Absolutely! We'll relay the message. Our company would be nothing without the hard working people behind the scenes! Thank you for your kind comment. - J&B's
Thanks for the detailed instructions on the gravel walkway installation. My wife and I followed them step by step and I can’t believe how solid it turned out. Much appreciated!
I like the detailed look at creating the DG walkway! The inside scoop! I am intrigued too by attractively integrating a whole new style (xeriscape) into an existing more traditional garden. This is very relevant in our hot and water taxed area. Gets those creative thoughts going about what one might do in her own yard! Thnx for the videos and the soil care products!
YAS! We are planning on doing more videos like this so excited for the positive response :) Very very relevant in Fresno, and the central valley, for sure. We are happy to help inspire your gardening creativity and help you get healthy soil 💚🙌
I like the looks of this project and I am looking forward to seeing its completion. I really liked the insight into building the pathway! You have me thinking about different areas in my yard that I could redefine.
The last couple days it has already transformed so much more. Excited for you to see the next video! Glad you enjoyed the video and felt inspired 🙌😀🌿 Have you decided which area you want to redefine?
We are getting ready to retire, this looks like a good project add to our to do list. Thanks for great information! We live in north San Diego County so something like this will work great!
@@JohnandBobs I have multiple walkways. One from the house to the horse corrals. Then another walkway from the corrals to the round pen. I live in snow and mud country and horses will also be walking on some of these areas. Oh, then there's the walkway from the parking area to the front door. The walkways to the house are failed roadbase walkways. Time to do something better.
the biggest advantage that i see to this is that it offers water a way to get into ground instead of just runoff into storm drain. If you do a 4 in thick walkway the weeds will be very minimal mostly wind driven easily pluckable lol. or a little vinegar.
Excellent point, we should have touched on that more! Very minimal weeds. The first year or two you won't have any. If you see some start to grow in the path just apply a weed killer - easy peasy!
We don't know any Arizona referrals for a gravel path, however we are 100% confident that if you asked a licensed Arizona landscape contractor to watch our video, they could properly install this pathway.
Proper landscaping can be done in many ways, you can see excellent examples around the world, it must appeal to the eye, sensible, use native products, blending hardscapes, walkways, center attractions with a spice of whimsical elements, and of course plants. Done correctly looks appealing, it is ok to copy just not your neighbors.
I am about to embark on a pathway myself and this video explanation is very helpful. Thank you! However, one problem. I just priced the Permaloc edging and I was rather shocked at how expensive it is. I am not one to cheap out on materials but I can't justify $989 for 8 feet of edging.
Interesting, this is almost exactly what I am thinking to do with my front lawn. Gravel path diagonally to the concrete walk going into back yard. Then plantings in most of the front lawn in slightly raised planting areas but with a grass band along the city sidewalk. We have plenty of rain here so maybe I should rethink and build a swamp instead. Don't need low water use plants need water tolerant plants. How do you deal with stuff that starts growing in the gravel path?
All Stores Please Lower the price of all Military and Local for all Brands of Gravel Products and Accessories and Production Cost Now That's too much $$ The Whole World Now 🙏🙏🙏
This is a great idea, takes the best of both materials.. Do you use the DG without stabilizer? I put 3" of pea gravel over heavy (permeable) landscape fabric with no base layer, in the strip between sidewalk and street. It is now covered in weeds. If I add DG and compress it into the gravel, would you recommend a stabilizer? (Too many tree roots to start over and dig deeper putting base layer first.)
We usually don't use a stabilizer because of cost, but we occasionally use PolyPavement w/ good results. If you compress DG into pea gravel and intend to use the DG as your walking path, I do recommend a stabilizer like PolyPavement. In the video we compressed pea gravel into DG, making the stabilizer unnecessary.
Nice look! Any reason why you couldn't just install the base all the way up and then do the pea gravel directly over it instead of using DG? Or is there an alternate or less expensive material that could be used instead of the DG layer? BTW: what size pea gravel are you using?
