On the Snohomish County side of Bothell the lots sit between newer housing and the Sammamish River trail. Roofs, drives, and the trail corridor move a lot of water. The soils are urban soils: graded, compacted, and quick to grow moss where the sun is weak. Tight access and clay. Gravel is often the right surface because water can get through it, but only if the base is open and the edges are held.
Snohomish County · ZIP 98021
The side yard and the parking pad
We use it for side paths, under gates, and for a pad where a full paver drive is more than the yard needs. Fabric, compacted base, a restrained edge against the lawn. Without the edge, you mow rocks forever.
Permeable is not the same as “dumped and forgotten.” The surface still needs weed maintenance. We can refresh it. We cannot make it zero work.
The ground in Bothell
We work the north side of the city, not a pretend second office. Yards are a mix of older ramblers and newer houses with small planting strips and a patio poured on tight fill. Runoff is the theme. A permeable patio or a short drain does more for the foundation than a wider concrete pad.
People here ask for plantings that feed birds and do not need a sprinkler all summer. That fits. Native beds along a back fence, a bark layer that is actually thick enough to suppress weeds, and a lawn that is aerated instead of constantly reseeded. Pressure washing keeps the walks and the siding from going black under the trees. The trail is a nice neighbor and a weed source. Edges need a clean line or the brush moves in.
How we do the work
Gravel stays put when it has a compacted base, a fabric or a separation from the clay, a slight crown or a cross slope, and an edge. A load of rock dumped on the grass is a mud pit by spring. We dig out the soft soil, build the base, and top it with the rock you actually walk and drive on.
The top rock is not the same as the base rock. Base is angular and locks. The surface might be smaller crushed rock or a cleaner gravel, depending on whether this is a drive, a dog run, or a path.
What we look at first
- Cars, foot traffic, or both
- How soft the ground is in March
- Where the water crosses the drive today
- An edge against lawn or beds so the rock does not migrate
Refresh
Gravel is maintenance. Every few years a drive needs rock added and graded back to crown. We would rather tell you that than sell a “permanent” gravel surface. Pavers are permanent. Gravel is a good, honest, recurring surface.
Fabric
Separation fabric keeps clay from pumping up. It is not weed magic, and it is not a substitute for digging out the mud. We lap it and we cover it. Sun-baked fabric at the edge means the gravel was spread too thin.
Edges and weeds
Steel, timber, or a paved border on a walking path. On a farm drive, the ditch is the edge. Weeds in gravel get pulled or treated early, before the root is a shrub. A thick, clean surface grows fewer of them than a dirty thin one.
More from this crew
- Gravel installation across Snohomish County
- French drain installation in Bothell
- Fence installation in Bothell
- Hardscaping in Bothell
- Paver installation in Bothell
- Gravel installation in Mill Creek
- Gravel installation in Lynnwood
- Gravel installation in Brier
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a Snohomish County winter.
- EPA WaterSense on watering less once a lawn or a new planting is established.
- EPA Soak Up the Rain on keeping roof and yard water from becoming someone else’s problem.
