Hot take: went with gravel instead of concrete for my patio base...

I spent a whole weekend debating between crushed stone and a poured slab for my new patio. Concrete would have cost me around $400 for the mix and forms, but gravel was only $60 from the local pit. I ended up going with gravel because I figured I could always change it later if I hated it. Three months in and honestly... the drainage is way better than I expected. Water just sinks right through after a rain, no puddles at all. The only downside is that some rocks get kicked out of place near the edges. Has anyone else here tried a gravel base for a seating area instead of going solid?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_martinez212d ago

Yeah 60 bucks vs 400 is a no brainer honestly, I did the same thing at my last place and the drainage was perfect too lol.

barnes.shane2d agoMost Upvoted

Man, I did the same thing at my shop like two years ago. $60 for a roll of the corrugated pipe and a few fittings at Home Depot versus the $450 quote I got from a landscaping company. I even had to dig the trench myself (took me most of a Saturday), but honestly @seth_martinez21, it was worth every bit of effort. That cheap setup has handled like three heavy storms with zero backup issues. My neighbor paid for the full fancy install and his still clogged up last spring, go figure.