Casual UK @feddit.uk vext01 @lemmy.sdf.org 8mo ago

I dont like gravel

I don't like gravel. That's it.

noisy
scatters all over the neighborhood.
hard to walk on
dogs and cats crap in it
kids chuck it around and put it in their mouth.
doesn't even look good.
difficult and heavy to remove once you have come to terms will all of the above.

Gravel advocates... explain your case for gravelling your garden/drive.

Gravel sceptics, feel free to share your distaste.

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It can be cheaply re-graded

Helps control erosion while allowing water penetration

Isn't mud

Less dusty than dirt when dry

Doesn't have oil and tar runoff

Better traction in snow and ice

Is the basis for concrete and asphalt
- Yup, I have about 1000 ft of driveway I need to re-top. The cost of doing it in gravel is an order of magnitudes cheaper than any other method other than just regrading with a tractor, which would need to be done again in a year or two. The current gravel was put in 30 years ago and it's just now getting to the point that it's bad enough that I need to do it.
- Allowing water penetration is coming more and more important as greater urban areas become covered in impermeable surfaces.
Sounds nice when you drive over it

Hobbit deterrent

Makes it easy to perform power slides when you're bored on the long drive up to the manor
I don't have gravel, but I'm considering using some round the back of the house in a few places, whenever we get round to doing up the "garden".

Opportunist/casual burglars and thieves tend not to cross it because it's noisy, "Crunch, crunch, let's rob next door instead".

If you have weed-proof membrane under it, it's low maintenance.

You can plant things deliberately through it, which get water and grow happily, whilst being defended from weeds.

As long as you have a way of transporting the bags, it's petty easy to install by an amateur.

Allows soak-away of rain/flood water.

Durable and cheap to repair - no cracking from tree roots/weather, repair by pouring more stones in.

Doesn't become slippy/slimey/muddy with rain or flood.

Turns wheelie-bin day into an exciting all-terrain rally adventure :)

All the things you say are totally true though, it's just sometimes a case of weighing things up in your specific circumstances.
Lawn mowers also pick up stray stones and fling them in random directions at great velocity.
- That's the worst part about mowing my gravel path. But if I don't cut it the stones get too long.
  
  Stray stones.
  
  You get hidden ones in the lawn that have escaped the path.
- You have to admit that sometimes this has humourous results though.
It's cheap.
- Maybe that's why it's so prevalent.
Canadian here.

I remember watching quite a few episodes of some reno show where the homeowner had to choose between two designs for the garden, and both choices usually ended up putting gravel down, which horrified us when we saw it.

When I think of gravel in the back yard (garden), it's the base layer for the paving stones that go on top of it

For me, it means I could never walk barefoot without it sticking to my feet in addition to it being uncomfortable to walk on.
"Gravel driveway and path; gravel driveways and paths make it harder for burglars to go undetected." according to the Metropolitan Police.
It usually comes in decorative colors, helps prevent erosion, and can create a lower-maintenance surface.
It can consolidate a heterogenous surface into a finished, uniform appearance. It can be used in pet areas to reduce mud from your pets running around on bare dirt also reducing them bringing mud or dirt into the house. Gravel allows water to soak into plants, not just runnning off so landscape plants and trees live!
At least it isn't astroturf
Burglars hate it
Is gravel common in your part of the world? Like gravel pathways? That sucks. Why would anyone do that?

20 comments