Landscapers/builders!! Got a gravel question.

Raptor Mike

Raptor Mike

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A couple of years ago we had some of the garden done with stones, mainly for me to get my motorbike out of the shed. My cousin used to be a landscaper and he helped. The first lot was 3 inch to dust, but I was concerned about the kids getting covered in red dust so we put nice white sones on the top that my cousin had spare. Even though it was all compacted with a thumper thumper machine, the white stones are very loose. The red stuff underneith seems solid though.

I wondered if I bought some sand and spread it over the top and thumpered iit down if it would make it less loose? What sand would I need to use, I assume sharp to get the grip?

My cousin seems to think this would work but he's not entirely sure and as I recon I'd need at least an 800kg bag I thought I'd get some more veiws before I try.

Thanks :)
 
Not quite sure what you mean by 'white stones' ..... limestone? cobbles? Why do you presume the sand will work? Won't that just be then the loose stuff? Just bear in mind how sand plus water means sand just 'disappears' as it compacts in between the substate. Have you considered something more permanent to hold the stones together?
 
Sharp sand would perform better than any other, but I'm not convinced that it would really work. As it dries out the sand will blow away over time. I'd buy a 25kg bag and test a sample area - see what you think before lumping out on a bulk bag.
You could use a product similar to aco ground guard - but they look rubbish & cost a fair bit - but that's just my opinion!
 
Kiln dried definitely won't work, but I can't really see any sand doing it. Any sand put over gravel is just going to make a mess really.
 
Personally I'd be looking at an epoxy or polyurethane type binding agent to turn the gravel into a joined structure that will still allow water to drain through it
 
Thanks for all your advice folks (y) I will post a pic up in a bit so you can see what I mean. My thinking was that if the 3" to dust stays in place because of the dust, the sand might help with the white stones. By white stones i mean stones about an inch in size that are not sharp so good for tyres and kids to fall on (well better anyway).
 
Raptor Mike said:
Thanks for all your advice folks (y) I will post a pic up in a bit so you can see what I mean. My thinking was that if the 3" to dust stays in place because of the dust, the sand might help with the white stones. By white stones i mean stones about an inch in size that are not sharp so good for tyres and kids to fall on (well better anyway).
Click to expand...

It now sounds as if they are a type of pebble / cobbles or shingle /chippings?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pebble+stones+for+landscaping&biw=1536&bih=829&tbm=isch&imgil=Imkg-ZS4bE37ZM%3A%3Btzu2Ik5uPwVxcM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.indian-natural-stones.net%252Fpebble_stones_india.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=Imkg-ZS4bE37ZM%3A%2Ctzu2Ik5uPwVxcM%2C_&usg=__XCOYIItWCM6TNac9Sou2xYW1Q-Y=&ved=0CFcQyjdqFQoTCPyWnuLL6cYCFaIW2wod_YcMBg&ei=qdmsVbyeMqKt7Ab9j7Iw#imgrc=Imkg-ZS4bE37ZM:&usg=__XCOYIItWCM6TNac9Sou2xYW1Q-Y=

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=c...oGy7QaB0IiICw#q=pebble+stones+for+landscaping

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=s...&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=G9ysVcCZNqWV7AaX8IGIBQ

If pebbles/cobbles for these to work permantely they need to be fixed with a wet mix of sand & cement. Packing them out again with sand will mean you'll be revisiting this problem again shortly. We had similar in the center part of our drive, but I ended taking them all up and concreted over the center section and put a drain at the bottom as it's a sloping drive to take the excess water away.

Otherwise you leave them as they are. If shingle/chippings perhaps they need topping up and raking over again?
 
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I'd go with Simon's suggestion of sand and cement. We have lots of gravel (about 12-15mm) paths in our garden and in heavily trafficked areas I have mixed up a concrete base of sand/cement/gravel, using lots of gravel, laid that down, gently washed it off with the hose while wet so that the top surface is exposed gravel and left it to set. I have then spread a thin layer of loose gravel on top, you can't tell it's a concrete base but the gravel doesn't move around.

For your larger pebbles you could put down the sand and cement dry, spread the pebbles over and tamp down. The sand/cement will absorb water and set hard in a few days.
 
If you follow Chris's advice, don't park anything on it until the mix has gone off properly or you'll be stuck with dips in the set surface.
 
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