The only reason I use the DG is the top gravel layer imbeds in it nicely and if an under layer were to shoe, I prefer the look of DG over base rock. However, you could use baserock all the way up to the top layer. That would work fine. 👍
@@JohnandBobs so after you put the layer of pea gravel on top of the DG, you can still see the DG under it? How thick of a layer of pea gravel did you use btw?
Could I do this instead of a cement pad? How would it hold up? I’d be using the pad for my smokers and grills, as well as building a cover off the roof.
Hi. Can you tell me what size base rock you use? Then how much DG. Then how much pea gravel. I’m guessing that with compaction it all fits in the 4”. Yes???
Great video - how thick is the DG when spread and how thick does that become once compacted. And same with the Pea Gravel how thick is it spread and what its new height after compacting?
If you use 2-3" base rock, then the D.G. would be about 1" thick and the compacted thickness of all the materials doesn't change much. Pea gravel is about 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Instead of base rock, you could just use 3" of decomposed granite, especially if it's just a pedestrian walk. If vehicular traffic will be on it, then the base rock is important. - John
How well would your gravel path design hold up in a wet climate (far northwest CA)? Also, how resistant is the pathway to weed growth (a big problem in my gravel paths).
@@JohnandBobs Thanks for the response. During the wet season, the weeds in my gravel paths seemed to have very shallow roots, spreading out in the very top layer of gravel. Perhaps the layer of sand and crushed stone that makes up my "middle layer" of the mix isn't compacted well enough.
@@BF-th6rl Sometimes you can get weeds on top of the gravel with a little debris, especially over time (not usually in the first year or two). These aren't deep rooted and usually are easy to eradicate with an organic or synthetic weed killer.
@@JohnandBobs I had this same question about the wet climate and looking around online there are many sources that say DG doesn't hold up to rain very well (I'm in NJ). So are you saying the pea gravel on top basically solves that issue? I'm thinking of doing a large patio/seating area similar to Bob's home garden, I really like how that turned out
@@thomasfallon2001 Yes, the pea gravel or other small gravel creates a much more durable and permanent surface. Another possibility if you want to use only D.G. is a soil stabilizer. Check out poly pavement at their website polypavement.com. It's an effective product that we've used.
Love this method and want to try it for some pathways. If using the 4 inch edging with 1.5 inches of road base, roughly what is the depth of the DG vs pea gravel? That would help a lot with estimating cu yards needed for my project. Thanks!
If it’s just for pedestrians we use about 1” of DG over the base and then 1/2”-3/4” of pea gravel or other 3/8” rock over the DG. Thank you for the comment! -John
I'm not a big fan of "stabilized DG" because it is so costly. In this case we didn't use any type of stabilization for the DG. If we feel we need to stabilize it, we use a product called "Poly Pavement" and we stabilize it ourselves. Check it out at polypavement.com. Usually just water and a vibratory compacter does an excellent job of stabilizing DG. -John
Great video! I’m so glad I found your channel! Could you please tell me how many inches depth for DG and for pebbles? That would make my DG/pebble ordering a little bit easier :-) Thanks!
@@F91jvuDX Maybe add another inch or so of base rock into the equation? Base rock should be cheaper than DG. I would think you want to do a 2" layer of base rock, 1.5" layer of DG (if at all) and then 1/2" thick layer of pea gravel. Otherwise, sounds like you could just do 3.5" of base rock and pour & compact the gravel directly over it?
@@jplee3 Late to the thread but agree with your observations. I don't know what's the point of adding that thin middle layer of DG, sounds negligible and you can't even see the DG. Might as well just use stone dust or fines if the purpose is to fill the cracks and helps with base rock compaction.
What if some resin epoxy is added to pebbles for final stage? Looking for something that can handle a powerchair that isn't concrete. I have no landscape experience.
