I would like to walk barefoot on my patio
October 21, 2017 8:51 AM Subscribe
Our small patio is mostly covered in a thick layer of broken Cotswold stone. Emphasis on 'broken' as opposed to 'tumbled'. The stones are about 2cm diameter. It's pretty attractive but not at all pleasant to walk on with bare feet. I would like to walk on it with bare feet. What's the cheapest way to accomplish this without uglying up the whole thing?
I'd consider decking , but I'd prefer something that preserved the 'natural stone' look. I tried putting out some concrete paving stones I got from poundland, but somewhat predictably they snapped immediately. I've also looked into getting finer/rounder gravel to kind of fill in the gaps, but it looks semi-expensive and I'm not entirely convinced that it will work. I don't have anywhere near the money required to re-gravel the entire thing.
Bonus points if this is also comfortable to kneel on while gardening.
I'd consider decking , but I'd prefer something that preserved the 'natural stone' look. I tried putting out some concrete paving stones I got from poundland, but somewhat predictably they snapped immediately. I've also looked into getting finer/rounder gravel to kind of fill in the gaps, but it looks semi-expensive and I'm not entirely convinced that it will work. I don't have anywhere near the money required to re-gravel the entire thing.
Bonus points if this is also comfortable to kneel on while gardening.
I had a similar setup, and I just made a path with pavers. You can't just lay them on top of the stone, though.
I shoveled the rocks to the side, made a border with "railroad tie" type logs I already had, and then laid down a layer of mulch, followed by a layer of sand until the surface was pretty even, then set the pavers on top of that and filled them in with more sand. It's a fairly narrow path, so the materials weren't too crazy expensive.
No bonus points for this solution.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:26 AM on October 21, 2017
I shoveled the rocks to the side, made a border with "railroad tie" type logs I already had, and then laid down a layer of mulch, followed by a layer of sand until the surface was pretty even, then set the pavers on top of that and filled them in with more sand. It's a fairly narrow path, so the materials weren't too crazy expensive.
No bonus points for this solution.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:26 AM on October 21, 2017
I don't have anywhere near the money required to re-gravel the entire thing.
It's hard to think of a cheaper option than bulk stone -- around here, rounded river rock is around $30 or so per ton, for example. Are your local prices significantly higher?
Paving stones (stone or concrete) are nicer to walk on, but installation requires some digging and leveling and usually laying down a base of sand or gravel. The last time I needed to buy some they were way cheaper directly from a concrete supplier than they were at Home Depot.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:29 AM on October 21, 2017
It's hard to think of a cheaper option than bulk stone -- around here, rounded river rock is around $30 or so per ton, for example. Are your local prices significantly higher?
Paving stones (stone or concrete) are nicer to walk on, but installation requires some digging and leveling and usually laying down a base of sand or gravel. The last time I needed to buy some they were way cheaper directly from a concrete supplier than they were at Home Depot.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:29 AM on October 21, 2017
My cheap fix for an area by the front porch that is frequently waterlogged after a storm:
A flat area (does not have to be the area of final use; any area with dirt or sand will do).
A wheelbarrow and water, a rake (for mixing) and a shovel (for shoveling), something like a concrete trowel (for smoothing the top).
A bag of concrete, a patterned concrete mold, and some concrete colorant.
A five-gallon bucket and a garden trowel will also do for mixing concrete.
I mix a little concrete, rather dry, and do one of the two molds I have at a time. I like a mix of a strong color with the first batch, then adding plain-colored concrete into the second batch. A natural concrete color makes a third batch for later, then I mix the concrete pavers together on the final site. I add sand as a grout between them, and plant some creeping Charlie or vinca major or vinca minor in the spring. Leave an inch or so between the pavers for planting.
If you can shovel the existing stone to one side and level up with some sand for your walkway bed, you can have a smoother path in contrast.
posted by TrishaU at 12:20 PM on October 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
A flat area (does not have to be the area of final use; any area with dirt or sand will do).
A wheelbarrow and water, a rake (for mixing) and a shovel (for shoveling), something like a concrete trowel (for smoothing the top).
A bag of concrete, a patterned concrete mold, and some concrete colorant.
A five-gallon bucket and a garden trowel will also do for mixing concrete.
I mix a little concrete, rather dry, and do one of the two molds I have at a time. I like a mix of a strong color with the first batch, then adding plain-colored concrete into the second batch. A natural concrete color makes a third batch for later, then I mix the concrete pavers together on the final site. I add sand as a grout between them, and plant some creeping Charlie or vinca major or vinca minor in the spring. Leave an inch or so between the pavers for planting.
