TikTok Is Obsessed With This Easy Solution To Muddy Areas In The Yard

Laying pavers to cover a bare, muddy spot in your yard or creating a DIY garden path isn't something you can typically do in just an hour or two. Unless, perhaps, you opt for faux pavers. TikTok user @blesserhouse created a video that uses decorative stepping stones with spikes on the bottom. The TikTok shows someone installing them with a rubber mallet to drive the spikes into the ground. The final installation results in a stepping stone path to a kids' play area, allowing the kids to avoid walking through mud, and the comment section is obsessed with this idea.

Is this the best solution for a muddy pathway, though? In the TikTok video, the area where @blesserhouse installs the stones is grassy and doesn't have visible mud. It certainly may become muddy after a rain, but the brief TikTok video doesn't show the area when it's wet.

The manufacturer of the faux stones, which are available on Amazon for $179.50 for 16 of them, lists muddy areas as a potential use case. The spikes would certainly hold them in place in an area with some damp soil, preventing them from sliding around. One reviewer on Amazon gave the tiles a perfect five-star rating, claiming they were the ideal choice for a muddy area. Another Amazon reviewer gave the product four stars for covering a muddy pathway properly. To help you decide whether you want to use these pavers, we'll discuss the pros and cons before providing some other ideas for solving a problem with a muddy spot in a yard.

These pavers consist of resin instead of stone, but can hold an impressive 330 pounds according to the manufacturer. At the same time, the resin pavers are very light-weight, which makes them ultra-easy to install, or pry up and move. Resin is a type of plastic that's made to stand up to the elements outdoors, so the faux pavers should survive muddy spots and tough weather conditions. However, while they look like stone and feature an attractive limestone finish, these resin pavers probably do not have quite the durability of stone.

The pavers ship with the four 4.25-inch long spikes unattached, so you can install them flat to the ground or you can attach the spikes for extra grip. To attach the spikes, you will need to press the top of each spike into the connectors on the bottom of the stones. The spikes consist of the same resin as the pavers.

Each stone measures 15.5 inches square. These faux pieces are a little narrower than the typical paving stones on a path, which can comfortably measure around 24 inches wide. Adults may not be able to walk on these narrower pieces all that effortlessly. Each resin stone measures 1.2 inches in thickness, so it's tall enough to avoid sinking completely down into the mud, but they might have a hollow feeling underfoot. More than one Amazon review also noted that they make a strange sound when stepped on. 

If you have an exceptionally muddy area (or you don't like the idea of plastic stepping stones), then resin stones might not be the answer and you'll need another solution to restore that muddy part of your lawn. One option to cover a muddy pathway at your home is to install a wide paver walkway that consists of thick stones laid side by side. You first may need to reroute your downspouts to improve the drainage in your yard. Then dig any grass or weeds out of the space so nothing tries to grow through the paver stones.

Level the area with soil and a layer of paver sand. Next, add the pavers and lay them side by side. If you want to lay them tightly together, add paver sand over the top and force it into the spaces between each paver with a broom to finish. If you wish to create a gravel border, you can also lay a line of bricks a foot or so away from the outer side of the pavers, and fill the empty spaces with pea gravel. This also works well if you want to spread the pavers out.

Want to lay regular concrete stepping stones instead of a path? Simply arrange them, and then dig out the turf following the outline of each stone and add some paver sand. The faux resin stones may be easier to install, but creating a stone pathway can be a more permanent solution, especially in an area with excessive standing water and mud.