Skip Landscape Fabric: Here's A Better Way To Prevent Weeds In Gravel Driveways

Landscape fabric, which is a tightly woven synthetic fabric designed to block both light and weed growth, is commonly used as a base for gravel driveways. Before you decide whether you should use landscape fabric as a way of keeping weeds from growing in gravel, however, know that it is not a long-term solution for weed prevention. A better, more permanent method would be to ensure your gravel driveway has a good sub-base.

A sub-base is a layer of crushed aggregates that serves as the foundation of your gravel driveway. It's compacted directly atop the undisturbed sub-grade soil and acts as the primary layer upon which the base and decorative gravel sit. The purpose of the sub-base is to provide a strong footing that keeps the gravel from sinking, while also evenly distributing the weight loads of cars and foot traffic. 

Aside from its structural value, a good sub-base is critical if you never want to see weeds poking through your gravel driveway. Owing to its dense compaction, the sub-base won't allow water, light, or air to permeate the soil. These are the elements that all weeds need in order to grow. By contrast, landscape fabric will allow air and water to seep through, allowing weed seeds to germinate and potentially push their way through. 

In order to make your sub-base one of the best ways to prevent weeds from growing in your gravel driveway, you need to make sure you're using the right kind of material. The most commonly used sub-base material is called MOT Type 1, which is a concrete rubble aggregate that comes in sizes as fine as dust or as large as 40 millimetres. It compacts excellently and provides long-term stability. The compaction is critical, because that's what makes the impenetrable base that prevents weeds from growing.

The main issue with this type of sub-base, however, is that it's not very permeable. If you live somewhere that sees consistent rain or know that water pooling was an issue with your previous driveway, you'll want a sub-base that's slightly looser. This is where MOT Type 3 comes in. This is made with fewer fineries than the Type 1 and allows more water to drain through. However, since there's still no light making its way down to the soil, weed growth shouldn't be an issue. There's also #411 crushed stone, which is different from pea gravel in that it has sharp, angular edges that lock together like a puzzle when compacted. Thanks to this, #411 is also a foolproof option to prevent weeds from growing in your gravel driveway.