I finally asked my neighbor about his gravel path after seeing it hold up for 3 years

He lives two doors down in our Phoenix suburb, and his whole backyard is rock and cactus. I asked him last week what he used under the gravel to keep weeds out. He said, 'I just used the cheap landscape fabric from the big box store, but I put down a full 4-inch layer of crusher fines first and compacted it.' He explained that the fines make a solid base so the fabric doesn't tear, and the gravel on top stays level. His path looks as good as the day he put it in, with almost no weeds. Has anyone else had luck with crusher fines as a base layer, or did you use something different?

3 comments

3 Comments

patb121mo agoMost Upvoted

That crusher fines tip is a game changer for keeping weeds out.

hugo_bennett27d ago

Have you tried putting a layer of road base fabric under the fines? I did similar in my yard in Tucson with 3 inches of decomposed granite on top of cheap fabric. The fines locked it all together and I barely have any weeds after two years. @patb12 is right that the right base makes all the difference for keeping things solid. A tip I picked up is to wet and tamp the fines before laying the fabric so it doesn't shift around.

christopher_sullivan1mo ago

Crusher fines are key, but don't skip the heavy duty fabric for real weed control.