What happens when you put gravel on top of soil?

May 18, 2019 10:27 AM

I want to put some gravel on the exposed soil around my basement windows to prevent mud splatter. But what happens to the gravel over time? Does it settle into the soil? Should I remove some of the soil first before putting down the gravel? (That was my first thought but then wouldn't that mean that water would flow towards the foundation?)
posted by storybored to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Around here in the desert we put down fabric/plastic weed barrier on top of the soil, then the rock or gravel over that. Not sure if that would work as well in an area where the soil isn't mostly ckay, though.
posted by BenevolentActor at 10:35 AM on May 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

A couple of things will happen.

1) The stones will settle, a barrier of some kind will help this - but make sure the barrier lets the water through if you are worried about mud.

2) Dirt, etc will settle on top of the stones. Even with a barrier after a year or so you will start to see weeds grow. Not coming up from the bottom but seeds, dust, dirt will be carried in the air. If it's a muddy area to start this will also carry dirt on top of the stones.

If your problem is mud, it's better to think about how you remove the water. As you suggest this could be proper grading (so the water runs away from the windows naturally) or directing the water by other means away from the area. So a shallow trench filled with stone and a corrugated pipe to move the water away from the location might be the simplest fix...
posted by NoDef at 10:52 AM on May 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

It will bury itself over time. Many years ago I laid several hundred pounds of white stones in a corner of our yard as a "patio" without anything underneath. It was fine for a few years, but eventually only a few of the rocks could be seen.

You could put the gravel down with the understanding that it will need to be periodically replenished.
posted by davcoo at 10:57 AM on May 18, 2019

NoDef's answer matches my experience. I have a driveway that's about an inch of gravel over a permeable weed barrier. Dirt gradually accumulates in amongst the gravel, and weeds grow in that. It's easy enough to pull them up as they emerge, as they don't root properly. Gravel directly on top of soil will quickly become gravelly soil.
posted by pipeski at 11:07 AM on May 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

You could also use larger pavers (with perhaps some gravel in between)
posted by raccoon409 at 11:47 AM on May 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Hm. This is a tricky one. So, you always want to make sure that your ground is sloping away from your foundation. So, if you remove material, make sure whatever you replace it with has a slope away. If I wanted a bed of gravel or stones, I’d remove some material (make sure the base earth slopes away), put down a fabric weed barrier, a layer of sand packed down, then gravel, stones or pavers, packed down. Keep in mind that dirt which settles on top of the gravel or stones may still splash up in a rain shower.

You could also look at having a small window well installed with gravel at the base.
posted by amanda at 11:57 AM on May 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I did this in places -- and years later the area is back to soil. And digging through rocky soil is difficult.
Another problem is that inevitably some of the rocks will migrate to the grass and can be caught up and thrown during mowing.

I would go with some type of pavers, maybe even getting a paver mold and a sack of concrete and some colorant. Do the concrete work on a flat dirt surface away from the windows to avoid spatter on your building and windows. Then dig out and level the site, make sure that there is sufficient slope away from the foundation, tranfer the pavers to the desired location, and plant some vinca major or creeping charlie in the spaces between them to discourage weeds.
I've done pavers in different colors and created different patterns and edges with the concrete stones.
posted by TrishaU at 6:25 PM on May 18, 2019

I redid a gravel area under some windows a few years ago. I did dig up the stone put in by the builder and washed them. Then I put down landscape cloth and put the stone back. I added a layer of marble chips on top. A border of half-buried bricks stops the stone from migrating out of the designated area. So far, it's all holding up well.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:08 AM on May 19, 2019

Another point of reference... I just spread a couple bags of bark/compost by our basement windows for the *exact* same reason about a month ago. Our gutters above do a good job, so not worried about basement leaks, just the little splashes of dust on the windows... So far, so good.

I opted for a natural material that would absorb the rain. I thought that gravel there might prove to be a future headache if I do decide to plant later.
posted by jimmereeno at 11:13 AM on May 19, 2019 [1 favorite]