The Brew Cabin

Hello paving experts!
I have a large back yard with lots of caved in concrete, very ugly stuff and I'd like to cover it. I reckoned gravelling would be the cheapest option (budget is the watchword here) but the cheapest quote I've had is £380. Is that reasonable? Would it be cheaper to do it myself? Also are there any key things to watch out for when getting quotes, anything that might signal 'rip off'...not that I'm at all suspicious you understand.

Hi Laura,
Could you give us some dimensions of the area to be gravelled and the type of gravel you have been quoted for.
Yes DIY would be cheaper, all you'ld need is a barrow or two and some willing helpers. James.

DIY is allways cheaper and gravel could not be easier, as James says the price depends on the gravel and the area, just beware that some gravels over concrete are quite dangerous as they can roll under foot. Alan

The only thing I'd add is that laying gravel over the top of a concrete surface, or any other hard surface, is never a good idea. See -Gravel FAQ for a fuller explanation.

Hi all,
thanks for all the advice. The yard is (very) roughly 10m by 5m and has an extra section with is about 4m by 4m. It's a large area, so if I DIY'd it it's be handy to know what kind of quantities of gravel I'm looking at. Is there any cheap way to stop the problem of rolling and slippage that some of you've mentioned in your replies?

Oh, and in answer to your question about type of gravel James, 20mm was the idea I think, from somewhere fairly local so it's cheaper transport-wise.

Laura,

As pervious posts outline, there can be problems with movement and scating around with gravel over hard surface.
If you do proceed - it is the cheapest way to tidy up an area. We would use 10mm gravel, as 20mm is to big for this.
Roughly for the area stated to achieve an idea depth of 25 - 30mm you would be looking at about 2.5 tonne. Does vary a bit with gravel type.

Worth getting yourself a decent shovel and barrow to make it easier, cost together about £ 35. Amazing how often we see people tryng to scoop up gravels etc with a spade.