# Weed Barrier



## troyce1 (Oct 9, 2008)

I am putting gravel down under my deck to use as a parking area, what type of weed barrier cloth should I put down under the gravel, and where can you buy these materials. My Lowe's did not have it.

Thanks
-Terry


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## diy-er (Jul 19, 2009)

Hi troyce

In Aus, we have a product which is called weed-mat. Its a woven synthetic which comes mostly in black and green. The tighter the weave the more you pay. But generally its fairly cheap to buy, I would imagine the same over there. ??? I would say that most hardware or garden stores would stock them. 

If you have persistent weed, just double it. I use these in all my gardens and occasionally have to weed the tough little suckers, other than that i would say that at least 95% of the weed is eliminated.

Cheers Marianne


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## Spike99 (Dec 24, 2007)

Under my small 10x10 shed, I wanted to use landscaping fabric but decided to use a large 20x20 plastic tarp instead. Simply folded it / folded it, put gravel ontop of it and put patio stones ontop of the gravel. The plastic stops any grass growing up between the patio stones. Last "on sale" Plastic Green tarp worked great for my needs. And, it was less expensive then using landscaping fabric. (giant smile).

.


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## AJMason (Jul 21, 2009)

There is quite a few different makes and sorts of weed matting available. Although they are mainly 2 particular types. One is a black coloured material that has a cloth texture to it. This is OK but isn't the best and the price reflects upon that.

There is another sort which I think is called terram. This is what I used and we have at work. It is a kind of fiberglass material woven together to form a strong matting that lets the water through but does not let the weeds through. I would recommend going for this type. It is usually available in most DIY stores.

Thanks

Adam


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## Mom In Charge (Jul 18, 2009)

Suggest you think longterm. Under a deck, there will not be sufficient sunlight to dry the sub-soil after rain/snow. Thus, fabric that permits water to drain through is essential.

Each Spring COSTCO sells l-a-r-g-e rolls of landscape fabric (that's in the Frozen North; they might sell it year-round in the South). The fabric is gray/silver and very tightly woven (as an avid gardener, I think it is terrific).

When I said think longterm, I meant think of if/when the fabric ever breaks down. If you cover it with gravel or sand, that would have to be removed when replacing fabric. Removing is much harder than placing the first time. Suggest overlap fabric at edges about 12 inches. The weight of vehicles will pull/shift the fabric over time. That much overlap should keep the weed-barrier effective.

Too, test-park the car. Should the seams (with overlap) be beneath the tires? Or, away from the tires? I don't know -but it would make a difference. Take photos as you work so that you know where the seams are: don't know why, but I always come up with a need for photos, later.


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## TooledUp (Jul 7, 2009)

Yup, I agree with AJMason about the Terram. It is much better and better for drainage. You can usually find it at landscaping companies that sell mulch, brick pavers, topsoil, etc. It helps to buy the stakes too--to keep it down.


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