ArcaMax

Have you noticed how the longer you live in a house, the more you adapt it to your needs? And that’s particularly true in the backyard. Sometimes a natural walkway or path is created by how it’s used, connecting one part of the yard to another or from the back of the garage to the alley. You can make it permanent by defining it with gravel, a material that is easy to find and work with. For a more structured path, you can line the sides of the path with border bricks.

To create a gravel path, begin using the natural path as an outline. Dig up the soil to a depth of about six inches to prepare it for a base of sand followed with a topcoat of gravel. Remove all the stones and clumps of soil with a bow rake to level the soil, and place vinyl edging along the sides to hold the new material in place. Lay down landscape fabric to curb the spread of weeds, and then fill in the path with a level layer of sand covered by gravel.

A landscape contractor will charge $360, including labor and material, to lay a 3-foot-wide, 100-foot-long gravel path. But you can do the job for $200, the cost of the material, and a long day’s work. And you’ll save 44% by doing it yourself.

Pro Cost: $360 — DIY Cost: $200 — Pro time: 5.0 DIY Time: 7.0 — DIY Savings: $160 — Percent Saved: 44%

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To find more DIY project costs and to post comments and questions, visit www.diyornot.com and m.diyornot.com on smartphones.

©2025 Gene and Katie Hamilton. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.