Stone for area around fire pit

[aNYCdb]

I just finished digging out and laying stone (granite) for a fire pit, now I'm just trying to figure out what to do with the area surrounding the fire pit. I have a bunch of PT 4x4s that I was going to use for edging and I was planning on filling the area with stone, but I'm not sure what I should be looking at. I'm planning on ~2" of something and I think I would prefer not to have round stones, but I don't really understand the pluses/minuses of using #1st Stone (Blue Chip Stone) vs. #1A Stone (Blue Stone) vs. #2 Crushed Stone vs. 3/4″ Crushed Gravel vs. 2" Crushed Gravel (this may not even be the right terminology)

This is in the Catskills (NY) and I think I'll probably need 4-5 cubic yards, so its a question of balancing suitability, vs. price vs. aesthetics. Also just to be clear I'm talking about the area beyond the fire pit so heat isn't a consideration.

 

[nealtw]

How big is the area and will you be walking on it a lot?

 

[aNYCdb]

How big is the area and will you be walking on it a lot?

It will be about 800 square feet, and it will have minimal foot traffic (it wont be used except for the 15-20 times a year when there is a fire going.

 

[nealtw]

I would just put 3/4" crushed over filter cloth.

 

[bud16415]

A lot of the stone selection is based on where you live and what stone is processed locally if cost is a factor. Then there is preference for look and what kind of traffic it will be seeing. We have the ¾” crushed stone in our driveway and parking area Neal mentioned and it looks nice packs in nice. It is not the best for snow removal that wont be an issue for you. On the other hand it would be ok for setting lawn chairs on it would be awful on bare feet etc.


Around here they sell what they call pea gravel and it doesn’t pack that tight and they sell another product they call shot that is the cheapest stone you can get. It is the fines I think of sorting all the other grades. Most of it goes to the landfill as a capping product. I used that in my driveway at my old house and it packed in tight was easy to walk on barefoot or set a chair on after it packed in. It did work its way down into the soil as I didn’t put fabric under it and every 4 or 5 years I added a layer. Ended up being a great base.


It will boil down to you asking around to a few local landscapers and see what they use and keeping your eyes open and seeing what others have that you like the look and feel of. I would probably go with concrete pavers if I wanted something fancy or do what I did at this house and just have the fire pit surrounded by grass and mow it.

 

[aNYCdb]

Thanks for the feedback, I think I'm going to go with 3/4 crushed (blue stone) over filter cloth.