Gravel on concrete

[jso]

I've read the main advice - rigid on rigid etc, and some existing corresponence on similar lines, so I know it shouldn't be done, but we're keen to rationalise an exiisting back yard area with gravel. At the moment it's concrete paths, some of them old-style terracotta-coloured with exposed bits in it (there'll be a name for that, but I don't know what it is), the rest more modern fairly smooth white concrete, some of which was cut into the old stuff when drains were relaid many years before we came to the property. So it's all a bit messy. The rest is grass which I've already dug up...I want plant into the gravel in those bits, mediterranean style. It would be good to be able to cover the whole lot with the same gravel.
Is there a way to bond the gravel to the path areas? Would a cement screed allow an initial layer of gravel to bond to the surface, and a subsequent layer would then mesh in with the fixed stuff? Would the Ronadeck resin (or similar) do that job better, or would the gravel have to be fully coated with the stuff, and if so, would that change the colour so it wouldn't then match with the adjacent garden bits? It's for foot traffic only.

[lutonlagerlout]

resin bound or resin bonded gravel are relatively expensive applications
and the substrata needs to be sound and clean

i take it you are thinking gravel due to cost?

gravel really except in very special circumstance is a last resort
much better to rip it out and lay second hand council greys or something similar
LLL

[jso]

i take it you are thinking gravel due to cost?

Not so much cost, as aesthetics - we do want gravel instread of the grass. The grassed area was too big to cut by hand, but not very accesible for the lawnmower. And the two or three different concrete surfaces look messy, so we thought we'd cover the whole lot with the gravel, leaving us with unplanted pathways with planted gravel areas adjacent. It looks lovely in my mind's eye! It's the practicalities of the gravel on the concrete paths that concerns me.

[Dave_L]

What size area are you talking about, roughly?

[GB_Groundworks]

To go to the effort of attempting to lay a bonding screed just break it up, if it's a sound subbase then lay your gravel if not geotexttile it then stone it then gravel it. Buy a rake and something for cat shit, as you'll be raking it a lot and picking presents out of it.

It will marble ontop of the concrete



Edited By GB_Groundworks on 1341588596

[jso]

Buy a rake and something for cat shit

I'm OK there - I've got a couple of dogs

[simeonronacrete]

Subject to a lot of things - substrate condition, levels, substrate type, what you want to achieve, budget - you can achieve what you want using a combination of:

repair mortars
levelling screeds
resin bonded
or resin bound surfacing

See:

Screeds
Resin bonded
Resin bound

This is specialist work; if you would like an approved installer to visit and survey and price please contact me.

Regards

[jso]

Thanks Simeon. I've sent you a message from your linked website.

[Pablo]

If money isn't the issue then don't just gravel everything it never looks good. Get a landscaper round to go over a few options including patios paths decking etc with complementary planting it's physically impossible to acheive a med look in not so sunny Britain. You can't use resin bound because the planted areas will require different gravel which will look odd and they're too big to do like city centre plant pits the soil always sinks if it's too big and the resin gravel sags. Another option for you is artificial grass it's very good nowadays and will give keep your garden looking like it should be there. I've worked for countless clients who've gravelled large areas to cut down on the mowing and I've never seen one that looked good especially when you throw in a few token plants to break it up it just looks cheap. Med planting is rarely done on flat ground it uses contours to show off the plants and it's dressed with grit not gravel.

[simeonronacrete]

"You can't use resin bound because the planted areas will require different gravel..."

You definitively can use resin bound.

You definitively can use different aggregates in planted and other areas.

We also offer RonaDeck Tree Pit for planted areas. No obligation to use, but another option for consideration.

[Pablo]

Not on a householders budget you can't only public authorities commercial or wealthy homeowners can afford treepits and all the accessories that come with them. His soil areas are likely larger than the pits and you can't lay the resin over soil that is outside the pit meaning a lot of make up work for a decent base. The last pits I installed were relatively basic but still cost £680 +vat each. I could build a lovely virtually maintenance free garden for the same budget as you're talking about.

[jso]

If money isn't the issue then don't just gravel everything it never looks good. Get a landscaper round to go over a few options including patios paths decking etc with complementary planting it's physically impossible to acheive a med look in not so sunny Britain. You can't use resin bound because the planted areas will require different gravel which will look odd and they're too big to do like city centre plant pits the soil always sinks if it's too big and the resin gravel sags. Another option for you is artificial grass it's very good nowadays and will give keep your garden looking like it should be there. I've worked for countless clients who've gravelled large areas to cut down on the mowing and I've never seen one that looked good especially when you throw in a few token plants to break it up it just looks cheap. Med planting is rarely done on flat ground it uses contours to show off the plants and it's dressed with grit not gravel.

Thanks very much for the input, Pablo. I've considered what you say, but think it'll be OK

If money isn't the issue then don't just gravel everything it never looks good. Get a landscaper round to go over a few options including patios paths decking etc with complementary planting

Actually there'll be some rocks, lavender, rosemary etc, and I'm thinking of sandstone flags as a path through the the gravelled areas on the main route from back door to green house and then away to a gate that leads to another garden area. So there'll be more than one surface texture. It's not an extensive area: I'm not planning acres of gravel...

t's physically impossible to acheive a med look in not so sunny Britain.

Well, I've already got one small area outside the greenhouse already so planted up, and I think it's OK. For sure, it would be nice if the sun shone more often, but it gets full sun all day when it does shine and is dry enough and sufficiently well-drained for lavenders, rosemary and thyme to grow well. I'm basically wanting to extend this area into small patches of currently turf/earth, and to cover up the patchy (three or four different ages/colours/textures of concrete) paths/yard areas to blend in.

You can't use resin bound because the planted areas will require different gravel

Is there a technical reason why can't I use the same gravel for both jobs? Or were you thking more that, as you say later, a med. garden looks better with grit rather than gravel?

Med planting is rarely done on flat ground it uses contours to show off the plants and it's dressed with grit not gravel.

Now this issueis an issue, as I was thinking of making a bit of mound in one area, and I suppose grit won't move as much?

I guess much of the aesthetics of this depends on my choice of gravel?

[jso]

sorry posted twice so have deleted.