How much decorative gravel do I need?

marc.faulkner

Afternoon all,

My "garden" is currently a bit of a mish mash, with a straggly lawn, a row of paving stones and a cracked patch of concrete which currently serves as a sort of patio area.

The problem is, the cracked and worn concrete really is an eyesore, and I'd really like to cover it up.

The area is only about 8' by 6', so i was thinking of covering it with gravel or stone chippings. Do you have any idea of the sort of quantity I would need for this area? And a rough idea of the price?

The other possibility is to also cover the flagstones with the gravel, which would add another area of 2" by 12" roughly...

Cheers,

Tigsteroonie

Have just asked OH ... we covered our front garden in Cotswold chippings from Jewsons about 5 years ago. He reckons our garden is about twice the size of yours, and it took two bulk bags delivered on the back of their lorry. Can't remember price, though, sorry!

Would be worth you looking around Jewsons, B&Q and Homebase websites for "aggregates" - I'd be surprised if they don't have a calculator to work out how much you'd need.

If you've had plants there before, it would be worth investing in barrier material to go over the soil but under the gravel, stop any weeds breaking through. Edit - just re-read your original message, you said it was to go over concrete, so this isn't required.

Davesnave

72 square feet = 8 square yards and a bag of 'naturally rounded gravel' from B&Q covers 0.3 square metres (3 to the square yard then!) Soooo.... about 24 bags at £2.48 to do the lot. I found I could only get 15 bags at a time maximum on the trolley, but my Transit took 30 no problem. In a car, do several loads.

You could check out deals on a cubic metre at various outlets and save yourself a lot of donkey work.

philgee

Don't forget to try any local suppliers - I've recently had 2 tons of 10mm pea gravel delivered loose for £50. If I'd gone elsewhere and had 1 tonne bags, it would have cost at least half as much again.

Gardening-girl_5

It's better to buy by the ton for large/largish areas..it usually works out cheaper- unless the delivery charge is high of course! :cheesy:

chunkymunky_3

i recently graveled the side of my house, i worked it out that id need 22 bags when i went to my local buildbase, he pointed out that a bulk bag would work out almost double the amount of gravel and would cost £1.99 less than 22 bags, i had enough to do the side of the house, round my shed and even had enough to use as a mulch on top of all my pots!

All the big DIY places like B&Q, buildbase, wicks and jewson all cost roughly the same £30-45 but My local Jewson is doing free delivery at the moment, dunno if this is happening in all their stores, but that would make quiet a difference.

gazza975526570

its hard to real give an indication of price as the prices vary dependent upon the look you want. Ive paid £6 per bag but this was for the look i really wanted and the space it was for wasnt too large

Mark_Fulham

£53 inc deliver for a tonne of 2-3cm white gravel in central London. From builders Merchants. 50% less than B&Q from memory.

Gravel can look a bit naff unless it is neatly contained e.g. meets the end of a row of paving or a wall or wooden partition. doesn't stop weeds growing through it - woodchips prevent weeds much better from my experience.

I'd buy more than you need as it settles and sinks into the ground after wet weather.

Davesnave

Mark_Fulham wrote: »

Gravel can look a bit naff unless it is neatly contained e.g. meets the end of a row of paving or a wall or wooden partition. doesn't stop weeds growing through it - woodchips prevent weeds much better from my experience.

I'd buy more than you need as it settles and sinks into the ground after wet weather.

Gravel's fine if you use geofabric under it, as you should. It lasts longer than wood chips too.;)

tillytomcat

If you have a Howarths Timber Merchants they are normally very helpful and cheap for most things. They do the individual bags and the bulk bags (2tonne).

Just make sure you ask if delivery is free because sometimes it sounds cheap but the delivery charge takes it into a new dimension of rip off