How do I lay gravel so it stays put?

Gravel moves for three reasons: it is too deep, it is not contained, or it is round. Deep gravel behaves like a liquid, unedged gravel spreads, and rounded pebbles roll. Fix all three and gravel is one of the lowest-maintenance surfaces there is.

Step by step

1. Excavate and build a sub-base.Gravel laid on soil sinks into it and grows weeds. Dig out 100-150mm, lay and compact MOT Type 1, and keep the finished gravel level below any adjacent surface so it has somewhere to be contained.
2. Lay a permeable membrane.A woven geotextile between the sub-base and the gravel stops the gravel working down into the base and stops weeds coming up. Overlap joints by 300mm. Do not use polythene — water has to drain through.
3. Set a proper edge all round.Timber, metal or concrete edging set at or slightly above the gravel level. Without an edge, gravel spreads into borders and onto paths continuously.
4. Choose angular chippings, not rounded shingle.Angular pieces lock together and stay put. Rounded pea shingle rolls underfoot and under tyres, and migrates within weeks. 10-20mm angular is the practical range for paths and drives.
5. Keep the depth down.25-40mm is right. 100mm of gravel feels luxurious in the yard and is unwalkable, ruts under cars, and pushes out at every edge.
6. Use a grid system on a drive or slope.Interlocking plastic cellular panels filled with gravel prevent rutting and migration entirely, and are what makes a gravel drive viable. They are laid on the compacted sub-base under the gravel.
7. Rake and top up rather than adding depth.Redistribute gravel with a rake each spring and add a small amount to bare patches. Adding another 50mm every year is how gravel ends up too deep.
8. Deal with the crossing points.Where a path meets a lawn or a drive meets the road, gravel escapes. A hard threshold strip or a rumble grid at the entrance stops most of it.

Tips

• A tonne of gravel covers roughly 12-14 square metres at 50mm, or around 20 square metres at 30mm. Order by area and depth, not by guesswork.
• Self-binding gravel or hoggin compacts to a firm surface and stays put far better than loose chippings, and is a good choice for paths.
• Gravel next to a lawn always ends up in the mower. Keep a mowing strip or a hard edge between the two.

Common mistakes

• Laying gravel too deep — Anything over about 50mm behaves like a fluid — it ruts under wheels, is hard to walk on, and pushes out past every edge. Shallow gravel on a firm base is stable.
• Using rounded pea shingle on a drive — Round stones cannot interlock, so they roll under tyres and migrate constantly. Angular chippings key together and stay where they are put.

If it doesn't work

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