If you can shovel the existing stone to one side and level up with some sand for your walkway bed, you can have a smoother path in contrast.
posted by TrishaU at 12:20 PM on October 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
You need to make a flat surface for the paving stones, not just set them on broken rocks.
I've had success just flattening the ground under individual stepping stones, without having to bother with all of this digging and beds of sand and such. I've done this at two different houses with around 30 stones and only had one break years later. Whether this can be successful might hinge on your soil and climate.
posted by yohko at 12:53 PM on October 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've had success just flattening the ground under individual stepping stones, without having to bother with all of this digging and beds of sand and such. I've done this at two different houses with around 30 stones and only had one break years later. Whether this can be successful might hinge on your soil and climate.
posted by yohko at 12:53 PM on October 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
rented plate compactor + sand, topped with pavers or thin layer of rounder gravel?
posted by redorangeyellow at 1:20 PM on October 21, 2017
posted by redorangeyellow at 1:20 PM on October 21, 2017
An inexpensive and easy thing to try is an outdoor patio rug. A decent rug will be thick enough to cushion the feet from the rock, and very weather resistant.
I've used this rug for the past several years. It has held up very well to the weather. This isn't one of those very cheap slick plastic woven rugs, it doesn't have that slippery feel. Plus, it looks nice. Overstock has a similar one by Martha Stewart.
posted by Lunaloon at 1:42 PM on October 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
I've used this rug for the past several years. It has held up very well to the weather. This isn't one of those very cheap slick plastic woven rugs, it doesn't have that slippery feel. Plus, it looks nice. Overstock has a similar one by Martha Stewart.
posted by Lunaloon at 1:42 PM on October 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
There are many great solutions (here's one: pavers are super cheap, throw in a bit more cash and get permeable pavers with elfin thyme or another ground cover, gorgeous and perfect for bare feet...). How much money can you spend? Nobody can accurately answer your question without a $/£/€ amount.
Rounded, kind-to-your-feet pea gravel is, like all other gravel, cheap. Is your budget really less than the $19.99 u-haul truck rental and the less than $100 for a shit ton of gravel?
posted by halogen at 5:35 PM on October 21, 2017
Rounded, kind-to-your-feet pea gravel is, like all other gravel, cheap. Is your budget really less than the $19.99 u-haul truck rental and the less than $100 for a shit ton of gravel?
posted by halogen at 5:35 PM on October 21, 2017
What was I thinking? Probably about leaf removal...
"... A wheelbarrow and water, a rake (for mixing)...." A hoe is the tool of choice in mixing concrete or mortar (no stones added) and water in a wheelbarrow.
Some like to get fancy with pressing leaves or other objects into the wet concrete. I would keep some texture, especially if the surface can get slick in wet or wintery weather.
The sides of the walkway can be higher than the rock patio, both for drainage and to keep the rocks from migrating onto the path.
posted by TrishaU at 9:20 PM on October 21, 2017
"... A wheelbarrow and water, a rake (for mixing)...." A hoe is the tool of choice in mixing concrete or mortar (no stones added) and water in a wheelbarrow.
Some like to get fancy with pressing leaves or other objects into the wet concrete. I would keep some texture, especially if the surface can get slick in wet or wintery weather.
The sides of the walkway can be higher than the rock patio, both for drainage and to keep the rocks from migrating onto the path.
posted by TrishaU at 9:20 PM on October 21, 2017
Yeah, I agree that concrete pavers will do fine and not snap, you just need to put them on a fully supported surface, not just on top of the gravel.
Where I live, pea gravel is the cheapest type of gravel, but anything rounded and/or finer than what you have now will filter to the bottom and leave poky bits on top. You would need to remove the sharp gravel entirely. Other options: dump a bunch of sandy loam on it and plant groundcover, dump a bunch of bark mulch and pretend the gravel is not there.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:53 AM on October 24, 2017
Where I live, pea gravel is the cheapest type of gravel, but anything rounded and/or finer than what you have now will filter to the bottom and leave poky bits on top. You would need to remove the sharp gravel entirely. Other options: dump a bunch of sandy loam on it and plant groundcover, dump a bunch of bark mulch and pretend the gravel is not there.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:53 AM on October 24, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 8:57 AM on October 21, 2017