When researching our patio budget we quickly realized that a paver patio would be a bit more of an expense than we were ready to invest. I mean, we JUST remodeled our kitchen.
I was researching pea gravel patios when I went to a friends house and noticed they had a red stone patio area. I inquired as to what it was and she told me it was called trail mix. I told her this is EXACTLY the look we were hoping for. She told us how much it cost and my jaw hit the floor. Only $200. I wasn’t sure she was right.
Turns out she was. With a price like the we decided we could dress the perameter up a bit with brick.
Then came the rock.
Here is how trail mix works.
You lay it down (over your weed block of course).
Then you spread it out evenly.
At this point in the game, I was getting really nervous. It felt like we were walking around in a big adult sized sandbox. This would not do! Even though we were skeptical we kept following the directions told to us by the stone company we bought it from.
The last step is that you spray it down…A LOT. I mean drench that puppy until it is pooling. They told us this was critical. If you don’t put enough water, it will not permeate to all of the rock.
An amazing thing happens when it dries… it dries hard.
Not concrete hard, but had enough to walk on without slushing through rocks. It is a pretty solid surface.
At the time that we made our patio decision I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t afford to do the pavers. Not now! I am in love with the trail mix. I would do it again in a heart beat. In fact I am contemplating where else we could use this pretty product.
Check in tomorrow for more patio fun! Wooohooo, it is done!
Hmmm. I have only heard of it called Trail Mix (because they use it on trails). Maybe crushed sandstone or red stone?
We found you on Thrifty Decor Chick and love the idea of this patio. I have called around to some of our local rock companies and no one carries it or has even heard of it. Does it possibly have another name? Thanks you!
Hmmm.. Not sure. Ours is pretty hard. Let me be clear, if my dog digs in it, it will get soft and undone. However, ours is only around 2 inches deep. Another thing the stone company made sure to tell us is to make sure it gets really really wet. Like soppping wet. So wet you think it is too wet. Because that heavy moisture has to penetrate all the way to the bottom for all the layers to get hard or it will not be hard all the way through.
We are going to add a couple of large sandstone pavers in one high traffic area where our dog likes to scamper out of her kennel area and it always gets disheveled. So I figure putting some large pieces of sandstone which is of similar tone and feel there would help us from getting frustrated with it. We may do the same thing under the chairs for our table because it does get messed up sometimes. The nice thing is if it does get messed up all you have to do is wet it down again and it is good to go. I understand how you feel, especially if it is wet and then you drag your chair across it, like after it rains. I did that last week and was annoyed. I think the answer for us is going to be to put some large stones in the high traffic areas decoratively. I will make sure to blog about it if/when we do that.
For you I would try more water first. Like a ton! Ours is hard to walk on but if my kids try to dig with a shovel, it would totally soften up.
Hope that helps!
Love the look of this patio and have seen others featured in catalogs and magazines so we took the plunge. Just put down 3-4 inches of rock and even with tamping (sp?) and watering it down it still feels pretty loose. Any suggestions? More water? Our chairs just seem to sink when placed on it- new furniture?
Rocks too deep? How many inches deep are yours? Any info would be helpful before we resort to removing some rocks and covering with pavers. 
Found your link on Thrifty Decor Chick. I love this idea and think it will be perfect for our lake house where we don’t want to spend any “extra” money!
Thanks for the tutorial – looks easy enough. I also like how it can be reset. Thanks
We still really love it. It does get dishevelled if the dog digs in it etc, because it is not a hard surface, but all it takes is another good spray for it to harden back up nicely.
Beautiful! I have a paver patio in our backyard, but was thinking of using pea gravel for a separate patio in our side yard. Will have to try this. Thanks for the tutorial!
Awesome….thanks. Gonna see if I can locate some.
We bought it at a local stone company… they sell pavers, rock, etc. I would check your local stone companies… they didn’t sell it at any of our local home improvement stores. We are really loving it.
Could you tell me where you bought the “Trail Mix?” I love the idea – your’s looks great. I just did a quick Google search and only come up with your site and lots of recipes. lol
That’s awesome, Leah! I’m so happy you found a cheaper alternative. It looks really great…I am impressed!