Putting gravel down

fatboyonadiet

I wanted to put some gravel down in my back yard, it's just waste ground there at the moment, do I need to put sand down first or a ground sheet? Or will it be fine just to chuck the gravel down?

Also where is the cheapest place to get some? Would it be B&Q?

economiser

You can just chuck the gravel down. If the ground is soft you might benefit from some hardcore first but not sand. This would be more necessary if it is going to carry vehicular traffic. You might consider a some weed suppressing sheeting but this is relatively expensive otherwise you might have to do some weed killing now and again.

I laid a gravel driveway many years ago by just putting gravel down on the bare earth but the ground was hard to start with. I have to add gravel to it now and again but don't have a lot of problems with weeds.

fatboyonadiet

Thanks, the ground is quite soft but it's only a small backyard.

Mikeyorks

Local builders merchants - not B&Q. But get washed stuff - otherwise you'll be trailing sand in for evermore. Just put it down - and rake it out

Snaggles

If the ground is 'weedy' I would definitely go for some kind of sheeting underneath - soooo much less maintainance in summer!

mioliere

To get a professional finish you should really dig out the driveway to approx 8 inches, lay Terran - which suppresses weeds (from B&Q or any builders' merchants), apply five to six inches of 40ml to dust stones - you can hire a compactor plate to compact the stones down. It is at this point that you 'eye' your levels and will add stones if necessary and compact again; once you are happy with the result apply inch to inch-and-a-half 20ml stones NOT pea shingle (pea shingle is a complete DIY no-no! You'll be forever trying to make it look tidy! Good luck!