# How do you maintain hardscaping (gravel path)?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-maintain-hardscaping-gravel-path/813935>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 10, 2018, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-maintain-hardscaping-gravel-path/813935 "2018-05-10T19:44:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-maintain-hardscaping-gravel-path/813935/21 "2018-05-13T16:18:02Z")

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> [@JcWoman](#):
>
> LOL, this turned out to be a funner thread than I expected. Thanks guys. I’ll tell my husband he has carte blanche to take a torch to the path. That idea never occurred to me, but it sounds like the least chore-like option.
> 
> It also has the benefit of burning up all the vegetable matter and seeds. We’re at the point now where we have a buildup of dead weeds from previous years, which is sort of self-composting and making a great place for new seeds to take root in. Would like to just burn it all away.

Make sure you check the fire danger level in your town first, though. Despite 100% [of New Hampshire](http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NH) currently not in a drought state, there have been fire danger alerts at least once a week for the past month.

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**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-maintain-hardscaping-gravel-path/813935/22 "2018-05-13T17:16:32Z")

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Fabric seems to be working for us at least in the medium term. There’s a certain amount of pulling weeds now after about five years, but not a whole lot, and the weeds pop right out because the roots are so shallow.

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**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2018, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-maintain-hardscaping-gravel-path/813935/23 "2018-05-14T10:24:42Z")

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If you sprinkle some cement over the pebbles, and spray it enough to wash the powder off the pebbles at the top, and into the clay substrate, you are making the clay firmer and rather impenetrable to the roots.

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