Hello, and thanks for a very informative and comprehensive site.
I am working on an old partially ruined fort in France which has a 200m fairly steeply sloped driveway with a hairpin in the middle. I have been pondering for ages what would be the best surface for this driveway which although fairly hard as the subsurface is basically rock, is getting a bit rutted, and has large stones are sticking out and smacking the underside of our cars if we'renot careful. The climate is dry here, but some snow in the winter, which can make access difficult without a 4X4. Digging up the road would be complicated and expensive because of the stone it's mostly built on. Ideally I'd like somthing that looks natural and discreet (I'd like to avoid tarmac), with a surface that gives some grip in the winter when it's icy.
Perhaps just something that reinforces the part of the road the tyres go on? In Italy recently I saw carparks made of hollowed out concrete blocks the shape of 2 honeycomb cells which interlocked with the other blocks and were filled with earth and planted with grass - would something like this work on a slope? I'd also thought of digging two channels down the road and setting small sharp stone into a concrete bed.
I'd greatly appreciate any advice or ideas you may have. Budget is tight of course, but we can get people in to help.
I've sent a photo on which the road can be seen to the site's email address.
Thanks
Vauban
What to put on the sloped driveway to a fort - Paving for a sloped, rocky driveway
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Tony McC
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Here's your piccy....
...the paving you saw in Italyland is probably a concrete grass paver, similar to those shown on this page. There are plastic versions available, which are usually cheaper, but I'm not sure how well they'd cope with that gradient and the hairpin bend,m which will generate H-U-G-E shearing forces. It may be that you need to spec summat different on that bend.
Naturally, if you fly me out to France, I'll take a quick look for you!
...the paving you saw in Italyland is probably a concrete grass paver, similar to those shown on this page. There are plastic versions available, which are usually cheaper, but I'm not sure how well they'd cope with that gradient and the hairpin bend,m which will generate H-U-G-E shearing forces. It may be that you need to spec summat different on that bend.
Naturally, if you fly me out to France, I'll take a quick look for you!
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