Mukilteo drops toward the ferry and the Sound. Salt reaches the lower streets, and the hills above the terminal shed water down through yards that were cut into the slope. A flat inland detail does not survive on these lots. Gravel on a marine slope can become the material that erodes, if it is round and loose. We use angular rock and we do not aim a path straight down the fall line.
Snohomish County · ZIP 98275 · 2020 population 21,246
Paths that shed, not channels down the bank
Walks above the bluff get an edge and a cross slope so water steps off into plants, not into a rut. Drives on the upper streets are a normal clay-country gravel drive: dig out, separate, compact, crown.
We keep fines from washing to the street drain in the first storms by compacting and by not overfilling. A fat, loose top is what ends up in the gutter.
The ground in Mukilteo
Hillside runoff is the job. A patio with a view is also a patio that can send water at the house if the base and the pitch are wrong. We build the drain before the pavers, and we hold the bank with a wall that has rock or drain tile behind it, not a decorative stack sitting on the sod.
Salt-tolerant natives belong on the exposed edges. Pressure washing is how you get the marine film off a walk and a railing; it comes back, so we treat it as upkeep. Lawns on the upper, slightly flatter streets behave more like the rest of the county — clay, moss, shade from big trees — and we maintain them that way. The waterfront lots are a different trade: erosion, wind, and a view you do not want to block with a hedge.
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 Mukilteo
- Fence installation in Mukilteo
- Hardscaping in Mukilteo
- Paver installation in Mukilteo
- Gravel installation in Everett
- Gravel installation in Edmonds
- Gravel installation in Mill Creek
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.