Looked like a economical way to do it, but after I checked the cost of the edging not so much. This edging runs for about $6 per foot, $12 on both sides. Thus. It’s $3 per sq ft added for a walkway which is 4’ wide. 😢
You should be able to buy the edging at much less than that. We pay about $2.50 per linear ft. Your other estimations seem fairly accurate. Even so, $3. per sqft is pretty good and compares very favorably with any other paving material; asphalt $4-$5.per sqft; concrete $5-$10.per; pavers $15 to $20. per; brick $20-25. per; etc. - John
Happy to help :) Construction supply places that sell ready mix concrete, gravel, brick, block, etc are more likely to have base rock, but clean crushed rock will work.
how would this path work for an electric wheelchair user? Do you have a recommended approach for an electric wheelchair user? maybe 3/8 bluestone instead of pea gravel?
Here is what the owner of the path in the video said, "it would work but might leave ruts depending on the weight of the chair and person. I avoid pushing my garden maintenance cart on it because I have to fix the ruts. It is fine to walk on and I can blow lightly to get leaves off". -John
@@JohnandBobs interesting. Thanks for inquiring. Have you had any experience with truegrid? They advertise it as ada approved. I was thinking of trying the pro lite with bluestone and possibly topping it off with some small black bean pebbles.
We are located in zone 9. We have pretty tepid winters (20-30 degrees F) and very hot summers (up to 110s F). For very cold areas, I would suggest 5-6inches.
It can be used if preferred, but really not necessary if constructed like we did here. It would be similar to using fabric for road construction. The nature and thickness of the underlaying material takes the place of weed fabric. - John
This is way too expensive and pea gravel is too smooth, resulting in slippage over time due to erosion. Never use smooth stones for a pathway. Instead, use 3/4-minus crushed rock, tamped down. Tamping causes the rocks to align themselves, resulting in a very stable, almost solid surface you can walk on and use a wheelbarrow or garden cart.
That will work also and sounds good, but a completely different look. Cost of walk/path shown in video is actually very reasonable at about $2.00 per sq ft w/o the edging. We've done about 55 of these in walkways or drives and they have proven to be very functional.
I review the same points to minimize confusion. It's a habit I developed when supervising employees to make sure we're all on the same page. Excuse the repetition!
Good job Jorge Paco and Oscar! Not enough credit is given to the people who actually make this world into what it is. 🎉
Absolutely! We'll relay the message. Our company would be nothing without the hard working people behind the scenes! Thank you for your kind comment. - J&B's
Thanks for the detailed instructions on the gravel walkway installation. My wife and I followed them step by step and I can’t believe how solid it turned out. Much appreciated!
Glad to be of service! thank you for commenting!
I like the detailed look at creating the DG walkway! The inside scoop! I am intrigued too by attractively integrating a whole new style (xeriscape) into an existing more traditional garden. This is very relevant in our hot and water taxed area. Gets those creative thoughts going about what one might do in her own yard! Thnx for the videos and the soil care products!
YAS! We are planning on doing more videos like this so excited for the positive response :) Very very relevant in Fresno, and the central valley, for sure. We are happy to help inspire your gardening creativity and help you get healthy soil 💚🙌
“We’ll go STEP BY STEP on how to construct it-“ eheh, I see what you did there 😏 😁. This is amazing- thank you, thank you, thank you!
😉😆 Glad you got that! Thank you for the support, we love what we do.
I like the looks of this project and I am looking forward to seeing its completion. I really liked the insight into building the pathway! You have me thinking about different areas in my yard that I could redefine.
The last couple days it has already transformed so much more. Excited for you to see the next video! Glad you enjoyed the video and felt inspired 🙌😀🌿 Have you decided which area you want to redefine?
We are getting ready to retire, this looks like a good project add to our to do list. Thanks for great information! We live in north San Diego County so something like this will work great!
Perfect project for your to do list - happy we could help inspire you! 😃
I love xeriscape. I live in SW Colorado and i need to build some pathways. thank you for the information.
You are most welcome! What kind of path are you thinking you want to build?
@@JohnandBobs I have multiple walkways. One from the house to the horse corrals. Then another walkway from the corrals to the round pen. I live in snow and mud country and horses will also be walking on some of these areas. Oh, then there's the walkway from the parking area to the front door. The walkways to the house are failed roadbase walkways. Time to do something better.
This is the exactly what I was looking for!
That's great!
It gives us great joy to lend a helping hand.
