346-848-3046
Aldine Westfield Landscape Materialsawlandscapematerials.com · Spring, TX

Installation

How to install what you bought

Most landscape material failures come from three things: wrong depth, no base, and no edge. These are the methods we walk customers through at the counter, written down so you can take them to the job.

Before you start

Get the volume right

Measure length, width, and depth, then convert to cubic yards with the calculator. Round up to the next half yard.

Plan the base

Anything walked or driven on needs compacted crushed concrete underneath. Beds only need clean, weed-free soil.

Contain the edges

Steel, poly, or stone edging keeps gravel and mulch where you put it and cuts your maintenance in half.

Installing mulch beds

  1. 1Pull weeds by the root and cut a clean 3-inch edge trench around the bed.
  2. 2Rake the old mulch level. If the existing layer is already 3 inches, only add 1 inch of fresh material.
  3. 3Spread new mulch to 3 inches total, keeping it a few inches off trunks and stems.
  4. 4Water lightly after spreading so the mulch settles and knits together.

Never build mulch past 4 inches. Depth suffocates roots and hides trunk rot.

Building a gravel path or patio

  1. 1Excavate 5 to 6 inches and slope the base slightly for drainage.
  2. 2Lay geotextile fabric so the gravel cannot sink into Gulf Coast clay.
  3. 3Compact 3 inches of crushed concrete base in two lifts, wetting each lift.
  4. 4Top with 2 to 3 inches of your finish gravel and edge it with steel or poly edging.

Rounded gravel like pea gravel needs a hard edge. Angular gravel locks up on its own.

Gravel driveway base

  1. 1Strip vegetation and soft topsoil down to firm subgrade.
  2. 2Roll out fabric over the subgrade if the ground is soft or holds water.
  3. 3Place 4 to 6 inches of crushed concrete in lifts and compact each lift.
  4. 4Crown the surface so water runs to the shoulders, then top with your finish rock.

Skipping compaction is why driveways rut. Wet the fines and roll them.

Topsoil leveling and lawn repair

  1. 1Mow low and remove debris from the area being leveled.
  2. 2Spread enriched topsoil no more than 1/2 inch per pass over live turf.
  3. 3Rake it into the low spots so grass blades stay above the soil.
  4. 4Water in and wait two to three weeks before the next pass on deeper dips.

Burying live grass all at once kills it. Level in thin, repeated passes.

Laying sod

  1. 1Kill or remove old turf, then till and rake 2 to 4 inches of enriched topsoil smooth.
  2. 2Water the soil bed lightly right before the sod goes down.
  3. 3Lay pieces in a brick-stagger pattern with tight seams and no overlaps.
  4. 4Roll the lawn, then water deeply the same day it is installed.

Install sod the day you pick it up. Stacked pallets heat and burn from the inside.

Drainage and dry creek beds

  1. 1Dig a channel with at least 1 percent fall toward the outlet.
  2. 2Line the trench with filter fabric so soil cannot silt in the voids.
  3. 3Bed pipe on washed concrete stone, then cover with 6 inches more.
  4. 4Face the visible channel with bull rock or river rock in varied sizes.

Washed stone only. Base rock with fines will clog a drain within a season.

Want us to check your plan?

Bring your measurements to the yard or call and describe the job. We will tell you the material, the depth, and how many yards it takes — before you spend anything.

Call 346-848-3046Run the calculator