Pool Deck & Surround
Barefoot comfort is the whole specification here.
The situation
You want a clean, finished border around the pool or the deck that drains fast, does not grow weeds, and is not painful to walk on with bare feet.
What to buy
Pea rock, for one reason above all others: it is rounded.
Pea rock is small, naturally water-worn stone at about three-eighths of an inch, washed clean, in mixed tans, greys and off-whites. The rounded shape is what makes it comfortable underfoot. Angular crushed stone of the same size — #89 rock, say — has sharp broken faces and is genuinely unpleasant barefoot.
It also drains instantly, which matters next to a pool where water is constantly splashed out, and it does not stain or break down in sun and chlorine.
The one weakness
Rounded stone rolls. Pea rock will migrate — out of the bed, across the deck, and into the pool — unless you contain it. Install an edge. Plastic or aluminium landscape edging, a paver soldier course, or a concrete curb. Anything that gives it a boundary.
How much you need
Two to three inches deep is right. Less and the ground shows through and weeds come up. More and walking on it feels like wading.
One cubic yard covers roughly 160 square feet at 2 inches, or 100 square feet at 3 inches.
- A 3-foot border around a 15 by 30 pool is about 300 sq ft — roughly 3 yards at 3 inches
- A small side bed of 100 sq ft — about 1 yard
One yard is a completely normal order. You do not need a truckload.
Not sure? Tell us the rough size of the area and how deep you want it and we will work it out with you. Nobody expects you to know this — it is our job, not yours. Or use the calculator.
For scale: a cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. A typical bag of stone or soil from a home centre holds about half a cubic foot — so one yard is roughly 54 bags, three to five car trips, and a lot of lifting.
We will bring one yard. We will also bring a hundred loads. Ask for a price →
How to do it
- Clear the area and level it roughly.
- Install your edging first. Doing it afterwards is far harder.
- Lay landscape fabric. Without it the stone works down into the soil and weeds come up through it, and the bed needs redoing in two years.
- Spread the rock 2 to 3 inches deep and rake level.
- Top up lightly every few years. Normal for any loose stone.
Materials for this job
Pool Deck & Surround — common questions
Is pea rock the same as pea gravel?
Will pea rock hurt bare feet?
How do I stop it getting into the pool?
Can I get just one yard?
Other projects
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One cubic yard or a hundred loads — same pricing structure, same delivery standard, same one-hour quote.