is it a must? Seems like it would take about $400 of the Home Depot Technisoil to stabilize about a cubic yard of decomposed granite. I made a 30x10 boat parking spot on the side of my garage and thinking of just giving it a little watering and a good tamping and see how she does. I figure I could replace the granite 4-5 times before paying for the damn stabilizer. Anyone care to share their experience?

If you use a plate compactor and get it compacted well, the DG will stay for quite a while. The stabilizer really keeps it from getting kicked all over the place. I would do at least 3" deep to start if you compact it. Also make sure to use some kind of good border to keep it held in place. Do not use the cheap steel edging. It will rust, bend and allow the granite to fall away on the edges.

If it's only used for storing a boat, you will be fine. Also consider compacting the subgrade before placing the granite, but only if you don't have trees nearby that you like.

thanks. I used a manual plate tamper on the soil base before laying landscaping mat. Is there a benefit to the quality of compaction by using a plate compactor over a hand tamper? Looks like I can get one for a half day for $56, which is sounding better than absorbing all that shock in 100 degrees.

cheezag03 said:

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thanks. I used a manual plate tamper on the soil base before laying landscaping mat. Is there a benefit to the quality of compaction by using a plate compactor over a hand tamper? Looks like I can get one for a half day for $56, which is sounding better than absorbing all that shock in 100 degrees.

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Definitely. The plate compactor is vibratory and much heavier. You get far more harder impacts on the soil than with a hand tamper.

On an unrelated note, I'm going to be using compacted DC for base for a flagstone patio. Do I need a border aground it other than earth or a landscape mesh beneath it?

ABATTBQ11 said:

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On an unrelated note, I'm going to be using compacted DC for base for a flagstone patio. Do I need a border aground it other than earth or a landscape mesh beneath it?

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Yes, I would use a border. Something like Permaloc edging. Landscape fabric helps keep the weeds down and also helps the dg from settling into the subgrade. Personally, I like a concrete border or setting flagstone border on top of a concrete band...using mortar. It is more of a commercial solution, but it is pretty solid.

Btw, a vibratory plate is better than a hand tamper. It won't take long and it will stay in place much longer.

We've started specing this on a few roadway and drainage projects at work.

It's a geofabric that wicks water along it's length incredibly quickly. It will help stabilize the DG in 3 ways:
1. By absorbing water from the DG above it while it's raining, keeping the DG from becoming saturated. The strength goes thru the floor when it's saturated.
2. By wicking water up from the subgrade after the storm ends, keep it from "pumping".
3. By keeping the subgrade fines and the DGs granular action separate.

I don't know if you can find small quantities (<6000sf) - can you get smaller rolls?

Builder93 said:

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ABATTBQ11 said:

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On an unrelated note, I'm going to be using compacted DC for base for a flagstone patio. Do I need a border aground it other than earth or a landscape mesh beneath it?

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Yes, I would use a border. Something like Permaloc edging. Landscape fabric helps keep the weeds down and also helps the dg from settling into the subgrade. Personally, I like a concrete border or setting flagstone border on top of a concrete band...using mortar. It is more of a commercial solution, but it is pretty solid.

Btw, a vibratory plate is better than a hand tamper. It won't take long and it will stay in place much longer.

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How do you typically do a concrete band? Do you use rebar at all, or just the concrete? Do you pour it over the fabric? I'm going to trim everything with chop block, and i would consider setting it in mortar on a band.

You cast a 8-12" wide strip with a couple of pieces of #3 rebar running through it. Use 2x4's for forms. If you keep it low by the thickness of the flagstone plus the mortar, then you can lock in the flagstone by mortaring it on top. If you leave out the mortar from in between the edge pieces you can fill in with DG and it will look like the flagstone on the edge is layed in the dg as well. You still need to hold the dg at the edge, though.
Of course by this time you might want to just get some permaloc aluminum edging and be done with it. It is kind of pricey but it won't rust and it's easy to cut.

BTW, you don't need to put the concrete over the fabric.

Ornlu said:

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We've started specing this on a few roadway and drainage projects at work.

It's a geofabric that wicks water along it's length incredibly quickly. It will help stabilize the DG in 3 ways:
1. By absorbing water from the DG above it while it's raining, keeping the DG from becoming saturated. The strength goes thru the floor when it's saturated.
2. By wicking water up from the subgrade after the storm ends, keep it from "pumping".
3. By keeping the subgrade fines and the DGs granular action separate.

I don't know if you can find small quantities (<6000sf) - can you get smaller rolls?

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That's a nice product but I bet it's expensive for a residential application. Mirafi is some good stuff.

It's around $3 per square yard at commercial (>1000 SY) scale. Probably closer to $1 per square foot at a residential scale - but I don't have any source for getting rolls that are less than 300'x20'.

My point was that if the stabilizer is ~ $400, the money would be better spent on something like this.