Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: rcf100 on May 22, 2012, 16:33

Title: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: rcf100 on May 22, 2012, 16:33

Hi, I have a newly installed chicken run and green house in my garden, and some shocking clay soil.  The extra useage of the grass is already showing wear and tear so we are putting in a path.

After reading loads of posts on here, the idea that hubby and I liked best is to use log rolls to form the path, so some 18" ones have just been ordered and are on their way.

So how should we actually go about it?  Dig out the turf, then what?  I'm guessing some sand of some description would be a good idea, but I have no idea what sort of sand.  I'm also wondering if some hard wearing weed control fabric would be a good idea to put inder it.  Would that go above or below the sand?

Thanks for your thoughts

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: arugula on May 22, 2012, 16:36

Are you planning to use the log roll as an edging or or flat down as the walking surface?

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: rcf100 on May 22, 2012, 23:35

No flat walking surface, not edging

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: GrannieAnnie on May 22, 2012, 23:49

I had thought about this myself, but I think weeds would grow through the joins, so you would need something like weed suppresant, and the other thing that worried me is, would the wood get slippery when it rains?

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: Trillium on May 23, 2012, 04:16

My exact thoughts, grannieannie. Weed and grasses will always find a way between these and you'd definitely need 2-3 layers of weed suppressant below the logs and sand as well as the special polymer sand used for interlock paving. Weeds can't establish in that too easily, but it's pricey. Not to mention how slippery the logs would be in wet weather, even with the bark left on.

I suggest you first try a few logs in a sample patch, wet them to mimic a good rainfall, and see how you fare before you go to great expense that might not work out.

I have very similar soil and problems and my solution was to edge the path with thick poly edging material, strip off the turf within the path, lay several layers of weed suppressant down and pegged, then spread pea sized gravel several inches thick. It's worked well for 5 years now and I get only an occasional weed or acer seedling which are easy to pull out when spotted.  If I could do it over, I'd replace the pea gravel with rock dust pounded flat, which is what I might add on top of the gravel as the noise drives me bonkers.

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: rcf100 on May 23, 2012, 20:44

Any aggregate wouldn't work for us as we have small children who have a fascination with stones. They would end up all over the lawn causing more problems than enough.

As far as slippery.  Sureley it would only be as slippery as decking, with them both being pressure treated wood?

I've been to the local supplier and have some bags of sand and some weed suppressant.

Would you lay weed fabric then sand or vice versa?

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: Trillium on May 23, 2012, 21:37

Weed suppressant always at the bottom. Makes any weeds work harder to get to the surface.  ;)

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: the Kergan on May 23, 2012, 22:26

I think log roll would be very slippery when it gets wet.

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: Ice on May 23, 2012, 22:38

Tried it once and it was slippery and the metal connecting the logs rusted very quickly.

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: jrko on May 24, 2012, 16:27

Quote from: rcf100 on May 23, 2012, 20:44

As far as slippery.  Sureley it would only be as slippery as decking, with them both being pressure treated wood?

The pressure treatment is only a weatherproofing technique - nothing to do with grip

The decking is designed to be walked on with grooves etc to aid grip and water run off.  

The logs are designed to be a flexible edging.  They are round on one side which makes the surface uneven when facing up and thus slippery.  If you face the round side down they will wobble and flex as they are designed to.  The metal connecting the logs will rust away and you'll be left with 100 or more individual little wobbly and slippery boards

I'd use slabs

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: Aunt Sally on May 24, 2012, 17:05

Slippery when wet.  Would need to be covered with chicken wire to make non slip.

Not a good idea in my opinion  :wub:

Title: Re: Making a path out of log rolls - advice needed pls.
Post by: mobilekat on June 04, 2012, 19:19

Our garden has steps made from upright logs, and then packed with gravel, and I can confirm they are VERY slippery, and they remain so days after the last rain as they have aged.
The whole garden is terraced and very steep, and would be a major landscaping job to replace them, but is on the list of things to do.
I have had to resort to nailing Chicken mesh over the ends as after a couple of very near misses I felt they were becoming extremely dangerous.

Good luck, but I would really not use them!