Gravelling front of house - step issue

[Effy66]

Firstly, I'm not a DIYer but I'd like to tackle this job myself and save some money. We have an old Victorian terrace with a small front 'garden' which is laid with stone slabs, then a couple of stone 'steps' down to the pavement. It's got an acer in the area and I'll probably get a couple of other small shrubs dug in. It's a nightmare for weeds. What I would like to do is brighten up the area using white gravel so this is what I think I need to do first and please correct me if I'm wrong:-

1. Lay down a permeable membrane for water to go to the soil, and as a weed barrier - what sort do I buy, any particular type of make/thickness?
2. Gravel - I like white gravel - any prep I need to do before I shovel on the gravel? What thickness?

Step issue : going out of our house from the slabbed area there's a step down and then area continues out onto the pavement. How do I prevent the gravel falling over the edge onto the step down when walked on or it rains heavily - do I get some type of shallow edging tile type thing to lay across the whole of the upper level and if so, how would this be affixed - cemented on the stone slabs first? I've attached a couple of photos. Once whole area is gravelled I'll want to add a few paving slabs on top to create a stepping stone path up to the door.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[scbk]

Don't put gravel down, it'll be a backwards step.
Maybe do some pointing round the slabs, or go over it a couple times a year with weedkiller

 

[Effy66]

Don't put gravel down, it'll be a backwards step.
Maybe do some pointing round the slabs, or go over it a couple times a year with weedkiller

Thanks for replying - any particular reason why this isn't a good idea, just curious?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Yep, forget the gravel.
Pull all the weeds out and pressure wash the area and then repoint all the slabs, it will look fanstatic.

Your white gravel idea will go everywhere and look very dated.

Andy

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Gravel means you have the entire area of gravel to do weeding in. If you leave it as slabs then you'll only have to weed the joints.
Your gravel won't stay where it is and you'll be picking it up off the pavement forever.
White gravel won't stay white for long.
Just about the only use for gravel is to play petanque in