A permalock advertisement?
the biggest advantage that i see to this is that it offers water a way to get into ground instead of just runoff into storm drain. If you do a 4 in thick walkway the weeds will be very minimal mostly wind driven easily pluckable lol. or a little vinegar.
Excellent point, we should have touched on that more! Very minimal weeds. The first year or two you won't have any. If you see some start to grow in the path just apply a weed killer - easy peasy!
Love your kitten ❤😂
This is really a great video. Do you folks know of anyone in AZ that does this?
We don't know any Arizona referrals for a gravel path, however we are 100% confident that if you asked a licensed Arizona landscape contractor to watch our video, they could properly install this pathway.
Yes, show us more!!
Your videos are interesting and informative! I really appreciate your ideas and would be interested in talking to you about my front yard.
Thank you for your support. Where are you located? You can always email us at customerservice@johnandbobs.com 👍🏼
Thank you so much! I know I can do this 😅positive vibes 😊
Exactly what I was looking for! 👍 Thx
Great! We're glad to be helpful. ☺🌱
Proper landscaping can be done in many ways, you can see excellent examples around the world, it must appeal to the eye, sensible, use native products, blending hardscapes, walkways, center attractions with a spice of whimsical elements, and of course plants. Done correctly looks appealing, it is ok to copy just not your neighbors.
Well said! "It's ok to copy just not your neighbors" = solid landscape advice 🙌😂
Congratulations! You are this week's winner 🥳 Please contact us at customerservice@johnandbobs.com to claim your prize 🏆😀
I am about to embark on a pathway myself and this video explanation is very helpful. Thank you! However, one problem. I just priced the Permaloc edging and I was rather shocked at how expensive it is. I am not one to cheap out on materials but I can't justify $989 for 8 feet of edging.
Glad you found it helpful! I'm sure there are similar edging options that are more within your budget :)
Thanks!
Wow! Thank you so much. We're glad you found this video helpful :)
Interesting, this is almost exactly what I am thinking to do with my front lawn. Gravel path diagonally to the concrete walk going into back yard. Then plantings in most of the front lawn in slightly raised planting areas but with a grass band along the city sidewalk. We have plenty of rain here so maybe I should rethink and build a swamp instead. Don't need low water use plants need water tolerant plants. How do you deal with stuff that starts growing in the gravel path?
All Stores Please Lower the price of all Military and Local for all Brands of Gravel Products and Accessories and Production Cost Now That's too much $$ The Whole World Now 🙏🙏🙏
This is a great idea, takes the best of both materials.. Do you use the DG without stabilizer? I put 3" of pea gravel over heavy (permeable) landscape fabric with no base layer, in the strip between sidewalk and street. It is now covered in weeds. If I add DG and compress it into the gravel, would you recommend a stabilizer? (Too many tree roots to start over and dig deeper putting base layer first.)
We usually don't use a stabilizer because of cost, but we occasionally use PolyPavement w/ good results. If you compress DG into pea gravel and intend to use the DG as your walking path, I do recommend a stabilizer like PolyPavement. In the video we compressed pea gravel into DG, making the stabilizer unnecessary.
yea using the three Amigos
Nice look! Any reason why you couldn't just install the base all the way up and then do the pea gravel directly over it instead of using DG? Or is there an alternate or less expensive material that could be used instead of the DG layer? BTW: what size pea gravel are you using?
The only reason I use the DG is the top gravel layer imbeds in it nicely and if an under layer were to shoe, I prefer the look of DG over base rock. However, you could use baserock all the way up to the top layer. That would work fine.
👍
@@JohnandBobs so after you put the layer of pea gravel on top of the DG, you can still see the DG under it? How thick of a layer of pea gravel did you use btw?
Can you recommend anyone in the Dallas / Fort Worth area that does this?
Although, I've been there, unfortunately I don't have any contacts in your area for that type of work. My apologies!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 How noisy is this when walked upon? Thank you for this excellent video 👏🏻👏🏻😊
It isn't very noisy. Less noisy than a loose gravel path for sure. Thanks for watching! 😀
Could I do this instead of a cement pad? How would it hold up?
