The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Wed Jan 03, 2018 3:39 pm**

Hi there.

I am looking to create a paved pathway (ie footfall only) which is to have oversized joints (approx. 45mm) to host friable soil for grass.

1) As the pathway is not for vehicles, can this still be achieved with approx. 25mm paving stones? The link below indicates 60-80mm thick paving.

http://www.pavingexpert.com/grasspav.htm

2) Also, can anyone point me in the direction of a plastic spacer provider for the above?

Regards,

Posted: **Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:21 am**

At one time, Marshalls did such a spacer as part of their Aquada system, but I think that has long since been retired.

The most likely alternative is to use small-ish pices of 40mm (or if you can find them, 45mm) concrete flagstones, say 30mm x 30mm, and place these into the joints then soil over them.

The problem with all these wide joint pavings was always stability. Having such a wide joint enabled incredibly easy horizontal totation of the individual blocks/pavers, no matter how good the spacers used, and, before long, the whole pavement starts to fall apart.

Yoiu also need to give *a lot* of thought to your sub-layers, particularly the laying course, which needs to be highly permeable but, at the same time, prevent trickle-down of the soil infill. This was often achieved by using a permeable construction geo-textile as a slip membrabne between pavers and laying course, but that, too, brought its own problems.

If you look at modern grass-block paving systems, note how much effort has gone into providing stability via clever interlocking, and how some of them incorp[orate an integral geo-textile adhgered to the base.

Lots to think about: what seems like an eminently simple idea is actually far more complex than most people realise.

The Brew Cabin

Paving thickness for oversized grassed joints