Wood chips are used as a ground covering in a variety of ways such as landscaping, playgrounds and walking trails. They are also becoming a popular choice for covering driveways due to their eco-friendly properties. Although not a good choice for heavily travelled roads due to compacting, wood chips are a great material to use in residential driveways. Constructing a wood chip driveway is a simple but labour-intensive home improvement task.

Use a can of spray paint or spray chalk to mark the outline of the driveway on the ground.

  • Wood chips are used as a ground covering in a variety of ways such as landscaping, playgrounds and walking trails.
  • Use a can of spray paint or spray chalk to mark the outline of the driveway on the ground.

Use a shovel to remove the top layer of grass from the driveway area in between the chalk lines. Simply insert the shovel 1 to 2 inches into the ground, lean back slightly and push the shovel blade under the top layer of the ground. Discard the grass.

Unroll weed barrier fabric over the entire driveway. Overlap sections of the fabric by 1/2 inch to prevent weeds from growing through.

Use a rake to spread the wood chips over the weed barrier until it completely covers the entire driveway. The wood chips should be applied in a 10cm-thick layer.

Use a gravel packer to pack down the wood chips. A gravel packer is a large heavy barrel that rolls over the wood chips to pack them down. Gravel packers can be rented at most home improvement stores.

  • Unroll weed barrier fabric over the entire driveway.
  • Use a gravel packer to pack down the wood chips.