How to Pack Pea Gravel Perfect & Quickly

If you want to decorate your backyard or walkways with pebble, you must know how to pack pea gravel. Making a gravel patio is not as much tough to do that brings gorgeous looking. It is a simple process, and you can do it in a day at a low cost.

Pea gravel is a combination of mini rocks collects from the river. Another name is ”pea shingle”, ”pea stone”, ”pea pebble”, etc. The important feature of these rocks is having no chipped and dentiform. The stream makes the stone so smooth.

It consists of small stones like large pea, and these are round in shape. Because of walk-friendly features, people spread it out on the walkways, patio, landscaping area, playground, or dog runs. There are different shades of grey color pea gravel available.

If you want to know the perfect procedure of installation of pea gravel over your spot, read the article carefully. We are here to help you out with the questions related to it.

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How to Pack Pea Gravel

While you become settle to use pea gravel for your area, you should have an overall idea about the installation process. Here we share related pieces of knowledge on how to pack pea gravel step by step.

Necessary Elements

There are several processes to follow to make a pea gravel area. The procedure depends on your choice. So, the ingredients also depend on that. First of all, gather all the equipment’s you may need-

Measuring tape
Shovel
Wood/ plastic edging/ paver (depends on choice)
Rebar stakes
Sod- cutter
Wheelbarrow
Chop-saw (If the wood is use)
Drill machine and half-inch drill bit
Landscaper fabric (depends on choice)
Landscape staples (for landscape cloth)
Hammer
Tamper
Hose
Decorative gravel
Rake
Item four/ crushed stone (depends on choice)

Now follow the Steps.

Step-1: Choose a place and make a boundary

First of all, select the spot you imagine to decorate. Make sure that the area is not steep or water accumulating. Measure it and make a boundary. For border demarcation, you may want choice wood, plastic edging, or pavers. Install the borderline on your choice.

Step-2: Clean the area

Remove the grasses, rocks, and all unnecessary things from the ground. Use shovel, sod cutter for the work. Sod cutter helps you to remove weeds from roots.

Step-3: Dig the area

The steps mentioned above are always the same for any kind of gravel installation process. Different creates from the third step. For spreading pebble, a two-inch height is acceptable. It will be difficult to walk if the gravel depth is more or less than two inches.

Now the fact is, if you want to spread only gravel, then dig the area for two inches deep. But if you’re going to add ”item four” or ”crushed stone”, dig the place for four and a half inches deep.

Use a wheelbarrow to carry the soil and debris. Level the ground with tamper after digging. Use water through hose if necessary.

Step-4:

Layer:1

Spread ”item four” or ”crushed stone” for two inches depth. One of these elements will help your pebble in a stable and robust position.

After spreading equally on the whole place, now level it and tighten it with a tamper. Sprinkle water through hose all around to make it easy to leveling process.

Step-5:

Layer:2

Now, wrap the landscaping fabric over the ”item four” or ”crushed stone” layer. Stuck it through staples with the ground. Make sure that the fabric covers every inch of the purpose area.

The landscaping fabric is also known as a weed barrier. It interrupts growing the new grass on the place and helps to remain clean for a long time. You will have no tension about cutting lawns again and again into the gravel area.

Step-6:

Layer:3

After completing two layers correctly, now it is time to complete the final coat. Spread gravel equally all over the ground with a rake. To ensure flat ground making, you can use a metal stick.

You can use plastic edging to design around or into space. You also choose one or multi-color pebble to decorate with your taste.

Note

Some people like to lay down the landscaping fabric as the first layer. It is up to the nature of the land and choice of the decorator.
The method of calculating how much stone need is- multiply the depth of pea gravel by the width and length of the area layout. On average, each ton of gravel covers 120 sq. Ft. area with 2″ deep.
Gravel depth should be 4″ for making a driveway. Choose the largest size of pea gravel for it.
Per ton, pea gravel costs 40-45 $. It may add an extra 20-50 $ of amount for a different color. If you purchase more than ten-ton, it will low your costs for 10-20 $ per ton.
Usually, pea gravel size is about 3/8 inches diameter.

Tips

Use crushed stones for the high stability of your gravel yard.
To avoid a moving gravel ground, carefully and equally sprinkle resin all over the place after install pebble.
If you want your pebble spot looks shiny, use one of these onto the stones- ”silicone”, ”polyurethane exterior coating”, ”waterproof sealant”, ”mister”.
If electrical or water lines go into the pea gravel spot, be careful during built stakes.

Conclusion

Since pea gravel is not as costly as it’s gorgeous looking, people love to install it for the fulfillment of their hobby. Also, it is not a hard-working or lengthy procedure. Besides, it can get relief from the muddy ground or prevents undesirable weeds from the yard or walkways.

If you have the ideas on how to pack pea gravel all over, you can choose the process with no hesitation. You can complete it with satisfaction too. Decorate your pebble place with fancy table-chairs, flowers, etc.