Gravel provides a regal look for less cost than any other paver materials. It is low maintenance, wonderfully durable and even gravel ground cover keeps pest from finding their ways into your landscaping.
Gravel has varieties to match the look and feel of almost any landscape, which makes it the premier choice of your DIY homeowner and contractors alike.
Contact Irwin Stone to discuss the countless ways they have witnessed gravel incorporated into a property to get the most fresh trends and ideas.
Five Reasons For Wanting a Gravel Walkway
When it comes to why you would want a gravel walkway, one thing immediately jumps out. If you close your eyes, the sound of gravel crunching beneath your feet as you walk over it has the ability to make you believe, however briefly, that you have managed to put the hustle and bustle of modern city living far behind you. If that reason doesn’t top your list of why you want a gravel walkway, then one of these probably will.
Expense:
Generally speaking–though not as a strict rule carved into stone–it will cost you less to install a gravel walkway than it would cost to create a walkway of the same dimensions using other paving material. Of course, saving money isn’t everything, but when you combine all these other reasons, the less dramatic impact on your bank account may loom larger. Our access to high quality gravel that is locally mined lowers the cost even more over having to incur high shipping costs for gravel mined from distant locations.
Variety:
Variety is not just the spice of life; it’s the spice of gravel. Your options are greatly expanded by choosing to go with a gravel walkway. At your disposal are rocks that differ from each other in size, shape and color. This variety of material affords you multiple opportunities for experimenting with how your gravel walkway will both look and feel.
Maintenance:
You may have been scared off from the idea of a gravel walkway by talk of how much maintenance is required to keep it in good condition. Depending on the amount of traffic that your gravel walkway will see, that “high maintenance” may require raking just a few times a year and maybe about half as much weeding. You can reduce that low level maintenance even further by making sure that the rocks are fully contained by quality edging during the installation process.
Suitable for All Levels of Formality:
A gravel walkway is an appropriate choice whether you are planning a very formal design created by a professional or something that looks like it was thrown together on a whim. Highly formal walkways ideally require more discriminate consideration of how colors of individual gravel varieties can experience a change in mood under different lighting conditions. An informal gravel walkway will be less concerned with such subtleties. One thing to keep in mind is that the most formal as well as the most informal gravel walkways depend on appropriate edging to prevent dispersal of the stones to the point where it is no longer possible to tell whether the intent was formal or not.
Edging:
One particular reason for wanting a gravel walkway lies not in the gravel so much as the edging. When it comes to the edging choices for making a gravel walkway look good and perform efficiently, you almost can’t go wrong. You could use cobblestones to create a gravel walkway that is highly traditional and speaks to the past. And yet, it is also absolutely possible to lend your gravel walkway a more industrial aura by using some type of steel as your edging material. Wood, tile, brick, concrete and rubber are perfectly good choices for edging a gravel walkway and all capable of giving the exact same stretch of land a different vibe.
Sand and Gravel Supplier: Benefits of Using Gravel for Your Patio
While some homeowners may prefer the look of grass in their backyard, this comes with a price in constant water usage and various cons. However, a natural ground cover can still possess the same negatives, but there are artificial ground covers that can be very beneficial to use.
If you want to reduce maintenance and problems in your yard, you cannot go wrong with using a sand and gravel supplier to get your yard equipped with a gravel ground cover.
Greater Durability:
It is hard to beat the durability that gravel can provide, especially over grass or wood chips. For instance, wood chips generally require replacement every few years to stay fresh, but it also runs the risk of getting consumed by wood-eating pests. As for grass, there are many factors that determine whether it thrives throughout the year. Gravel is a great choice because it is resilient to these potential dangers.
Pest Prevention:
If you are worried about attracting pests to your yard or property, gravel should be a no-brainer. Pests can cause trouble for a garden or structure of your home, which makes prevention the greatest option. Instead of filling your yard with chemicals, you can just get gravel ground cover to keep pests away.
No Decomposing:
Wood chips only last so long, and grass or clover needs to be maintained, which you may not be interested in doing to keep your yard looking nice. While there are other options besides gravel that does not decompose, gravel is worthwhile because of the many benefits it provides on top of not decomposing.
Contact us with any questions you may have about gravel and how you can use it for your ground cover, or to learn more about it and how you can even use it for the patio of your home.
Three Advantages of a Gravel Driveway
Few things have as distinctive a sound as the rolling crunch provided by a car pulling into its home base in a gravel driveway. Those of us who haven’t experienced the sound first-hand may not realize how comforting and warm it actually feels. Growing up with a gravel driveway at home, it is a sound I will forever remember. Somehow I will always think of it fondly as a sound I recognize as coming home.
Often overlooked as a premium option, gravel driveways do have some distinct advantages to them. What follows is a list of three reasons to choose gravel for your driveway to come home to:
- $avings – Particularly for large driveways, gravel can be a much less expensive option than just about any other material. You may need to top it off every few years to keep it looking fresh and neat, but it is well worth it, considering the money that can be saved initially.
- Easier maintenance – Adding the previously mentioned gravel every couple of years as a top off is much easier and doesn’t require any special skill or equipment to do, unlike sealing an asphalt driveway. All you really need is a way to haul the gravel, a shovel, a rake, and just a bit of free time to put it down and even it all out.
- Beauty is in the eye of the gravel-holder – For nearly every style home, from a contemporary ranch to a garrison colonial, gravel can significantly add to the natural beauty of the exterior. It can look great especially to accent the appearance of a farmhouse style home, but really it can help the aesthetics of any house.
In conclusion, if you are in the process of designing your dream home, give gravel some serious consideration as a driveway option to save money, make for easier maintenance, and add aesthetic value. Not to mention a lifetime of fond memories from the comforting sound of a rolling crunch to come home to.
Contact us today at Irwin Stone!