DIY Pea Gravel Patio | Lowe’s (2024)

FAQs

What should I put under pea gravel for patio? ›

Put down the base layer. Gravel composed of 3/4-inch crushed-rock pieces mixed with rock dust works best. The crushed rock will add stability to the top layer of pea gravel. Use a garden rake to spread the material evenly to a depth of about 2 inches.

Order Your Pea Gravel

Two inches is the ideal depth for a gravel patio. If you create a patio that's more than three inches deep, you'll find that it's difficult to walk on. Anything less than two inches won't hold up to the elements.

The two most effective methods for stabilizing pea gravel are cement and permeable pavers. If you're stabilizing pea gravel with cement, it will hold for a while until it's eventually damaged by traffic and water exposure.

A moderately sized patio of 10 feet by 10 feet, thinly filled at 2 inches, requires nearly 1 ton of pea gravel (0.84 ton). Increasing the area by just 2 feet on each side adds another one-third of a ton of pea gravel. That's 1.21 tons (or 2,420 pounds) of pea gravel.

Mobility: Due to its round and smooth shape, pea gravel can easily shift underfoot, which can lead to instability in walkways or patios. This mobility can also make it challenging for outdoor furniture to stay stable. Weed Growth: While pea gravel can deter some weed growth, it's not a foolproof solution.

Cover with Landscape Fabric

To keep weeds down, cover the entire area with landscape fabric or heavy plastic to stop weed growth.

Some homeowners believe that adding concrete to a gravel driveway will help make it more solid. However, this approach will result in a driveway with a surface that breaks up easily. This is a waste of time, money and effort and will not yield the desired results.

GravelHold is a next generation manufactured, UV-resistant resin which transforms loose and crunchy stones into a clean and neat landscape surface. The pour-on resin binder for stones creates a strong, solid and permeable surfaces which also prevent moss and algae growth.

it's called mulch glue. you mix up one part glue to 2 parts water. before I applied it, I made sure the gravel was looking perfect. I put the mixture in a garden sprayer, which was actually really easy to use.

It is recommended that you first lay landscaping fabric then two to three inches of crushed rock or sand and then two to three inches of pea gravel.

Is 2 inches of pea gravel enough? ›

How deep should pea gravel layers be? — Typically, each layer of gravel should be between 2 and 2.5 inches.

One bag of gravel will typically cover 0.5 cubic feet, while a ton of pea gravel covers an area of 100 square feet at 2 inches deep.

Using natural materials in hardscaping is among one of most the popular trends in patios right now. Among these natural options, pea gravel is one of the best. Pea gravel is visually appealing as the small, round stones offer a soft look to the space they occupy.

However, there are a few key rules to keep in mind when incorporating pea gravel into your outdoor space. Don't place pea gravel directly on top of soil. When homeowners apply pea gravel directly onto a layer of soil, they will often notice weed growth among the pea gravel over time.

Unless the subgrade is poor, most gravel driveways don't need landscape fabric. For gravel driveways, landscape fabric makes the most sense when you need to stabilize the ground that you're placing the gravel on top of.

Establish the lower level of your gravel patio with a bulk fill aggregate material. Laying this sub-base layer will give your gravel patio a stable foundation to withstand constant foot traffic. Scoop up the aggregate from your wheelbarrow with your shovel, and deposit it onto the patio surface.