How to Lay a Gravel Driveway

How to Lay a Gravel Driveway

The best way to Lay a Gravel Driveway When contemplating a way to make your driveway look attractive, choosing the correct material is actually probably the least of the worries of yours. Gravel is actually a cost-effective, attractive, and common material to use with low flooding risk. But how can you lay it on your driveways?

This blog post is going to outline the simple step-by-step process of laying a gravel driveway by yourself.

Step one – Plan and get the tools and equipment you want. The first step would be to figure out exactly where you want your gravel driveway to be. Also, figure out the specific design you choose. Parking area driveways are actually popular, but circular ones are actually the latest trend. Keep in mind that you will spend more cash on a larger driveway than a smaller one.

In laying a gravel driveway, you will need a lot of handheld tools like a metal rake, a wheelbarrow, a shovel, gardening gloves, measuring tapes, and string lines. When the driveway is actually spacious, then you’ll also need a mechanical compactor.

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Step two – Mark out and measure the driveway area. Like in another construction work, the area you would like to lay with gravel should be marked out before you begin the project. Use sticks or perhaps stakes to demarcate the length and breadth of the driveway and string lines to enclose the area.
Because you have to find out exactly how much gravel to get for the project, calculate the driveway area. Generally, if the space you’re dealing with is actually circular, you can measure it in sections before adding it together.

Step three – Choose the kind of gravel you would like to make use of. The next step is usually to pick among the different kinds of gravel to work with your driveway. The 4 best types of gravel are;

1. Golden gravel: The appearance of this kind of gravel stems from its name. Its color is actually a mix of gold, yellow, and cream. Golden gravel gives driveways a stylish and stunning look.

2. Moonstone gravel: Moonstone gravel is actually a hardwearing gravel type that is actually perfect for driveways. It helps to brighten the area with its mix of colors.

3. Cotswold Chippings: This gravel type is probably the most famous due to its shape and color that blend well with any house.

4. Flamingo Gravel: As the title implies, flamingo gravel has white, grey, and pink as its mixture of colors. It provides a welcoming atmosphere to your home.

Step four – Remove the current base This step is maybe the most challenging of the whole process since it requires a great deal of digging. The existing base needs to be removed so that firm ground is actually exposed for the gravel to be laid on. Be cautious so you don’t harm some service wire and pipe you may have in the region.

Step five – Level the driveway surface Since most of your driveway will be covered with gravel, its surface mustn’t be perfectly level. Nevertheless, areas that are deeper than others can lead to water pooling and mud puddles. Such areas will ultimately have to be filled up with more gravel, later on, so save yourself the stress and do it right now.

Step six – Create a sub-base Heavy loads on a driveway are actually supported by the sub-base. Therefore, you need to take the time of yours to lay it correctly. The sub-base should be laid to a level of approximately fifty mm, and one bag of the MOT Type one sub-base should cover approximately ten square meters of drive area.

Step seven – Lay a weed membrane.
A weed membrane prevents the growth of weeds on your gravel driveway yours. This membrane should be placed above the sub-base and under the gravel. It must protect the soil thoroughly. You can use bricks to edge the membrane, but this’s not needed. The gravel is going to weigh the weed control membrane down. Among the best types of weed membrane is actually the woven geotextile fabric.

Step eight – Lay the gravel The very last step is to lay the gravel on your driveway. When the area is actually slopy, you have to decrease the gravel movement with a gravel grid. Tipping the chippings to the base layer and raking everything into place is actually an alternative to using gravel grids.

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