diff --git a/src/libstore/gc-store.hh b/src/libstore/gc-store.hh
index 2c26c65c4..da1551056 100644
--- a/src/libstore/gc-store.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/gc-store.hh
@@ -97,6 +97,13 @@ struct GcStore : public virtual Store
      * Perform a garbage collection.
      */
     virtual void collectGarbage(const GCOptions & options, GCResults & results) = 0;
+
+    /**
+     * Called by `collectGarbage` to recursively delete a path.
+     * The default implementation simply calls `deletePath`, but it can be
+     * overridden by stores that wish to provide their own deletion behaviour.
+     */
+    virtual void deleteGCPath(const Path & path, uint64_t & bytesFreed);
 };
 
 }
diff --git a/src/libstore/gc.cc b/src/libstore/gc.cc
index 3c9544017..959f4d3b1 100644
--- a/src/libstore/gc.cc
+++ b/src/libstore/gc.cc
@@ -654,7 +654,8 @@ void LocalStore::collectGarbage(const GCOptions & options, GCResults & results)
         results.paths.insert(path);
 
         uint64_t bytesFreed;
-        deletePath(realPath, bytesFreed);
+        deleteGCPath(realPath, bytesFreed);
+
         results.bytesFreed += bytesFreed;
 
         if (results.bytesFreed > options.maxFreed) {
@@ -872,7 +873,7 @@ void LocalStore::collectGarbage(const GCOptions & options, GCResults & results)
             if (unlink(path.c_str()) == -1)
                 throw SysError("deleting '%1%'", path);
 
-            /* Do not accound for deleted file here. Rely on deletePath()
+            /* Do not account for deleted file here. Rely on deletePath()
                accounting.  */
         }
 
@@ -890,6 +891,12 @@ void LocalStore::collectGarbage(const GCOptions & options, GCResults & results)
 }
 
 
+void GcStore::deleteGCPath(const Path & path, uint64_t & bytesFreed)
+{
+    deletePath(path, bytesFreed);
+}
+
+
 void LocalStore::autoGC(bool sync)
 {
     static auto fakeFreeSpaceFile = getEnv("_NIX_TEST_FREE_SPACE_FILE");