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I’m considering using decomposed granite for a walkway alongside a garage ( about 3′ wide by about 55′ long). I’d like it to be somewhat hard; be able to wheel a loaded trash can, but not soft enough for the neighborhood cats to use as a litter box. I read somewhere that sprinkling portland cement during ompaction will make the surface harder. Is a vibrating plate compactor best? I was thinking about 2 1/2″ thick, is that enough? Also, how well would it hold up to vehicular traffic?; I may consider it for the approach to the garage (about 6 feet ramping up about 6 inches)instead of 3/4″ gravel. Should I just use the D.C. for everything? The local yard sells it for $32/yard while the gravel is $104/yard.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks!
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$104/yard for gravel?! Are you on an island or on the third floor? I get gravel for $10-15/yard. You might want to shop around. (Although some areas are a long distance from their gravel sources). At $104/yard, just pour concrete - cheaper and no maintenance.
For the walkway, 2.5" of compacted DC sounds fine for walking, wheeled cart, and occasional use by small cars. For the driveway, I'd go 4 inches if you have a very solid soil type underneath. Otherwise, overexcavate and lay down mineral soils, compact, and cover with gravel or DC.
*You drove the Jag to the batch plant, didn't you?
*The best DG paving uses a material called "Stabilizer". This is an organic plant extract that is environmentally friendly and non toxic. It is blended with the DG before it is spread. It binds the paritcles together but still allows water penetration. I have used it extensively in my yard. I can't give you any further information on the material right now, because I am in France and the name proved to generic for a web search. When I return to San Diego I'll look up the manufacturer. You use class 2 road base with DG on top. The thickness depends on the kind of trafic. The DG paving gets very hard when dry (won't take a golf tee) and stays usably hard when wet. You can't compact it with a vibratory compactor because it precipitates the fine particles. I used a lawn roller . This is not a cheap material. Preblended in the DG it cost me about $100/yard delivered. Maintanence consists of Round-up treatment of the few weeds that appear.I don't know where you are in So Cal, but my supplier is KRC rock in San Marcos. They also supplied this material for the Getty Center.
*Mike,Thanks for the reply. I probably won't go for the extra expense of the "Stabilizer", but what have you heard as far as sprinkling some portland cement and misting with water as you compact?Also, I'm assuming you can't compact in one step, but rather build up the surface thickness with intermediate compaction steps, true?Finally, it sounds like I don't have to go through the expense of renting a vibratory plate compactor- a lawn roller will do?Thanks for the help!
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I'm considering using decomposed granite for a walkway alongside a garage ( about 3' wide by about 55' long). I'd like it to be somewhat hard; be able to wheel a loaded trash can, but not soft enough for the neighborhood cats to use as a litter box. I read somewhere that sprinkling portland cement during ompaction will make the surface harder. Is a vibrating plate compactor best? I was thinking about 2 1/2" thick, is that enough? Also, how well would it hold up to vehicular traffic?; I may consider it for the approach to the garage (about 6 feet ramping up about 6 inches)instead of 3/4" gravel. Should I just use the D.C. for everything? The local yard sells it for $32/yard while the gravel is $104/yard.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks!