You can build a graceful and gorgeous pea gravel patio with a look that lends itself perfectly to many other cool, fun elements: string lights, do-it-yourself firepits, outdoor furniture, and more.
Using pea gravel for a patio is a classic, inexpensive backyard makeover, and one that you can do without the help of contractors.
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Before You Begin
Pea gravel pieces are rounded, smooth, and small—3/8-inch in diameter or about the size of peas. Pea gravel is also called CM-16 stone, pea stone, pea pebbles, or pea rock.
When you build a patio with pea gravel, order the gravel in bulk from a nursery or masonry supplier. Far too much pea gravel is required for this project to haul back from the home center in individual bags.
Pea Gravel Considerations
Pros
Easy to handle
Inexpensive
Soft underfoot
Cons
Scatters easily
Weed growth
Footprints remain
One of the best things about pea gravel is that it is so easy to handle. Pea gravel's rounded shape means that it can be picked up and moved with a shovel. Once it's on the project site, pea gravel can be spread out with a rake with ease. By contrast, sharp-edged stones tend to lock together and aren't as simple to smooth out.
Pea gravel is soft underfoot for pets or children. While pea gravel tends to be gray, it does come in other colors such as cream, tan, gold, black, and white.
Yet maintenance is an ongoing issue. Weeds are difficult to control and the light material is prone to scattering. Footprints in pea gravel will remain until they are raked out. If these are your concerns, consider hardscaping materials like poured concrete, concrete pavers, or natural flagstone.
Safety Considerations
Call 8-1-1, the national Call Before You Dig hotline, to have all utility lines marked on your property. The long metal rebar stakes could run into buried electrical or plumbing lines, sprinkler system tubing, or low-voltage cables for landscaping lighting or fenceless pet containment systems.
What You'll Need
Equipment / Tools
- Measuring tape
- Shovel
- Mattock or pickax (optional)
- Rake
- Drill and 1/2 inch wood bit
- Hand sledge
- Wheelbarrow or garden cart
- Garden hose and spray nozzle (optional)
- Hand tamper
Materials
- 2 cubic yards pea gravel
- 8 pressure-treated 4x6" or 3x4" landscape timbers, 8 feet long
- 24 #4 rebar pieces, 12 inches long
- Landscape fabric
- Landscape fabric pins (garden staples)
Instructions
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Instructions
Select the Patio Space
Confirm that the patio location will work for gravel. Avoid steep ground because pea gravel may shift. Pea gravel's angle of repose can be as low as 20 degrees. Heavy foot traffic can disturb gravel, so make sure that the patio doesn't double as a pathway.
Order the Gravel
Order your pea gravel from a local supplier.For a 16-by-16-foot area, 3 inches deep, the exact amount needed is 1.58 cubic yards of pea gravel. Depths more than 3 inches can be difficult to walk in; depths less than 2 inches will become exposed after time.
Tip
Order a full 2 yards of gravel, both to make the order easier to complete and to have extra on hand to replenish gravel that gets lost over time.
Square the Perimeter
With twine, mark off the perimeter. Square up the frame by measuring between the diagonally opposed corners and adjusting the timbers as needed. The frame is square when the two diagonal measurements are equal.
Excavate the Area
Use a shovel to remove all vegetation, rocks, and debris from the patio area, including where the timber frame will go. If necessary, cut away roots with a mattock or pickaxe.
Rake and Tamp
Rake the soil so it is level, then compact it thoroughly by walking repeatedly over the ground or by tamping it with a hand tamp.
Lay Out the Frame Timbers
Arrange the landscape timbers to form a 16-foot square. Overlap the timbers at the corners so that the end of one timber butts up against the side of the neighboring timber. When you're done, each side of the frame should have one butted end and one overlapping end, resulting in a perfect square.
Secure the Timbers
Drill three 1/2-inch holes through each timber, one a few inches from each end and one in the center. Drive a 12-inch length of #4 rebar into each hole to secure the timbers, using a hand sledge. Drive the rebar so it is flush with or slightly below the surface of the wood.
Tip
Home centers often sell pre-cut short pieces of rebar for just this purpose. You don't need to buy long rods and cut them.
Install Landscape Fabric
Roll out strips of landscape fabric to cover the entire patio area inside of the containment frame, overlapping each strip of fabric by 4 inches. On the sides, the fabric should extend up the containment frame by an inch or two. Thoroughly secure the fabric with landscape fabric pins around the perimeter and at all seams.
Add the Gravel
Toss shovelfuls of gravel at several places throughout the patio to further secure the landscape fabric. Be careful not to tear the fabric with your feet or the shovel. Add more gravel to fill in the bare spots. Add gravel and gently spread it with the rake until you reach a 2-inch depth. Smooth the gravel with the rake so the surface is flat and level. Finish by spraying the gravel with a garden hose to clean it.
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How Much Gravel Do You Need?
| Project Area, Square Feet | Cubic Yard of Gravel at 2-Inch Depth | Cubic Yard of Gravel at 3-Inch Depth |
| 10 | 0.06 | 0.09 |
| 20 | 1.2 | 1.8 |
| 30 | 1.8 | 2.7 |
| 40 | 2.4 | 3.6 |
| 50 | 3 | 4.5 |
| 60 | 3.6 | 5.4 |
| 70 | 4.2 | 6.3 |
| 80 | 4.8 | 7.2 |
| 90 | 5.4 | 8.1 |
| 100 | 6 | 9 |
| 110 | 6.6 | 9.9 |
| 120 | 7.2 | 10.8 |
| 130 | 7.8 | 11.7 |
| 140 | 8.4 | 12.6 |
| 150 | 9 | 13.5 |
| 160 | 9.6 | 14.4 |
| 170 | 10.2 | 15.3 |
| 180 | 10.8 | 16.2 |
| 190 | 11.4 | 17.1 |
| 200 | 12 | 18 |
When to Call a Professional
Creating a patio from pea gravel is generally a do-it-yourself project, rarely requiring the assistance of landscapers or contractors. At most, if heavy loads are difficult for you to manage, you may wish to hire an assistant or two for one day to help you pour and spread out the pea gravel.
FAQ
What is the best base for a pea gravel patio?
The best base for a pea gravel patio is landscape fabric. A pea gravel patio does not need a sand base. The landscape fabric will help to suppress weeds. Landscape fabric gives the pea gravel a bit more stability than if you had laid the gravel directly on dirt or grass. Landscape fabric allows water to drain through.
How can you stabilize a pea gravel patio?
You can stabilize a pea gravel patio by laying down a plastic grid called a gravel stabilizer. The grid prevents the gravel from shifting. Besides the cost (about $45 to $60 per 100 square feet), the other downside of a gravel stabilizing grid is that the ridges of the grid show through.
What is the minimum depth required for a pea gravel patio?
The minimum depth required for a pea gravel patio is 2 inches. When the pea gravel is any deeper, it's difficult to place outdoor furniture on it and it's tough to walk on. When the pea gravel is less than 2 inches deep, landscape fabric or bare ground will show through after it's walked on. If you'd like, you can add an extra inch (to 3 inches deep) to build up reserves to account for lost pea gravel over time.
What type of gravel is best for patios?
Pea gravel is one of the best choices for patios because its small stones are easy to work with and can fit into most areas. Plus, pea gravel pieces can withstand the elements, aren’t prone to cracking, and allow for drainage.Pea gravel is also one of the few types of gravel that are soft underfoot, in case any users would like to go barefoot on the patio.
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