i may be too late with this, but i thought i might be able to help. you really don't need the "landscape cloth" layer, and in fact your suspicion that it inhibits the compaction is correct. the compacted dg will tend to break up as it slips on the landscape cloth and be less stable than if it were just on a base course. i am an architect and have been working with landscape architects on decomposed granite paths, parking lots, patios, etc. for years. we have always had problems when the contractor insisted on using some kind of weed prevention cloth layer. the first thing you need to do is REMOVE the grass - don't just kill it. if you leave the dead grass, as it decomposes it will create voids that will cause settlement. the best way to install dg is to compact the base soil with a plate compactor, lay down about 4-6" of what is called aggregate base course or "road base" (assorted size gravel with some fines) and then compact that with the plate compactor, and finally the dg (about 3 inches thick) and compact that too. if the base is properly prepared and everything is compacted that way, it will be a rare and hardy weed that ever makes it's way through. make sure that the surface is crowned slightly or else slopes one way or the other. dg will absorb water, but it does so at a semi-slow rate, and you want to eliminate ponding. you don't really need any kind of stabilizer or binder unless you want to support vehicular traffic. if you do, i don't know that you can get it at lowes or home depot. we usually have it supplied by a company called Stabilizer Solutions (out of Arizona) but they pre-mix it into the material and truck it out to the jobsite (cross country if necessary). not really good for do-it-yourself kind of jobs...

I get DG from bulk dirt places. Some will let you bag your own. I have a bunch of 10gallon pots that I bring home the dirt in if I am looking for a small ammount.. Check Landscape suppliers. or Bulk Dirt. In Austin area, Geo dirt and Natural Gardner have it. Also masonry and stone places sometimes have it along with crushed granite, rock and gravel. I often buy it by the cubuc yard. I think I pay about $35 for a cubic yard.

If that granite is about an inch thick those "weeds" probably are rooting in the soil underneath. If the granite is 6 inches thick those "weeds" probably are rooting in the dust and organic matter that has accumulated in the spaces between the stones. Raking may well disrupt the rooting of the plants and is one reason why many gardens with similar installations rake frequently. Spraying with an herbicide will kill those "weeds" but will also cause more organic matter, the dead "weeds", to accumulate which will encourage more growth. kimmq is kimmsr

"... as long as there is room between the path borders." I don't know what you mean by this statement. "Room" where and how for what? If you're going to stack another layer of crushed stone on top of the existing, it's got to be about 2" thick minimum. If it's less, it's going to get scuffed, worn, or washed (I'm speculating on possibilities) as gravel does. If the stone underneath becomes temporarily exposed, there stands a chance of the underneath stone becoming mixed with the top layer of stone, where it would quickly become an unsortable mess. Will stacking it like that mess up surrounding grade?