....the only grass I own is down the side of the house and I want it gone!
Is it as simple as take off the top 2 inches, lay weed fabric, gravel - done?
Should I do more of a "driveway" type job and stick a sub base down to keep it looking good for years to come?
How much extra work would be needed to have that front bit of sufficinet hardiness that I could park on it (on the odd occasion we have lots of friends over and I need the space?
Any gravel tips?
Others nearby have done a similar thing and they all look grim with weeds, weed liner on show, etc, etc
Is it as simple as take off the top 2 inches, lay weed fabric, gravel - done?
Should I do more of a "driveway" type job and stick a sub base down to keep it looking good for years to come?
How much extra work would be needed to have that front bit of sufficinet hardiness that I could park on it (on the odd occasion we have lots of friends over and I need the space?
Any gravel tips?
Others nearby have done a similar thing and they all look grim with weeds, weed liner on show, etc, etc
I'd be inclined to dig out a couple of inches, chuck down some weed fabric, and put gravel on top, then weedkill when they come through which they will as dirt that gets in the gravel forms a base for the roots. However dont forget small gravel means you are creating a litter tray for cats!
I think if you want to park on it I personally thinkyou'll need to dig deeper and get some hardcore down (& wacker-plate it).
We did our front garden in gravel about 18 months ago - pics for before/during/after below. I dug out 9 tonnes of soil.. it's approx 8m square (so a lot bigger than your area, I accept!)
P.S. as an aside, hiring the digger was the most fun I'd had in years.
We did our front garden in gravel about 18 months ago - pics for before/during/after below. I dug out 9 tonnes of soil.. it's approx 8m square (so a lot bigger than your area, I accept!)
P.S. as an aside, hiring the digger was the most fun I'd had in years.
Edited by rfn on Thursday 22 August 07:56
How old is your house?
Are there any restrictions on what you can/cant do in your deeds?
If you dont fancy hiring a minidigger take a look at hiring a turf cutter to help with digging up grass. In theory you should get an uniform cut depth that way - they arent great for stoney soil though
Are there any restrictions on what you can/cant do in your deeds?
If you dont fancy hiring a minidigger take a look at hiring a turf cutter to help with digging up grass. In theory you should get an uniform cut depth that way - they arent great for stoney soil though
AWRacing said:
How old is your house?
Are there any restrictions on what you can/cant do in your deeds?
If you dont fancy hiring a minidigger take a look at hiring a turf cutter to help with digging up grass. In theory you should get an uniform cut depth that way - they arent great for stoney soil though
House is 2 years old so restrictions aplenty! But all the neighbours have done similar and the management firm dont seem to care.Are there any restrictions on what you can/cant do in your deeds?
If you dont fancy hiring a minidigger take a look at hiring a turf cutter to help with digging up grass. In theory you should get an uniform cut depth that way - they arent great for stoney soil though
If you are going to dig to any significant depth take care to ensure that
- either you are insured to cover the cost of repairing a gas supply pipe, an electric cable, water pipe or phone line
- or you dig carefully by hand, although I was hand digging when I went through the gas pipe.
Its expensive to have the utility companies out!
- either you are insured to cover the cost of repairing a gas supply pipe, an electric cable, water pipe or phone line
- or you dig carefully by hand, although I was hand digging when I went through the gas pipe.
Its expensive to have the utility companies out!
OK - taken off the top soil, now going to rake it level before laying a weed fabric. Now, should I get a wacker plate and really flatten out the raken ground before I put the fabric down? Can you wack dry top soil?
In one spot I'm going to dig deeper and put hardcore down as a car will be parked on it (occasionally) but the rest is soil/fabric/gravel.
In one spot I'm going to dig deeper and put hardcore down as a car will be parked on it (occasionally) but the rest is soil/fabric/gravel.
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