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Weed membrane under gravel

Updated: October 2026

You are about to tip a bulk bag of gravel onto a path, and someone has told you to put a sheet underneath so the stones stay clean. Weed membrane under gravel does that job when the stone is deep enough to block light, and when the ground is a path or a bed. Prices and the ten amazon.co.uk listings stay on the [weed membrane comparison](/hub/weed-control/weed-membrane). The laying sequence is on [how to lay weed membrane](/hub/weed-control/weed-membrane/sub/weed-membrane-how-to-lay). The Products Compared editorial team updated this page on 16 October 2026. We did not build a path or a drive. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to tip a bulk bag of gravel onto a path, and someone has told you to put a sheet underneath so the stones stay clean.

Our top picks

VOUNOT VOUNOT 2 m x 10 m

Best overall

VOUNOT VOUNOT 2 m x 10 m
9.4/10about £11.90
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ANSIO ANSIO 2 m x 10 m

Best value

ANSIO ANSIO 2 m x 10 m
8.9/10about £9.45
View offer
iropro iropro 4 m x 10 m

Alternative

iropro iropro 4 m x 10 m
8.5/10about £24.27
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Why the sheet goes under the stone
  2. 2.How deep the gravel needs to be
  3. 3.A path is not a drive
  4. 4.What these rolls actually say

Why the sheet goes under the stone

Gravel, slate, and bark are cover. The sheet underneath stops light reaching weed seedlings in the soil. Without it, a thin scatter of stone still lets annuals germinate, and soil works up between the stones. The RHS says to lay landscape fabric before gravel if you do not want plants to self-seed. If self-seeding is the point of the garden, leave the fabric out. Cut crosses only where a plant has to go through, and only as large as the rootball. The stone goes on the same day. A UV line is not a reason to leave the sheet bare, and UK reviews mention frayed edges when a cut stays in the sun.

How deep the gravel needs to be

Aim for about 50 mm of gravel over the sheet on a decorative path or bed. Mainland Aggregates uses at least 50 mm so light does not reach the soil. GravelMaster’s laying guide puts pathways in 14–20 mm gravel at 50 mm deep. The RHS describes a mulch as at least 5 cm. Those figures are cover, not a service life, and none of these listings print one. On a path 1 m wide and 6 m long, 50 mm of gravel is about 0.3 cubic metres before waste. If you can still see the sheet, the cover is too thin. Seed that lands in the gravel can still germinate between the stones. Overlap on that path is GravelMaster’s weed-suppression figure of at least 100 mm, not the 300 mm figure for ground stabilisation.
VOUNOT VOUNOT 2 m x 10 m

Testsieger

VOUNOT VOUNOT 2 m x 10 m
9.4/10about £11.90
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A path is not a drive

A path takes feet. A drive takes a car. GravelMaster’s driveway article excavates about 200 mm and uses about 150 mm of MOT Type 1, with the membrane under the decorative gravel. The same brand’s laying guide puts driveway surface stone at about 20 mm gravel, 50 mm deep, and says anything smaller than 20 mm breaks down under cars. The 50 mm is the wearing layer. The excavation and the Type 1 are the drive. A garden roll here is one layer. It is not rated, in any of these listings, for vehicle loads. A “driveway” bullet does not replace a compacted sub-base or a fall that takes water away from the house. Filtration around a drain is a different fabric, on weed membrane vs drainage fleece.

What these rolls actually say

ANSIO, VOUNOT, iropro, ACCURATE, KOETBURG, Vivo Technologies, Velway, and Zuvo name gravel, paths, or drives. That is listing language, not a test of angular stone against rounded pebbles, and not a load rating. Only Zuvo prints 110 gsm and only VOUNOT prints 100 gsm. Vivo states 8 oz, which is not a gsm to convert. On iropro, the bullets claim water passes through and one UK review says rain did not pass. Neither line is a driveway specification. Pegs are included only with VOUNOT and KOETBURG. Under gravel you can weigh the sheet with stone the same day. The prices stay on the main comparison.

Common questions

How deep should gravel be over a weed membrane?
About 50 mm on a decorative path or bed. Mainland Aggregates says at least 50 mm so light does not reach the soil. GravelMaster’s pathway note is 14–20 mm gravel at 50 mm deep. The RHS describes a mulch as at least 5 cm. If you can see the sheet between the stones, add more. That depth is cover. It is not the 150 mm of MOT Type 1 a gravel drive uses under the surface stone.
Does the sheet stop weeds that seed in the gravel?
No. It blocks light to the soil underneath. Seed that lands in dust and leaf litter between the stones can still germinate in the gravel itself. Pull those seedlings or top up the cover. The roll is not a herbicide, and it does not stop bindweed that is already in the ground if you laid the sheet over live roots.
Should a self-seeding gravel garden have fabric under it?
Leave the fabric out if you want plants to self-seed. The RHS recommends landscape fabric before gravel when you do not want that. A sheet under a gravel garden you hoped would fill with seedlings works against the planting. Use the fabric on a path or a bed you want to stay bare of weeds, and cover it by about 50 mm.
Can you lay a garden weed membrane and then park a car on it?
Not as the structure of the drive. The sheet is one layer. GravelMaster’s driveway method excavates about 200 mm and uses about 150 mm of MOT Type 1, then a membrane and a decorative gravel surface. None of these amazon.co.uk listings show a vehicle-load rating. A bullet that says driveway is a claim, not a specification. If a car will use the ground, that is a job for someone who builds drives.
Where does the sheet sit in a gravel drive: on soil, or on a sub-base?
On a finished sub-base, under the decorative gravel, if you are following GravelMaster’s driveway article. It does not sit on bare soil as a substitute for that base. On a footpath, the garden use in this comparison is sheet on cleared soil, then about 50 mm of stone. Mixing those two drawings is how a path gets described as a drive. Water against a house wall is a reason to stop, not to add another roll.
Do angular stones need a tougher sheet than rounded pebbles?
These listings do not say. They name gravel without a test of angular stone against rounded pebbles, and without a gsm on eight of the ten rolls. Tip stone onto the sheet as you cover it, rather than from height onto bare fabric. Do not invent a heavier gsm to feel safer.

Related pages

Best weed membrane

Weed membrane

Weed membrane buying guide for width, GSM and pegs

How to lay weed membrane: overlap, pins, then cover

Weed membrane vs drainage fleece for beds and drains

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file. Overlap figures belong to the named supplier notes, not to these ASINs.

  1. RHS: Mulches and mulching (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. RHS: Gravel gardens (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. RHS: Non-chemical weed control (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Prevent the spread of harmful invasive and non-native plants (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. BSI: BS EN 13252 drainage geotextiles (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Hy-Tex: Covertex woven ground-cover note (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Groundtex: woven geo fabric brochure (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. GravelMaster: how to lay weed control membrane (retrieved 16 October 2026)