Decomposed Granite, Resin and Stabilizers

What should you do if you find your decomposed granite is to sandy and you think you should have ordered the DG with resins or stabilizers?

Hello. We have a question about decomposed granite. Our neighbor has been able to get us free dg, in the smaller 1/4-sandy consistency. We had been quoted a very high price from a Landscape Architect, so we were very happy we had the connections to help us out. Unfortunately, we had thought the decomposed granite would be in bigger chunks, and so did not ask our neighbor about stabilzer, hardener...it's all in now, but is very sandy and we are concerned it will erode quickly, and be tramped away by our dog....any advice for us?? Thanks.


ANSWER

As far as I know, any resins or stabilizers which are in decomposed granite are added prior to it being laid down. It is ordered that way or sometimes a contractor can mix it himself prior to installation. I am not familiar with any way to add these materials once the DG is down already.

Regardless of which kind you use, it is not in large pieces. The differences in the different types is how hard they are. Loose DG, which is what you have, is the most sandy. Take a look at my page Decomposed Granite if you haven't already.

The only way I can think of to work with this DG that you have would be unproductive and expensive. You'd have to remove the DG (being careful not to mix in anything underneath it), order the additive, have a contractor mix it in, and reapply. This would be a lot of work and costly, which would defeat your purpose of getting it inexpensively!

If the area is not that large, consider getting some stones, such as bluestone. There are a lot of creative ways to lay them and many different types. See my page on Stone Walkways. You can set them on the DG as close together as you can. You will have to dig out the DG so that the stones are level with your grade, but the DG would be the filler between the joints. This is probably the cheapest way to go. You could also remove it altogether and put down something like a pea gravel, which is loose, but not gritty.