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Weed control membrane buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are pricing a roll for a border, a gravel path or an allotment bed, and the amazon.co.uk titles all say heavy duty. Grams per square metre, the width left after a join, and the pegs are still open. This weed control membrane buying guide is the pass to make before you sort the twelve listings on our [ground cover](/hub/garden-supplies/ground-cover) comparison. A missing number should stay missing. Shelf prices are amazon.co.uk figures from 19 October 2026, and they move. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are pricing a roll for a border, a gravel path or an allotment bed, and the amazon.co.uk titles all say heavy duty. Grams per square metre, the width left after a join, and the pegs are still open.

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What the label must state

Width, length and grams per square metre have to be printed on the file. Gsm counts only when the listing states it. VOUNOT states 100 gsm on the 2 m × 10 m roll, ASIN B0895LY6F1, at £11.90. Zuvo states 110 gsm on a 1 m × 10 m roll at £8.99. ANSIO at £9.45 and ACCURATE at £13.73, both 2 m × 10 m, state no gsm. Heavy duty does not stand in for that empty line. On a planted bed the Royal Horticultural Society says to choose a permeable sheet. Woven tape, felt and solid polythene are set out on woven ground cover or plastic sheeting.

How overlap changes the area

The next sheet has to cover the edge. Hy-Tex uses about 150 mm of overlap, and about one pin per square metre, on Covertex. That is the maker’s guidance, not a rule for every roll here. Sherborne argues for about 100 mm. Plan on 100–150 mm, and use 150 mm when the listing is silent. The title’s square metres are the cloth you pay for. A 20 m² border is the usual 2 m × 10 m size, mostly £0.45–£0.70 per stated square metre, while Vivo’s 1 m × 10 m at £12.99 works out near £1.30. Matching a file to the bed is on best ground cover.

Pegs, lines and folded wide rolls

Pins are part of laying, and this set rarely includes them. Only VOUNOT B0895LY6F1 states 30 U-pegs. Zuvo says pegs are extra. Guide lines, which that listing prints, keep the overlap even without guesswork. A 1 m width is the easier carry on a windy allotment, at a cost of 100–150 mm on every extra strip. A 2 m width covers a typical border in one piece, and Zuvo and VOUNOT reviews say the wide sheet can arrive folded, which takes longer to mark out. Use 1 m on a metre-wide bed. Use 2 m when a centre seam is the thing you want to avoid.

What not to trust in this set

Four listings contradict themselves. Zuvo’s 110 gsm sits beside 910 g on 10 m², and one reviewer received two 5 m pieces. Both Vivo lengths share one review text, including comments that name 50 m on the short roll, and both print “8oz” and “350 N” with no named test. Ram’s 2 m × 10 m file contains a bullet that says 2 m × 5 m. Both Ram sizes share a review pool and the same Garden rank, 4.5 from 3,653. CRMCC lists 500 g on about 100 m² at £36.99. jxgzyy’s 2 m × 100 m roll at £79.99 says degradable and polypropylene together. None of the twelve declares BS EN 13252.

Common questions

What gsm should you buy for a border?
Choose a woven roll that prints the grams per square metre, and treat about 100 gsm as a trade opinion. Pyracantha looks for at least that. Sherborne argues for a non-woven nearer 70 gsm. Hy-Tex uses 100 g/m² on its own sheet and still says persistent weeds may get through. No printed figure means you have no gsm.
Is heavy duty a weight?
Heavy duty is marketing. Weight is a printed gsm, or kilograms divided by the stated area. ANSIO’s 2 m × 10 m roll is £9.45, with 4.5 stars from 11,833 reviews, and it states no gsm. The 1.6 kg listing is about 80 g/m² only if all of that mass is fabric. Stars here are not a lab test.
How much extra length do overlaps use?
Allow 100–150 mm at each join, and 150 mm if the listing is silent. Two 1 m widths then cover 1.85 m, and two 5 m lengths cover 9.85 m. A bed the same size as the roll has no spare for a seam. Order a longer roll when you know you will join pieces.
Do you need pegs in the box?
You need pins on the day. Only VOUNOT B0895LY6F1 states 30 U-pegs, and reviews disagree on whether they arrived or pierced the sheet. Zuvo says pegs are extra. Hy-Tex suggests about one pin per square metre on its own fabric, before extra pins at the edges. Buy a pack when the bullet names none.
Why does the kilogram not match the gsm?
The two numbers are describing different things, or one includes packaging. Zuvo’s 110 gsm on 10 m² implies about 1.1 kg, against 910 g in the file. Vivo’s “8oz” is about 270 g/m², while 1.3 kg on 10 m² is nearer 130 g/m². CRMCC’s 500 g on about 100 m² is not a heavy weave. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 expects the goods to match the description.
Is a garden roll a driveway geotextile?
These are weed membranes for bark, gravel and allotments, mostly black woven polypropylene. BS EN 13252 covers drainage geotextiles, and none of the twelve files declares it. A French-drain bullet is not that standard. A compacted base or a soakaway needs a fabric sold with a stated drainage grade.

Related pages

Sources

Public UK sources for this comparison. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk listings in this set, captured on 19 October 2026. Page updated 22 October 2026.

  1. RHS: mulches (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. RHS: gravel gardens (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: permeable surfacing of front gardens (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: permitted development rights for householders (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Which?: weed suppressing membranes (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Hy-Tex Covertex data sheet (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK: simpler recycling in England (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22 October 2026)