What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment area

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Dixit

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Jul 16, 2012
123
Duluth, GA (ATL)
I have this area (bought the house about 8months ago) where its about 11.5' by 16.5'. In that area is where my pool equipment is (heater, pumps, filter, air blower, pipes, etc) and also the other side of it (near the wall) is where all 4 of my AC condensers are.

Right now the ground is basically soil/dirt I believe because there is nothing but weeds that constatly grow in that area. Some of the area has random tennessee crab orchard stones layed around (looks like left over from when the pool was built).

Honestly Id like to pull that crab orchard stone out, dig it down/grade it down about 2" or so. Then put that weed cloth down like those special fiberglass like matting for weeds blocking. Then on top cover it with 2-3" of some type of stone. Not sure what type though. I really want something no bigger than 1" size stones. Total amount needed would be about 0.96cu yard (basically 1 cubic yard) of stone to cover it at 3" coverage. The whole area is basically wall'ed off so you cant see any of the equipment, 2 of the walls are the house corner, and the other 2 were about a 5ft tall wall built with a gate on the front of one.

I was thinking something along the lines of these white/beige colored stones that are rounded. Not even sure what they are called. I attached some picturs that I found.

What you all think? Ive seen some folks have similar setup with stones around their pool equipment pad area.

Dixit
 

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Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

I think the cloth and the stones are a good idea to prevent the weeds ... the type of stone is totally personal opinion.

Some thought ... are you going to we walking on the stones while barefoot to get to the equipment? If so, then smaller is better OR lay down some stepping stones.

I think the first picture looks interesting, but then again, you said that walls hide it, so does not really matter what it looks like.
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

Yea I agree this is going to be somewhat of a personal preference, but Im not even sure what these stones are called. Im not looking for anything exotic or amazing looking since as you and I agree, it will be hidden, just want the weed issue resolved and that was the best option I came up with, I dont like the idea of pine straw or mulch around all that stuff, especially around the AC condensers, means more cleaning later on the coils.

Looking for something essentially cheap stone wise. I dont think we will be walking over there barefoot as its sort of on the corner of the house. But being that it could happen if we swimming and something doesnt kick on or something be nice to be able to walk over there, thats why I was thinking of rounded stones, nothing jagged edge like crushed stone.

Guess I will have to make a trip to a rock/stone supplier to see what they got and see what works. Stone cost Im thinking wont be anymore than $200 tops, maybe $100 even. Just getting the stone from the driveway to that area of the pool equipment pad going to be a pain.

Dixit
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

duraleigh said:
2-3 times spraying with RoundUp (or the generic equivalent) will keep it weed free and takes less than a minute.
Click to expand...

I gotta say for some reason it aint helping no more. I have the hardware WEED version of Roundup and I spray that, and it ends up growing weeds again within a few weeks. This is turned into some resistitve straight of weed/grass that just keeps growing. I think it has to do with the fact that the AC condensers keep that area wet/moist.

Dixit
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

I gotta say for some reason it aint helping no more.
Click to expand...
Get the concentrated stuff ( it doesn't have to be "Round Up" brand...as long as it contains glyphosphate) and increase the dosage a bit. I have used it for 20 years and have never found much that can resist it
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

The rounded stone is called river rock ... if it is very small it can be called pea gravel (might even get this in bags at Home Depot) and that would be easy to walk on.

Just head over to a landscaping place and take a look at what they have. Around here it is generally $30-$40 per ton I think.

The cloth should help prevent most of the weeds, but spraying may also be needed.
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

Georgia... lots of rain and weeds I'd guess. And fallen leaves that simply turn to compost and let weeds sprout.

Here in TX that weed cloth stuff is no good against nut grass, grows right through it. Then the leaves fall and new seeds sprout on top of the rocks and weed barrier.

How about 1' concrete squares, set edge to edge, on sand, sanded in?
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

It looks like you are looking for 1" - 3" screened gravel or river rock. Should be pretty inexpensive and give that area nice coverage. For weeds I've been using a granular product called Amaze Pre-emergent. I put it down 2 - 3 times a year and it eliminates 80 - 90 percent of the weeds and crabgrass. It stops the seed form germinating and creates a barrier for a several months. Anything with pre-emergent in the name is what you need to stop tough weeds.
 

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Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

Dixit,
Those rocks are called by many names. Rocks, gravel, pave stones, river rock and on and on. You can call anyone that hauls dirt and they can probably deliver you a load. Home Depot and Lowes also sells it in bags about $5-7 dollars each.

I get 1.8 Cubic yards

Todd
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

anonapersona said:
Georgia... lots of rain and weeds I'd guess. And fallen leaves that simply turn to compost and let weeds sprout.

Here in TX that weed cloth stuff is no good against nut grass, grows right through it. Then the leaves fall and new seeds sprout on top of the rocks and weed barrier.

How about 1' concrete squares, set edge to edge, on sand, sanded in?
Click to expand...

Ive thought about this but its going to be somewhat time consuming and tedious to do as opposed to just dropping pea gravel, river rock, etc on top of weed cloth. Yes the weed cloth is not a permanent solution but will help a little bit and then after that we can spot treat here and there.

The concrete squares will be a bit of a pain to put does as Id need to cut them near the AC pads, the PVC pipes, Heater pad, etc. Be somewhat like tiling my bathroom floor in some ways.

Dixit
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

If you use rock you want to go with a size that will not blow away when you have to blow fallen leaves.
You can always buy RoundUp in concentrate and get a pump up sprayer for it. Do get the sort that has the good pressure relief valve and use it for nothing but RoundUp. I like the sprayer from Ace Hardware, $20 something dollars, nice valve on it.
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

Just wanted to give you guys a status. I went ahead and did the river rock type installation. Took some before and after pictures. The before shows where all the weeds were growing through, left over tennessee crab orchard stones just randomly thrown in there, etc. So removed it all digged up some of the dirt as it got a little high where the AC condensers are (basically couldnt see the pads anymore), put some weed cloth down, and put about 1cubic yard of stone down. Might need some more (probably just get it in bags) where its low and water collects in some areas.

Looks nice and cleaned up even though the whole thing is hidden anyways, but still all them weeds and random stones didnt look great to me, even though it was hidden.

Dixit

BEFORE, btw these pictures were taken 2days after I put a dose of HDX 41% Glyphosate on it. These weeds/grass didnt look like they were going anywhere.

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AFTER
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Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

I use the pre-emergent granules, applied whenever I'm not to lazy to do so. They work if you do it regularly. Around here they sell "Amaze" which is 1% Balan and 1% Surflan.
 
Re: What type of stone you recommend for the pool equipment

You can also sprinkle some baking soda on the weeds also. It's non-toxic and will kill them. Will also stop them from coming back. Just another use for baking soda!!!!


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