DIY costs and complexity for Pebble Path?

Hi All,

We are nearing the completion of construction and as sure as the sky is blue - we have just realized we are fast running out of budget to fund a lot of things that we initially wanted.

However we certainly do need a path on the side of the house as walking through sloppy mud is certainly going to dampen our new home experience.

So the question is;

Have any of you DIY a pebble path?
What was the complexity to do this - is it something a 'non' handyman can do?
What are the approximate costs p/sqm (white pebble with large concrete stepping stones)?

The below is what we would like our future yard to look like (but interested in the side paths specifically)

If you are running out of funds i would definately suggest going for a "toppings" path as opposed to a pebble path. Pebble paths can be quite costly (depending on the size of pebbles you end up with). One trick if you are set on pebbles is to use smaller (and cheaper) pebbles on top of your base, then work up to the larger pebbles. This means you wont need as many of the more expensive pebbles. It is definately something a home handiman could do, but it will make your life a whole lot easier if you have a dingo or something similar for all the digging! Good luck.

I did a short stepping stone path around my Air-Cond Unit. I shopped around and picked up the pavers for a few bucks each and instead of spending up big on decorative pebbles, I used 20mm blue.

A tape measure, spirit level, string line, rubber mallet, and a wheelbarrow to mix the sand and cement are about all you need.

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/qq311/EB_Photos_2009/SteppingStonePavers002a.jpg

http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/qq311/EB_Photos_2009/AirCondArea2ndMarch2011004a.jpg

One thing you may need to consider is access to your rear yard to complete your landscaping. I have left the narrow, (blind side) path to my house for last so that I can get my materials in and out without having to drag them over stepping stones and gravel.

Good luck.

That looks very nice! I am looking at doing something similar along one side of my new house (almost finished!). I am a complete novice at gardening/landscaping and have never done anything like this before. However, I would like to give it a go. What kind of prep work do you need to do to the base soil before you add the stones on top? You say it was 20mm blue? Do you mean blue metal road base?

I was / still am a total novice.

The soil was compacted with a plate compactor just to get it firm so it would not move too much.

The 20mm Blue is basically 20mm blue metal gravel. Some places refer to it as drainage gravel as well. It comes is varying sizes. 7-10mm, 20mm, etc.

I also put down a layer of weed mat before the gravel just to keep the weeds under control.

Thats awesome KnockItDown...... it looks like it was pretty easy to do... how long did it take you to do and what was the total damage to your wallet?

A couple days to complete.

20 pavers at $3.50 each = $70

1 tonne of gravel $59

8 bags of sand and cement $52

1/2 a roll of weed mat - Cant remember the price exactly but less than $10.

Total cost under $200.

fantastic...thats certainly not going to break the bank but may do some damage to my back LOL.

great work and thanks for sharing - this is exactly the information that we were after

like the look of that. we are considering something similar for the back side of our place but a much bigger area and def a bobcat job. especially after I told hubby you'd used a tonne of toppings for that bit. ( we have about 5-6 x that area to do. )

great answer there

hiya knockitdown - how did you manage the drainage system for this? and how has it handled some of the wet weather that we have had?

Hi qonyx,

On the left hand side of the pics as you look at them, about 1m down at the base of the retaining wall is a 100mm Ag pipe.

No problems with drainage even with all of the heavy rain we have had.

Thanks for all the advise. We are now in the house and I have since built the pebble, paver path with pics attached. All up cost was about $1200 which would have cost much more if i had to get someone else to do it (probably double) so thanks for the savings!!!!


http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/qonyx2010/IMG_9693.jpg

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/qonyx2010/IMG_9704.jpg

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/qonyx2010/IMG_9697.jpg

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/qonyx2010/IMG_9744.jpg

That looks great. Excellent job.

very nice path indeed .

I am planing to to exactly what KnockItDown has done. Looks like a most cost effective way of doing a stepping stone path.

Few questions for KnockItDown

I was wondering how was the end result to walk on and move bins and wheelbarrow?how is it holding up after couple of years?

Can I hire one of you blokes ...

But ... Do you need to put the stepping stones on cement ? My soil is sand, so a good base to start. I was planning to run it away slightly from the house and have the stepping stones fairly close together. Then put in the stones. Slight slope to rear and side so drainage is not problem.

Hi Q.

$1200 sounds a lot to me. What was the main cost.

Is this just for the stones and stepping stones ?

I'll be watching this thread as I'll be attempting something like this for our house when we move in! I'm also interested if (and how) you have to cement the paves/stepping stones into the ground?

Yes - would a sand base be just as good ?

I recently built a cat run for my (very spoilt ) Burmese and incorporated a pebble/stepping stone path into the design. I just put the stepping stones straight onto the levelled out and compacted dirt as it's not a high traffic area and they haven't moved over the past few months. If it was a path I regularly used/dragged bins over etc I would probably have cemented the stones in like KnockItDown has. From memory the pavers (which were the most expensive that my local garden place had) were $9.50 each and I think I got about 2 square metres of pebbles (which are called a "Tuscan" blend) plus some sand (for the cat's litter tray ) - the grand total spent was $335. It took me a few days to complete (having to bring everything in with a wheelbarrow) but certainly wasn't difficult to do.

Here's some pics: