How To Install a Pea Stone Walkway | Ask This Old House

In this video, This Old House mason Mark McCullough helps a homeowner connect their driveway to their front walk, matching materials and style for a timeless look.

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Mark McCullough takes us on a house call to help a homeowner extend her front walkway to her driveway. After Mark sources some matching materials, the two work together to branch off the existing walkway, creating an additional path leading to the driveway. They lay cobblestones, spread pea gravel, and lay large bluestone pavers to complete the look.

Walkways that stretch from the front door to the sidewalk are great. But to make them truly functional and keep folks from walking across the front yard, they need to connect to the driveway as well. Mason Mark McCullough helps a homeowner take an existing walkway consisting of centuries-old cobblestones and connect it to her driveway using carefully-sourced materials. Here’s how it’s done.

Difficulty: ⅖
Cost: Roughly $30 per linear foot
Time: A weekend

Where to find it?
Mark extends a pea stone walkway to make a connection between an existing walkway and
driveway.

To get started Mark uses landscape string [https://amzn.to/3TttxT2] and stakes [https://amzn.to/3yOV1ci] to outline the desired width of the walkway. This ensures the walkway is square from the house. After digging down about 4 inches with shovels [https://amzn.to/3yRX0MY], lay down landscaping fabric [https://amzn.to/3lzFv0R]. Landscape fabric is setting a nice bed for the pea stone gravel [https://bit.ly/3TrEe8P] and is a sustainable way to keep weeds away. Once the walkway is prepped, dig a trench bed to lay the cobblestone [https://bit.ly/3FCYNt1]. The trench should be 2-3 inches wider than the intended border. (cobblestone around 9”x5”). Instead of doing a complete dry lay, Mark opts to use a small amount of mortar [https://bit.ly/3LC9Nut] to give the cobblestone some reinforcement.

Laying Cobblestone Edging and Pea Stone:
1. Place the first cobblestone into the mortar.
2. Tap it down with a rubber mallet to set it into the mortar, then add or remove mortar as needed so the top of the stone is level.
3. Add the next four cobblestones, using the string line as a level. Tap the side of the cobblestones with the rubber mallet not worrying about the gaps between each stone. (They will be filled with pea stone)
4. When the first five cobblestones are laid, lay a level across them, and adjust the stones to achieve level edging.
5. Install the rest of the cobblestones to the opposite end of the trench; check for level after placing every five cobblestones.
6. Spread out roughly 3 inches of pea stone over the landscaping fabric.
7. Mark suggests using a rake to smooth over any dips in the gravel.
8. After the gravel is poured and leveled, Mark suggests using a hand tamper to help compress the gravel down tighter.
9. Last step is to drop the bluestone into the pea stone.

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Materials:
Landscape paint [https://bit.ly/3JKX06D]
Landscape stakes [https://amzn.to/3yOV1ci]
Mason’s string [https://amzn.to/3TttxT2]
Cement mix [https://bit.ly/3LC9Nut]
Cobblestones [https://bit.ly/3FCYNt1]
Landscape fabric [https://amzn.to/3lzFv0R]
Gravel base [https://bit.ly/3LLMHSr]
Bluestone pavers [https://thd.co/3JIaMqv]
Pea gravel [https://bit.ly/3TrEe8P]

Tools:
Pick axe [https://amzn.to/3lI2oiY]
Shovels [https://amzn.to/3yRX0MY]
Wheelbarrow [https://amzn.to/3JFMayB]
Hand tamper [https://amzn.to/42Bj5Nv]
Rubber mallet [https://amzn.to/3LKCrd6]
Rake [https://amzn.to/3ZcOpPJ]

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From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. ASK This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.

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How To Install a Pea Stone Walkway | Ask This Old House
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