gravel-tips

Great Home Gravel Tips for Maintaining Your Driveway or Yard

You're considering adding gravel to your home, either in your driveway or yard. You love the way gravel looks, but even more so, you love the cost.

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If you're planning on covering a long driveway or section of your yard, gravel is the way to go.

Whether you're picking a higher-end type of gravel or not, there are a number of things you need to know for maintaining your gravel driveway.

Read on to learn a few great home gravel tips to keep your driveway in top condition.

Make Sure Your Driveway Is Graded Properly

Installing a gravel driveway is the easy part of having a gravel driveway. Making sure it stays level is another kind of maintenance and with gravel driveway prices changing constantly, you don't want to be making simple mistakes that could cost you more money in the long run! Grading means leveling out and separating the level of your gravel drive or walkway evenly over the desired area.

You can do this by pushing all of the gravel into one spot in the center and slowly spread it out to the edges of the target area until its evenly distributed. You can do this with a number of yard tools, but a rake works best.

Check for Potholes or Ruts

If you use your driveway frequently, potholes and ruts will naturally form as every time you back a vehicle out or pull it into a spot, gravel will be dispersed from that location.

Keeping an eye out for these problem spots will help prevent drainage issues with your gravel. If any spots are significant, fill them with extra gravel.

Watch for Drainage Issues

In adding gravel to your home, how long your driveway extends affects the number of washouts and erosion you'll have to look out for.

Even when regularly checking for potholes or ruts, your driveway will erode naturally. Whenever your gravel begins to wash away, make sure to replace what's been lost before the entire drive wears away.

You can build your driveway higher up to avoid flowing water washing it out. You can also build a ditch that pulls water away from your gravel drive.

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Replace Displaced Gravel

Whether your gravel is displaced from lack of maintenance or general wear and tear, you'll need to replace what's been lost. If you use any industrial equipment to maintain the grade of your gravel drive, this can displace a lot of your drive, resulting in more work for you at other points of the year.

Typically, people will pick pea gravel for its smooth finish, which is easy underfoot. You can customize your color of certain gravels, too, usually for a price.

Use the Right Tools

Some gravel drive maintenance requires industrial equipment, like a snowplow on a very long stretch in the wintertime. Come springtime, a rake will work best to redistribute what the plow displaced.

Follow These Home Gravel Tips for Paths That Last

Now that you have some great home gravel tips, adding gravel to your home should be simpler than before. Follow the instructions above to make and maintain your driveway and other paths.

Make sure to check out the rest of our content for more helpful information.

About the Author Laura Bennett

Hello, I’m Laura Bennett. I love nature especially when it comes to flowers and different kinds of plants. I started a very small garden behind my house and I named it Humid Garden. So, I created this blog to provide aspiring and inspiring thoughts about gardening for gardeners and anyone who has the intention of keeping a garden.

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