I’d be using the pad for my smokers and grills, as well as building a cover off the roof.
Yes, it can be used instead of concrete. It holds up well if you use good materials and compact it well.
Hi. Can you tell me what size base rock you use? Then how much DG. Then how much pea gravel. I’m guessing that with compaction it all fits in the 4”. Yes???
There is flexibility. We use base rock w/ 3/4" rock, about 1" thick DG and about 1/2" pea gravel. - John
Great video - how thick is the DG when spread and how thick does that become once compacted. And same with the Pea Gravel how thick is it spread and what its new height after compacting?
If you use 2-3" base rock, then the D.G. would be about 1" thick and the compacted thickness of all the materials doesn't change much. Pea gravel is about 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Instead of base rock, you could just use 3" of decomposed granite, especially if it's just a pedestrian walk. If vehicular traffic will be on it, then the base rock is important. - John
@@JohnandBobs thanks John; going to use 2" stabilized DG for the walkway. and 1/2" PG - my soil is clay.
How well would your gravel path design hold up in a wet climate (far northwest CA)? Also, how resistant is the pathway to weed growth (a big problem in my gravel paths).
It performs very well in a wet climate and because of the thickness & compaction weeds are not a factor!
@@JohnandBobs Thanks for the response. During the wet season, the weeds in my gravel paths seemed to have very shallow roots, spreading out in the very top layer of gravel. Perhaps the layer of sand and crushed stone that makes up my "middle layer" of the mix isn't compacted well enough.
@@BF-th6rl Sometimes you can get weeds on top of the gravel with a little debris, especially over time (not usually in the first year or two). These aren't deep rooted and usually are easy to eradicate with an organic or synthetic weed killer.
@@JohnandBobs I had this same question about the wet climate and looking around online there are many sources that say DG doesn't hold up to rain very well (I'm in NJ). So are you saying the pea gravel on top basically solves that issue? I'm thinking of doing a large patio/seating area similar to Bob's home garden, I really like how that turned out
@@thomasfallon2001 Yes, the pea gravel or other small gravel creates a much more durable and permanent surface. Another possibility if you want to use only D.G. is a soil stabilizer. Check out poly pavement at their website polypavement.com. It's an effective product that we've used.
Love this method and want to try it for some pathways.
If using the 4 inch edging with 1.5 inches of road base, roughly what is the depth of the DG vs pea gravel? That would help a lot with estimating cu yards needed for my project. Thanks!
If it’s just for pedestrians we use about 1” of DG over the base and then 1/2”-3/4” of pea gravel or other 3/8” rock over the DG. Thank you for the comment! -John
@@JohnandBobs thanks for the response! Love your videos 🤩
@@lizsanchez9978 we’re glad to have you! 🌱☺️💚
Forgot to ask - is the DG you're using stabilized? And is the "pea gravel" the kind that's rounded/smoothed or is it the jagged/crushed type?
I'm not a big fan of "stabilized DG" because it is so costly. In this case we didn't use any type of stabilization for the DG. If we feel we need to stabilize it, we use a product called "Poly Pavement" and we stabilize it ourselves. Check it out at polypavement.com. Usually just water and a vibratory compacter does an excellent job of stabilizing DG.
-John
Great video! I’m so glad I found your channel! Could you please tell me how many inches depth for DG and for pebbles? That would make my DG/pebble ordering a little bit easier :-) Thanks!
Thanks for the comment, we appreciate it! We like about 2 or 2.5" thick of D.G. or D.G & Base Rock w/ about 3/8" to 1/2" of Pea Gravel.
It adds up to only 3” and the edging is 4” tall - how do you fill the rest of the edging? Thanks!
@@F91jvuDX Maybe add another inch or so of base rock into the equation? Base rock should be cheaper than DG. I would think you want to do a 2" layer of base rock, 1.5" layer of DG (if at all) and then 1/2" thick layer of pea gravel. Otherwise, sounds like you could just do 3.5" of base rock and pour & compact the gravel directly over it?
