Brighton beach

[JennyW]

I have an area which I had to put a surface on cheaply and so covered a porous membrane with some large gravel stones. They look fine, but to walk on it's like Brighton Beach (it's a thick layer) and to drive on very disconcerting - although noone has got completely stuck as yet.

Is there anything I can do to improve things - would adding some bags of sand help?

[danstan]

I have an area which I had to put a surface on cheaply and so covered a porous membrane with some large gravel stones. They look fine, but to walk on it's like Brighton Beach (it's a thick layer) and to drive on very disconcerting - although noone has got completely stuck as yet.

Is there anything I can do to improve things - would adding some bags of sand help?

Jenny

Sounds to me like there isn't a decent sub-base down!!

Unfortunately i don't think there is a cheap way of rectifying the problem.

With a sufficient depth of MOT type 1 you will not get so much movement under foot!!

4 inches MOTtype 1 compacted and a thinner layer of aggregate on top

Dan

[Tony McC]

Sand won't tighten-up loose gravel or beach cobbles - it just settles down to the bottom of the layer and makes it even easier for weeds to establish themselves.

Have a read of the Gravel Surfacing page for a fuller explanation of how and why this problem has come about.