Insane in the membrane

Aruffell

Aruffell

Aruffell

Soldato
Joined
29 Dec 2004
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Chatham, Kent
Couldn't resist doing a title like this :D

I'm not a green fingered person and have literally no clue when it comes to gardens, but I do know that for what we want to do (decking) we will need to lay membrane.

Obviously there are various gauges of membrane on the market so would be keen to get some information on what to buy.
  1. What gauge should I be aiming for?
  2. I've been told I should double up on membrane (2 layers). Will I need to?
  3. Anything else I should know?
Thanks,

Andy
 
A tip I would say is to buy ground/landscape control fabric not weed control
I found to my peril that whilst they sound the same they are not, and had some stray grass creeping through my decking last year

At minimum you want woven not fabric

You really want to cover it with something like shingle, but if you go for a higher grade in the first place the covering becomes less and less important.
In the end I had better results with the old pea shingle bags and other stuff like that I used under my decking than the "proper stuff"
 
I went for cheap heavy duty weed membrane from ebay, mainly because I could buy it in large sheets as opposed to narrow rolls so less joints. I then put just enough pea shingle over the top to provide a thin coverage.

In 8 years I've not had a single weed come through.

Don't go for weed control fabric, go for the heavy duty plastic like finish woven stuff.

One tip is I'd recommend stapling it around the posts, and around the edge if it joins on to fencing or similar. Even the slightest gap and you will potentially get weeds coming through.
 
Abyss said:
I went for cheap heavy duty weed membrane from ebay, mainly because I could buy it in large sheets as opposed to narrow rolls so less joints. I then put just enough pea shingle over the top to provide a thin coverage.

In 8 years I've not had a single weed come through.

Don't go for weed control fabric, go for the heavy duty plastic like finish woven stuff.

One tip is I'd recommend stapling it around the posts, and around the edge if it joins on to fencing or similar. Even the slightest gap and you will potentially get weeds coming through.
Click to expand...

Got a link to the stuff you used? Email in trust if need be.

Would pea shingle be needed? Will be fitting an aco drain around the house anyway for drainage.

Thanks,

Andy
 
The pea shingle is more to help stop the fabric from lifting up in the wind and keep the fabric in close contact with the ground to give weeds less opportunity to grow. I didn't use a lot i.e. You can still easily see the fabric underneath, maybe 10 bags over a 5mx5m area.

I don't have an actual link but it was basically the same as this:

Elixirgardens® Ground Check 3m x 10m Heavy Duty Ground Control Cover Membrane Landscape Fabric https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01J853IJC/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_3nT0ybCQES1QX

I laid 2 strips of 5mx3m with a 1m overlap on the joint.
 
Terram and some shingle or anything to keep the edges down. If it wasn't under decking then a more sturdy geotextile membrane as terram tends to break down in the sun.

Good title
 
Out of interest. If I was putting down membrane and then the decking frame on top of it, surely I wouldn't need any shingle etc... as the frame would be holding it down, no?

Sorry for the dumb questions, completely out of my comfort zone with this :D

Andy
 
Yes but its a lot harder in practice than it sounds in theory
I used all sorts, bits of old brick, large stones, old gravel bags, its just to hold down the membrane, but with thinner stuff to assist with blocking the light to the weeds
If doing it again i would use wider and thicker membrane as I said right at the top

If its even remotely windy the membrane wont sit still unless weighted down
 
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