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 |  | Do-It-Yourself: $100-$1,000 |  | Installed: $300-$2,000 |
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Compared to the cost of bricks, pavers or flagstone, gravel can be a relatively low-cost and simple way to add walkways to a residential yard. A gravel path looks relatively rustic, and works best for light to moderate foot traffic rather than heavy usage; gravel is not a good choice on a steep slope (unless the pathway is terraced to hold the gravel in place) or if snow has to shoveled off it in winter
Typical costs: | - Do-it-yourself materials to install a gravel path can cost $100-$1,000 or more depending on the gravel chosen (for example, pea gravel is much less expensive than crushed granite); the length, width and depth of the path; and whether edging is done with plastic, metal, wood, natural stone, brick, concrete or pavers.
- Hiring a handyman, gardener or landscape designer to install a gravel walkway can cost $300-$2,000 or more, depending on materials, local rates and the complexity of the layout.
What should be included: | - Installing a gravel path typically includes laying out the path's shape; cutting out any sod or other landscaping; digging a flat, shallow trench (typically about 4"-6" deep), and then compacting the soil; adding and compacting a base layer of gravel or sand (about 2"-2.5" deep); laying down geotextile/landscaping fabric (to stop weeds from growing through); installing the border or edging; and filling the path with surface gravel (typically better quality and more decorative than the base gravel); and raking to smooth out the top gravel, making sure none of the landscape fabric shows through. Northwest Garden News provides an overview of the installation process[1] .
- This Old House explains how to lay a gravel path[2] , estimating that the project takes 2-4 hours; is of easy to moderate difficulty; and costs about $300-$400 for a 100'-long and 2.5'-3'-wide path. The Family Handyman magazine describes possible border or edging materials[3] .
Shopping for a gravel path: | - Gravel, edging, landscape cloth and other supplies are available from home improvement centers like Home Depot[4] or Lowe's[5] ; from landscape and material supply companies; from sand and gravel dealers; and direct from the gravel plant/pit.
- To estimate the cubic yards required for a specific project, multiply length by width by depth and then divide by 27. For example, to lay a 3" bed of gravel on a path 3' wide and 100' long, convert the 3" to 0.25'; multiply 0.25 x 3 x 100 and divide by 27, which equals 2.78 cubic yards. Many gravel companies provide an online calculator to estimate the amounts needed. For example, Summit Gravel in Blasdell, NY has a simple calculator[6] for estimating amounts needed to cover rectangular, triangular or round areas.
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External Resources: | - www.northwestgardennews.com/id138.html
- www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20048448,00.html
- www.familyhandyman.com/garden-structures/garden-paths/affordable-garden-path-ideas/view...
- www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials/h_d1/N-5yc1vZaqns/Ntk-All/Ntt-gravel/h_d2/Navigati...
- www.lowes.com/Search=gravel?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&...
- www.summitgravel.com/calculator.html
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