@@jplee3 Late to the thread but agree with your observations. I don't know what's the point of adding that thin middle layer of DG, sounds negligible and you can't even see the DG. Might as well just use stone dust or fines if the purpose is to fill the cracks and helps with base rock compaction.
What if some resin epoxy is added to pebbles for final stage? Looking for something that can handle a powerchair that isn't concrete. I have no landscape experience.
Yes, that can work. We have used an excellent product like that called PolyPavement. 👍
@@JohnandBobswould you mix the resin with the pea gravel or would you add a 4th layer after compacting the pea gravel into the DG?
@@marcadiadd5681 Resin (Polypavement) really only works on decomposed granite. It doesn't bind the pea gravel, so I wouldnt use it over pea gravel.
Looked like a economical way to do it, but after I checked the cost of the edging not so much. This edging runs for about $6 per foot, $12 on both sides. Thus. It’s $3 per sq ft added for a walkway which is 4’ wide. 😢
You should be able to buy the edging at much less than that. We pay about $2.50 per linear ft. Your other estimations seem fairly accurate. Even so, $3. per sqft is pretty good and compares very favorably with any other paving material; asphalt $4-$5.per sqft; concrete $5-$10.per; pavers $15 to $20. per; brick $20-25. per; etc. - John
@@JohnandBobs I looked online and that's all I got. Could you recommend a good place to look for the edging?
Great video … are you compacting the base layer with the DG or do you compact each separately? Many thanks!
Can you use clean crushed rock as the first base layer? Or does it need to be a minus base with fines to compact correctly?
Clean crushed rock as first course will work just fine :)
@@JohnandBobs thank you! Our yard started as a blank slate so these videos have been very helpful. The nursery I went to only had clean crushed rock.
Happy to help :) Construction supply places that sell ready mix concrete, gravel, brick, block, etc are more likely to have base rock, but clean crushed rock will work.
Can a homeowner use a hand compactor to tamp down the material, or is that ineffective?
Leroy,
Yes, with patience and persistence that will work!
- J&B's
@@JohnandBobs thanks, and thanks for the terrific video.
how would this path work for an electric wheelchair user? Do you have a recommended approach for an electric wheelchair user? maybe 3/8 bluestone instead of pea gravel?
Here is what the owner of the path in the video said, "it would work but might leave ruts depending on the weight of the chair and person. I avoid pushing my garden maintenance cart on it because I have to fix the ruts. It is fine to walk on and I can blow lightly to get leaves off". -John
@@JohnandBobs interesting. Thanks for inquiring. Have you had any experience with truegrid? They advertise it as ada approved. I was thinking of trying the pro lite with bluestone and possibly topping it off with some small black bean pebbles.
@@josepht1575 Sorry, I have not used truegrid.
Where are you located? I.e. how cold does it get? I am wondering how deep a base would be needed for this type of path in winters where it gets -30 C.
We are located in zone 9. We have pretty tepid winters (20-30 degrees F) and very hot summers (up to 110s F). For very cold areas, I would suggest 5-6inches.
@@JohnandBobs Great, thanks very much!
Do not use any type of weed barrier?
It can be used if preferred, but really not necessary if constructed like we did here. It would be similar to using fabric for road construction. The nature and thickness of the underlaying material takes the place of weed fabric. - John
So how much is the real question here?
If you hire a contractor, the cost will be about $4.00per sq ft with edging. If you do it yourself, you can do it for about $1.40per sq ft.
Woodglut has a lot of designs to choose from.
but this isnt DIY..
This is way too expensive and pea gravel is too smooth, resulting in slippage over time due to erosion. Never use smooth stones for a pathway. Instead, use 3/4-minus crushed rock, tamped down. Tamping causes the rocks to align themselves, resulting in a very stable, almost solid surface you can walk on and use a wheelbarrow or garden cart.
That will work also and sounds good, but a completely different look. Cost of walk/path shown in video is actually very reasonable at about $2.00 per sq ft w/o the edging. We've done about 55 of these in walkways or drives and they have proven to be very functional.
You repeat yourself to much
I review the same points to minimize confusion. It's a habit I developed when supervising employees to make sure we're all on the same page. Excuse the repetition!