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Pea Gravel Patio

6 years ago

Hi everyone! I'm planning on doing a Pea Gravel Patio, I've read some different things/got different advice; and just wasn't sure how to go about it. So figured I'd ask here for more!

I've dug down about 5-6 inches and tamped it down. Got a border up as well. At this depth my ground is clay, I can't really do much more digging. In that area of my yard it does get water that sometimes sits. Now once this is built, can't say how the water will act.

Someone told me do just weed blocker and put the pea gravel down and I'm good. Then someone told me no, I have to do weed blocker, sand and drainage rock tamped down, followed by the pea gravel and stepping stones. Another said just do weed blocker, sand to level it, put the stepping stones down and then dump pea gravel down.

So I'm just confused on what I should do. Whats the best course of action for a pea gravel patio with some stepping stones on them with clay bottom?

Thank you!

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Comments (3)

Kaillean (zone 8, Vancouver)
6 years ago
We did your last option. But highly recommend you choose something other than pea gravel. We used quarter minus which has more irregular size pieces. Still small like pea gravel but packs nicer and doesn’t track everywhere. Also nicer to walk on or put furniture on.
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Kristin
Original Author
6 years ago
Someone else suggested to me using river rock, which are larger rocks too and then rainbow rock (smaller irregular shaped river rocks). Which I'm okay with doing either honestly. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the 'under it all base'.

So you just did weed blocker, sand, then the gravel. Have you had any issue with furniture getting all lopsided. I've been told I shouldn't put stepping stones down because they will just get uneven... so wouldn't furniture too?
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I think if I was placing brick pavers or field stone I would most definely want to use the 1B (pea gravel). Because the 1B is smaller, the percentage of voids after compaction is less. This means that you have a lower likelyhood of the 1B settling after construction. If it was me I would probably use the 1B as base under concrete also. The key to success with this whole project is proper compaction. That is why one contractor told you to they wanted to put concrete under the brick pavers. That way the pavers could not settle. I would certainly not remove the material. Stone reaches 70% compaction at the time that it is dumped, not to mention its been sitting for a while settling. Its pretty compact. Just to be on the safe side I would make the contractor go over the area with a tamper to compact it ever further. You have to think about what elevation you want your walkway at, then go down 4" for the thickness of the concrete/ fieldstone/ brick pavers. That will be the elevation of your stone. Think about if you have enough stone in place, after compaction, to achive that. If the awnser is no, then compact the 1B you have, and add the stone or sand that the conctractor of your choice wants to use, then your paving material. I hope this helps
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I have a similar problem with a large covered portico. There are ~150 12" square step stones all surrounded by pea gravel. I'm in a constant maintenance mode trying to keep the pea gravel in place. The following advice was recently offered to me. I have yet to investigate this but it sounds like something worth lookoing into: "I've been on several pathways that have clearly been some sort of stabilized agg product. They're sold as soil stabilizers (type that into google and settle in), but the principle is the same. I haven't used them myself, don't know how they're affected by climate (the website below is for a mfr in Phoenix), and don't know how well the product works as a "retrofit"- but it *could* work. Come to think of it, one of the private residences in Colonial Williamsburg has a stabilized pea gravel front walk." Here is a link that might be useful: Stabilizer Solution
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Pea gravel just around the foundation is a dumb idea. It will make the ground around the house more porous,and water will drain to those areas, rather than away. So water drains into the porous soil you've produced, but can't drain down or out because there is heavier, less free draining soil under and round it. You are creating a reservoir of water to seep into your house. But if you have a way for water to drain through the pea gravel and soil and out away from the house, that would be good. In most cases, the best thing is to grade the soil surface away from the foundation, without changing soil consistancy, so that water drains away from the house naturally. (Grading the soil surface away from the house means the soil is higher at the foundation and lower as it goes away from the house.)
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i am looking for the same information! I want to create a large gravel area in my yard and would like to use a gravel stabilizer system like core gravel. It seems like everyone on here dislikes pea gravel, but no one has mentioned using one of these products. I have seen it used in Europe under grass. It was a heavily travelled walk path at a tourist attraction and you could see the cells just under the surface. But, I could definitely tell a difference when I walked on it. I hope you get the information you are looking for!
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Kaillean (zone 8, Vancouver)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
We did gravel paths and a gravel/flagstone patio about 5 years ago. Checked with hubby. No sand. Process was dig out, landscape fabric, layer of 3/4” gravel topped with the finer quarter minus. It has held up really well and our flagstones haven’t moved or sunk. You could also do gravel only patio if you pack well. Furniture won’t sink. It may need topping up in a few years. Our paths are ready for touch up and fresh quarter minus but are still well packed. I love them. I think there are photos on gardenweb somewhere. I’ll look through my old posts. We are also on clay soil and had a pretty wet yard.
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Kristin thanked Kaillean (zone 8, Vancouver)

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