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Weed membrane under gravel

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are about to tip stone onto a path or a gravel bed, and the chips from last year are already green in the joints. Weed membrane under gravel is there to stop light reaching soil you would rather not see self-seed, provided the sheet lets water through and the stone actually covers it. Seed that lands in the gravel can still grow on top. A garden roll is also the wrong thing to treat as the product that makes a front drive legal. The twelve listings sit on our [ground cover](/hub/garden-supplies/ground-cover) comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to tip stone onto a path or a gravel bed, and the chips from last year are already green in the joints.

Our top picks

VOUNOT VOUNOT weed membrane, 2 m × 10 m, 30 pegs

Best overall

VOUNOT VOUNOT weed membrane, 2 m × 10 m, 30 pegs
8.5/10about £11.90
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ANSIO ANSIO weed membrane, 2 m × 10 m

Rank 2

ANSIO ANSIO weed membrane, 2 m × 10 m
6.9/10about £9.45
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iropro iropro weed membrane, 3 m × 25 m

Best value

iropro iropro weed membrane, 3 m × 25 m
8.0/10about £33.47
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On this page
  1. 1.When fabric helps a gravel bed
  2. 2.Depth, edges and pegs
  3. 3.Listings in this set that name gravel
  4. 4.A front drive is a different rule

When fabric helps a gravel bed

The Royal Horticultural Society’s gravel-garden notes put landscape fabric down when you do not want plants to self-seed, then ask you to cut crosses where you do want to plant. A gravel garden planted so that thyme, erigeron or other seeders fill the gaps is working with the stone. A membrane under that scheme blocks the very seedlings the planting relies on. A path you want to stay as stone is the case where the sheet earns its place, and only if it is permeable. The same RHS mulch guidance warns that a waterproof sheet sheds water rather than letting it through. The clearance order is on how to lay weed membrane.

Depth, edges and pegs

GravelMaster’s path guidance is about 50 mm of 14–20 mm gravel, with at least 100 mm of overlap in the sheet, and a heavier fabric if the stone is angular and can punch the weave. The Royal Horticultural Society says a 25 kg bag covers about 0.6 m² at 5 cm. That is their coverage, not a price. A path 1 m wide and 6 m long, at that 5 cm, is 6 m². Wickes asks you to check for cables before you dig and talks about an overall depth nearer 100 mm. That overall figure includes the build-up. Pin the overlap and trench the edge before the barrow arrives.
VOUNOT VOUNOT weed membrane, 2 m × 10 m, 30 pegs

Testsieger

VOUNOT VOUNOT weed membrane, 2 m × 10 m, 30 pegs
8.5/10about £11.90
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Listings in this set that name gravel

Several files mention gravel or landscape use. A bullet that says gravel is a stated use, not a permeability certificate. Buyers have put iropro, VOUNOT and ANSIO under stone. One iropro review said water did not pass. If you choose that listing, watch the first heavy rain on a small area before you cover the whole path. The best ground cover page pairs stated size and stated weight with the job.

A front drive is a different rule

In England, permitted development for a householder includes a condition known as Class F. Where you cover more than 5 m² between the front of the house and a highway, the surface must be porous, or it must drain to a permeable area. GOV.UK lists gravel as one approach that can meet that idea. The guidance pages do not discuss a plastic sheet under the gravel. Reading the rule this way is our inference, not a sentence quoted from the guidance: a waterproof sheet under the stone can stop the gravel behaving as a porous surface, because rain then runs off the plastic instead of soaking through. A permeable woven or non-woven fabric is the sheet that stays consistent with a gravel surface you are relying on to drain. Solid polythene is the sheet that fights it. This page does not apply that condition to Scotland or Wales.

Common questions

Should every gravel path have a membrane?
Use one when you want fewer weeds coming up from the soil and you are happy to hoe what germinates in the chips. Skip it when the gravel garden is meant to self-seed, because the Royal Horticultural Society ties the fabric to plantings where you do not want that. A path of 14–20 mm stone that you want to stay bare is the clearer case.
How deep is the gravel?
Trade path notes describe about 50 mm of 14–20 mm gravel over the sheet. The Royal Horticultural Society’s bag figure, about 0.6 m² from 25 kg at 5 cm, is a coverage guide at a similar depth, and it is not a price. An overall build of about 100 mm, as on a Wickes path note, is a different measurement and includes more than the finished chips.
Will weeds still grow in the gravel?
Yes, on the surface. The sheet blocks light underneath, and seed, dust and chippings of root in the stone can still sprout. Bittercress in the gaps of a 50 mm path is that surface crop, even when the membrane below is intact. Hoe or hand-pull it.
Which of these rolls mention gravel?
iropro, Zuvo, ACCURATE, both VOUNOT listings, both Vivo listings, ANSIO, CRMCC, and jxgzyy (patio and landscape) mention gravel or that kind of outdoor use in their bullets. The Ram 2 m × 5 m file does not answer it there. One iropro review said water did not pass. Treat that as a buyer report, then watch the first rain.
Does the sheet make a drive permeable?
The sheet does not grant that status. In England, Class F asks that more than 5 m² between the house front and a highway be porous, or drain to a permeable area, and gravel is one allowed approach. An impermeable plastic under the stone can undo that, which is a reading of the rule, not a line quoted from GOV.UK.
Do you still hoe the surface?
You do. The membrane is under the stone, and the weeds you will actually see are in the gravel. A hoe or a hand pull on a dry day lifts annuals before they set seed. Rake disturbed chips back to 50 mm so the fabric stays covered after you weed.

Related pages

Woven ground cover or sheeting

Ground cover

Best weed membrane for beds, borders and long runs

Ground cover buying guide: read gsm, width and pegs

How to lay weed membrane: clear, overlap and cover

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)