Hey friends and happy spring from Cincinnati! After a nearly 2-year hiatus consisting of pregnancy, pandemic & newborn (among other things), we’re back to share our latest project(s) with you. If you recall during the summer of 2019, we were looking for an affordable patio addition that would last at least a few years. Our original post details the process from start to finish for under $200.
2 Years Later
Nearly 2 years later, some overgrown grass and a general lack of upkeep are beginning to show my abandonment of a once beautiful area. Thankfully nothing but labor was required to freshen up this space and make it look good as new.
The Problem
Slowly but surely over time, we began noticing exposed fabric, grass growing out of the fabric around the edging, raised support nails that were affecting the shape of the edging, and unlevel pea gravel across the entire surface of the patio itself.
The Touch-up
Equipped with my handy-dandy shovel and some elbow grease, I spent an “infant nap” worth of time (about 2 hours) bringing it back up to something I’d be proud of again. I dug an edge from each side (the gravel and grass) to allow enough separation between them, which provides the best visual result (to my eye at least) … so many parentheses in this paragraph!
Completion
2 hours later, we’re back in business with a great looking (and functioning) DIY Pea Gravel Patio! Of course I could’ve saved a lot of time just weed eating the perimeter, but I wanted to have more separation from the gravel to the grass than that would provide. I also wanted to address the other problem areas documented above (the landscape fabric, raised nails & inconsistent gravel thickness & depth). If you missed our first post, here’s where it all started.
We’re back!
We hope to be updating all of you on a much more regular basis now that many of our son’s “first” milestones are behind us. From our family to yours, thank you for continuing to join us on this journey of restoring and bringing life to our 1950s home.
Oops! I posted a comment on your first post about this project not realizing you posted an update! How would you rate the landscape fabric? We’re trying to find one that effectively blocks weeds but a lot of reviewers say they don’t. Also, where did you drop your dirt off?
Hey, Karla! It does a pretty good job of blocking weeds. We’re going on our third year now with minor tweaks needed each year (I need to take some more updated photos as it looks a bit different now). I repurposed the dirt in another part of the yard.
For the best results, I think you’re supposed to put a layer of sand under the fabric……..I did vast areas around my house and have to spend a couple of hours every spring and fall picking out weeds. Small price to pay really, but I would put sand down next time!
Indeed. “If you know then what you know now” kind of deal, for sure!
You could have used a contractor grade edging that is 5-6″ deep and is held in place with metal stakes.
Also contractor grade black weed barrier fabric or a white shower curtain held in place with U pins. That provides better weed control. But you will always have weed seeds blowing into the gravel and sprouting on top of the barrier. With a deeper edging you can lap the fabric up the sides. That way the weight of the gravel won’t pull the fabric away from the edges when you spread it out. And having someone stand on the weed
barrier when you dump and spread the pea gravel.
The advice about a 2″ depth of gravel is useful. When estimating coverage, a general rule of thumb is that 1 yard of material covers 100 square feet to a depth of 3″. The smaller the particles, the better the coverage.
Take a place ketchup bottle with a narrow spout and fill it with grass killer. Then use it to “spray” the edging “separation” to keep grass from growing there and spilling onto the gravel.