Who would have guessed that one of the most eye pleasing materials of the past 15 years would turn out to be gravel? Available in an abundance of colours, textures and sizes, gravel is increasing in demand for landscaping jobs as it looks good, has many benefits to the environment, and can save you lots of money.
The choices of decorative gravel are bewildering. From pea gravel to granite and Limestone to Slate, gravel is a budget-friendly alternative to paving stones and a clever solution to those areas with drainage problems. Different types of gravel, including Limestone, Slate, Flint and Granite, are available in multiply choices of colours, from black to grey to blue to pink that complement the surrounding greenery and create a relaxing environment in a garden landscape.
Gravel usage has been increasing in its use for all kinds of construction projects in England. It is estimated that the construction of a typical new built in the United Kingdom needs around 50-75 tons of aggregate, including gravel, sand and crushed stone, like Type 1 803, for its foundations, driveway, block and brick work. When it comes to construction, there are lots of materials a lot of people don’t understand and they think that only the professionals have the knowledge.
There are many perks to using decorative gravel to fill your outside space, any colour to match your scheme and surroundings, it helps to aide drainage and the sound of the gravel crunching below your feet can be a helpful security tool!
Self binding gravel is a modern way of adding gravel to your outside space. But what is self binding gravel? It is a small size gravel stone, with natural clay dust mixed in with it, that once laid, wetted and compacted, creates a hard standing area but keeps the look and feel of a standard gravel. It is particularly useful for areas close to grass as there are no stray loose stones to flick onto your grass area, creating potential broken windows when cutting and strimming.
When it comes to laying decorative garden gravel, you will need to consider whether or not the ground is too steep for the gravel to stay in place. There are many things you can do to stop your gravel from falling away.
Edging will help to stop your gravel from spilling onto unwanted places. For very steep driveways, you can buy gravel grids. These are plastic squares with holes inside for the gravel to sit into, which in turn stops the gravel from being able to move as much. These gravel grids also help to stop your gravelled area from pitting or pot holing under the weight of vehicles moving on top of it.
Pot holing shouldn’t occur in stone gravel areas where there are no heavy vehicles on top. If you do fine that your gravel pathway or patio has dips in it, you may need to check that the ground underneath is solid. The best way to create a solid base for a gravelled area is to lay a sub base, type 1 803 or 20mm – dust aggregate, compact it down and place a weed blocking membrane on top. The gravel will then have a solid base and should never sink. Search online or at your local merchants to find just the type of gravel you are looking for.