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→ Laying Landscape Fabric: Introduction & Uses
→ How to Preparethe Area Before Laying Fabric
→ Step-By-Step Process for Laying Landscape Fabric
→ Adding Gravel or Stone Over the Fabric
→ Popular Stone Products Used with Landscape Fabric
→ How Much Stone Do I Need for Proper Coverage? Formulas & Examples
→ Common Mistakes to Avoid When Installing Landscape Fabric
→ Final Thoughts on Laying Landscape Fabric for Driveways and Paths
Landscape fabric is a very helpful tool in your landscape arsenal. It’s made of a permeable material that’s meant to act as a protective barrier over your soil, like our screened fill. This barrier can provide a number of benefits for the land.
The primary reason most people use landscape fabric is for weed prevention. When you lay the fabric over soil it prevents sunlight from reaching weed seeds within it, stopping them from growing in the first place. This can help keep your lawn, or flowerbed blemish free in the long term. Plus, certain fabrics break down organically over time, so there’s no need for a complex cleanup or replacement process, simply put a new layer down when the old one is gone.
Weed prevention is great, but landscape fabric can also help maintain the moisture in your soil. Since the barrier helps prevent sunlight from hitting the soil, the water within it will evaporate at a much slower rate. This not only helps maintain your soil’s moisture, but also prevents it from eroding, and helps it maintain a stable temperature.
Landscape fabric can also help maintain your gravel or mulch layer. With a layer of fabric down, your gravel, or mulch is a lot less likely to sink into the soil. This means these layers will stay neat for longer.
Before laying down any landscape fabric you’ll need to clear, level, and amend the soil that it’s going over. First, you’re going to remove any grass, weeds, roots, and debris, ensuring that you remove invasive species completely, otherwise you risk having them grow through the fabric. Then, you should level and smooth the soil, then amend it by adding organic material.
Now we can get into the process of actually laying the fabric on the prepared soil.
First, you need to roll out the fabric by starting at one edge of the area and rolling across to the other side. Next, you’ll need to trim it down to fit your area’s exact measurements.
To ensure that no weeds grow through the fabric, you can overlap the seams. If you do, you should overlap them by 6-12 inches, as in place the next sheet so that it extends over the edge of the previous one.
Once you’re satisfied with your fabric placement, secure the fabric with staples or pins along the edges and seams. Be sure to place them about every 1-3 feet.
Then, you should take a knife or scissors and cut a small hole where each of your plants will go.
Once you’re all done, give it a once-over to make sure there are no wrinkles. Feel free to tuck edges under stones, or other heavy objects to help hold them down.
Once your landscape fabric is laid down and secured, you can add gravel or stone over it to further secure it and add a bit of flair. Once you choose your material, don’t choose any material that’s too fine or too large, shovel it on top of the fabric and spread it around evenly. You’re going to want to apply a layer that’s about 2-3 inches deep, so that it’s neither too heavy, nor too light. Put enough material down so that it extends slightly beyond the edges so that it can help hold the sheet down. You can lightly compact the area if needed to make it more walkable.
There are a few popular stone products that people often pair with landscape fabric.
3/4” crushed stone is great for creating stable, long-lasting surfaces that are fit even for vehicles. This makes it a great choice for driveways and walkways alike.
Road base mix can be a great underlayer for your landscape fabric. It can help create a stable foundation for building your driveway, or a path on your property.
RCA can be used both as a decorative top layer above your landscape fabric, or as a base layer underneath it, depending on what you want to use it for. It can be both a secure base, and a stylish topping if you need it to be.
Figuring out how much stone you need for proper coverage can seem difficult, but if you know the formula for doing so it isn’t too hard. To calculate how much of a material you’ll need, you’ll need to calculate the cubic yards of your area by using the following formula: cubic yards = length x width x height. Once you have your number, you can easily shop for the materials you’ll need. You can also check out our project calculator to skip the hassle.
There are a few mistakes to avoid when installing your landscape fabric. The biggest issue would be skipping out on weed removal before you begin the process. Make sure you’re very thorough when removing the weeds as they can easily ruin even the best laid landscape fabric. Not overlapping may also be a mistake, as weeds are more likely to break through a layer that has no overlapping. Not properly securing your edges can also be a major issue since the fabric can shift around, leaving room for weed growth.
Laying landscape fabric is a great way to prevent any weeds from growing, which will help maintain the appearance of your driveway or path. If you do everything at a steady pace and follow the guidelines above, then you should have your landscape fabric down in no time. If you want extra assistance, feel free to contact Landscape Barn and we can see how we can help.
Take the guesswork out of your next project! Use our Project Calculator to quickly estimate the materials you need for your landscaping plans. Get started here with our Project Calculator.
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