There are numerous benefits you can derive from laying a weed barrier under a gravel driveway and one of such benefits is that it reduces the amount of weed you have to handle every year.
Though, this option may not offer a complete protection against weeds and other unsightly items, it will definitely make things easier for you , just in case you need to remodel the driveway in the nearest future , or when you want to carry out maintenance works in such a driveway.
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Another benefit of laying weed barrier under the gravel driveway is that it creates an extra support for vehicular traffic. When you don’t create weed barrier under the driveway, such a driveway will develop irregular surfaces that can gradually put more pressure on your car tires.
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Weed under gravel can constitute unsightly nuisance to your gravel driveway, they may overgrow and cover the surface, thus, they can become too difficult to remove, but with the laying of weed barrier, you will prevent the regrowth of such weed significantly.
How To Lay a Weed Barrier Under a Gravel Driveway
Things you need to follow this tutorial
First of all, you need to be motivated enough to follow this tutorial and try as much as possible to get every item listed here before you even begin to lay the weed barrier. The most important items you need for this tutorial are:
- A tractor or manually operated alternative,
- A shovel
- A compactor
- The suitable landscaping fabric
- Gravel (sufficient enough to cover the entire driveway)
- A wheelbarrow
- Rake, and
- A Leveler.
- Don't forget to wear a pair of steel toe boots to protect your feet from danger when you do this job.
Step by step instruction
Step 1: Remove or change the top layer of the soil and level it up.
To begin the laying of weed barrier under the gravel driveway, you need to remove the layer at the top of the soil, along with dirt, and rocks, from the driveway, and you must ensure that no organic substance is left , especially under the region where the driveway is situated.
Items such as roots, rocks, weed, and other forms of obstructive organic matter must be removed completely.
The use of a tractor is one an ideal way of handling this step, all you have to do is to use the front of the tractor to tear off the top layer away from the ground. If a tractor is not available, you can make use of a shovel, in combination with your hand.
Step 2: Park everything down
Once the top layer of the soil has been removed, there is a need to ascertain that the surface is solidified or leveled up. Without the ideal surface thickness, the driveway , laid with gravel will be incapable of performing according to what you expect in the nearest future. If you have a compactor, this step should be easier, otherwise you will to invest in renting of borrowing one.
Step 3: Laying of the barrier
Once the ground surface and the secondary surfaces have been compacted, you will have to lay down the weed barrier immediately. While some people will prefer to handle this step with the use of a special Geotextile fabric, most people will use the traditional and conventional landscape fabric.
One of the advantages of using Geotextile fabric to handle this step is that , it is has more durability and can withstand the pressure that will occur under the driveway – this pressure may cause wearing and tearing , if not handled properly.
Geotextile fabrics are usually manufactured as medium to big rolls, and that means, you need an additional hand to help you pull it out and then roll onto the driveway surface, because you can't handle it on your own.
You need to ensure that make sure that the entire driveway is completely covered by the fabric you have chosen - this will ensure that weeds do not re-grow and then extend through the soil layers, and when this happens, the weeds will automatically dry out.
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Barrier fabrics are designed in such a way that you can easily adjust them to cover areas that were not covered before; therefore, there is no need to be afraid of not getting it right for the first time.
Step 4: Cover the entire driveway once again with Gravel.
It is important that you get as much gravel as you will require for this purpose (try and get double the size of what you will require to complete the job).
Once you have the fabric laid out on the ground surface, you definitely need lay the gravel over it once again. diverse different kinds of gravels you can consider, and what you choose should depend on what you prefer or what seem to be suitable.
Pour the gravel in a slow motion, over the topmost layer of the landscaping fabric, then try as much as possible to ensure that the gravel is spread evenly and completely on top of the leveled surface .
Once the whole area has been covered, you need to use the compactor to exert pressure and push it downward, and this procedure will help you make the driveway more compact, it will also increase its durability and smoothness. It is easy to identify a smooth drive way, it produces a perfect balance on the wheels when a car is driven over it.In order to create a solid base for your driveway, you will need between 7 and 9 inches of depth just under the driveway surface.
For this reason, you must start with a 1.5 to 2 inch size of coarse gravels, and then rake these gravel into depths of 3 inches or more, then the secondary layer of gravel should be ¾ inch of solid gravels.
Try as much as possible to wet the entire area after the fourth and final step is completed, and then you can add another 3/4inch layer of gravel to increase the final depth to between 4 and 6 inches.
One of the most recommended types of gravels for driveways, is the pea gravel, it helps you fill up all open spaces quickly. Do not forget to wet the surface of the driveway after the final step, and the reason being that it helps the layers settle and become even more compact.
Conclusion
The importance of this tutorial in creating the ideal gravel driveway, cannot be overemphasized, and the reason being that a compact driveway will protect your car and at the same time prevent weed from getting access to moisture and re-grow.
It is however important that you choose the right materials for this purpose, most especially your gravel.
Try as much as possible to create as many layers of gravels as you can, and with the aid of a compactor, you must strengthen and solidify the surfaces perfectly. If you have more time, you can conduct surface test on each surface as you progress through the construction of your gravel driveway, just to ensure that they meet up with the minimum requirements.
One of your tests should be the monitoring of your wheels while you drive on the driveway- when your car wheels stay balanced on the driveway, then the gravel driveway is compact enough.Have you enjoy reading this short and informative proposal?
Make sure you stick with the rules and guidelines and you will be glad to see your driveway provide a pleasurable ride all the time.