Installation Steps – A Gravel Driveway To Change Pavers

Ways that you can install a gravel driveway to change pavers:

Step 1 – Define The Use Of Your Driveway:

The driveway like driveways Cumbria for example is not the same as the pedestrian walkway:

Driveway = often placed from the gate to the garage entrance, the driveway provides greater stability to support the weight of cars

Pedestrian walkway = often starting from the house to a specific point in the garden (garden shed, swimming pool, vegetable garden, swing, etc.); the pedestrian walkway is intended to facilitate the outdoor movement of people from one location to another

Step 2 – Choose The Type Of Gravel:

There are wide varieties of pebbles and gravel: their size and color vary particularly. Small caliber gravels and fine aggregates are made using different minerals: marble aggregates, schist gravel, granite gravel, sandstone gravel, crushed slate, crushed alluvial soil, crushed beige, white, gray, or red limestone, etc.

Gravels are often resistant and aesthetic. So choose your gravel driveway covering according to your tastes and your home. It is important to think carefully about the types of materials for the flooring you will use: for a natural-style driveway, look for materials from your region, for example.

Step 3 – Define The Shape And Size Of The Aisle:

You can delimit the path using stakes and a rope. Or simply spreading a garden hose on the ground, which is more practical for drawing the curves.

Tip for drawing the walkway: a straight walkway will be easier to set up than a curved walkway.

The Driveway:

A vehicle generally travels on an aisle of at least 3.50 meters wide.

If you have a small vehicle, you can reduce this width by measuring your car from one end of the mirror to the other. Also, leave room to open the doors (you can measure the width of your vehicle with one door open or both).

Step 4 – Break Out, Dig The Excavation:

The excavation is a digging made in the ground. It is essential to dig an excavation to install a gravel driveway.

Use a pickaxe, shovel, or earthmoving machine depending on the surface to be excavated: walkways can be excavated with manual tools (pickaxe and shovel), but it will take much longer for a driveway; we advise you so in this case to use an earthmoving machine!

Check the tilt of the ground with a level.

Try to create a slight inclination to encourage water flow in bad weather: otherwise, the water will create potholes in the gravel on the surface. Shovel earth digging gardening cash out excavation

Step 5 – Spread A Permeable Horticultural Fabric:

Acquire a large-size polypropylene geotextile felt to install under your driveway. This horticultural fabric of approximately 130g/m2 is placed at the bottom of the excavation. Its purpose is to stabilize the soil, let water through, and prevent the growth of weeds by delaying the passage of roots.

Place the canvas at the bottom of the hole and on its walls. In the event of a connection,  juxtapose the pieces of permeable felt over about 30 cm to form a barrier to the earth: by overlapping the different lengths of the canvas, the protection will be at its maximum. Cut the felt using a scissor, making it overflow the hole by a few centimeters on each side. Be careful when laying the horticultural fabric: do not walk on the cover until it is covered with gravel!

Step 6 – Lay The Underlay:

The drainage underlay is very important because it ensures the stability and durability of your future driveway. This underlay supports runoff and resists compaction created by repeated passages. The underlays will be different depending on the type of gravel driveway:

For a walkway:  sand over a few centimeters

For a driveway: a mixture of crushed materials (gravel or Falun) over 15 cm, then sand over 5 cm. You can also fill the bottom of the hole with a honeycomb structure to ensure the perfect stability of the gravel.

Finally, tamp the underlayer to compact the whole. Depending on the driveway’s surface, even out the underlayment with a rake or compactor roller.

Step 7 – Fill In The Excavation:

After receiving your gravel, spread it over the underlay using a wheelbarrow.

Cut the overhangs of the horticultural canvas at the height of the gravel, a few centimeters deep, so that it is invisible once the gravel has been spread.

Step 8 – Line The Driveway and Embellish It:

Finally, your gravel driveway is taking shape. To finalize it, you can create a driveway border with pieces of wood, bricks, or stone elements.

For a contemporary look, you can also add wooden or slate boards in the middle of the aisle. This gravel driveway will beautify your home and highlight certain exterior parts. It’s up to you to decorate it according to your desires.