[David C]

Now that I have made the move from landscaping in warm dryness of Ontario to the damper British Columbia my thoughts are turning to using Geotex between the soil and my driveway or walkway base. We never used it this way in Ontario, albeit that was 20 years ago and I'm not sure if I'm just out of touch with the times here, but I read an article recently about a company that used Geotex under everything they do.

So I'm wondering what everybody's take is on using Geotex?
Does anyone use it under their interlocking bases?

[Stonehenge]

I know that some folks here put it under every single paver install. Others use it on a case by case basis. That's where we fall.

[neversatisfiedj]

I use it under every pavement. for a couple cents per square foot- why not ?

[mudshovel]

We use it under EVERY hardscape we install. The lifespan for geotextile is roughly 100 years +. The woven geotextile is semi-porous, however if dealing with clay soils and poorly drained soils I would recommend non-woven geotextile. Whatever the case, geotextile fabric will not break down in a lifetime, eliminating callbacks from settlement, if the sub-base is compacted properly.

[David C]

Thanks for the info guys...I am going to make it a standard operating procedure.

Was geotextile being used under brick 20 years ago, I honestly don't remember the company I worked for using it or anything between the base and the soil.

[Stonehenge]

I can't say if there was a single contractor doing it 20 years ago, but I know that none of the companies I worked for, nor any of the companies of the other guys I knew in the industry installed geotextiles beneath their pavers. Now there were probably a few; I just don't know who they were. Ask Dan Deutekom - the guy's family is a veritable landscaping dynasty. If anyone would know, it'd be him.

[dan deutekom]

We used it on Interiorlandscape projects as a filter cloth so that the soil would be separated from the drainage layer but as for using it under pavers it was probably about 20 to 25 years ago that we started using it if conditions warranted it. I still will only use it if working in poor soil conditions. I wouldn't make it a standard procedure. At $0.30 + a square foot it can add a significant additional and not necessarily needed expense to a project.

Also environmentally I am not sure that I would want to use something that can't be recycled or broken down without a good reason.

I have also used it to make temporary access routes in muddy areas by rolling out the cloth and then dumping 12" of gravel on top. When done we worked our way back by backdragging and removing the gravel. Expensive, but it works when it has to be done.

[tom]

We just bought a new roll of Mirafi 140N and paid $ 00.11 per sq. ft. We spec it in every vehicular paver application and then some.

[eastern1]

Originally Posted by dan deutekom

We used it on Interiorlandscape projects as a filter cloth so that the soil would be separated from the drainage layer but as for using it under pavers it was probably about 20 to 25 years ago that we started using it if conditions warranted it. I still will only use it if working in poor soil conditions. I wouldn't make it a standard procedure. At $0.30 + a square foot it can add a significant additional and not necessarily needed expense to a project.

Also environmentally I am not sure that I would want to use something that can't be recycled or broken down without a good reason.

I have also used it to make temporary access routes in muddy areas by rolling out the cloth and then dumping 12" of gravel on top. When done we worked our way back by backdragging and removing the gravel. Expensive, but it works when it has to be done.

This is where most people fail to understand the benefits of geotextile under their stone work. It not only separates your stone base from the sub-grade, it also acts as weight distribution. If on a newer home you were to have a small sinkhole open up in your driveway the geotextile will prevent any settling that would most definetely occur if none were used. I don't remember using it in any of our installs back in the mid 80's but we have used it on most every job in the last decade or so.

[Grant]

What type of geotextile should be used under a stone driveway?

Grant

[eastern1]

Originally Posted by Grant

What type of geotextile should be used under a stone driveway?

Grant

You want to use a woven geotextile fabric. Usually come in 12' rolls and covers approx. 400sq yards.

Non woven would be ideal behind retaining walls