I am fed up with our ugly tarmac surfaced courtyard. We have lived here for three years and it sheds grit and grows moss and looks a mess. At about 25x25m it is a pig to keep clean - it gets a sweep once a year if it is lucky and soon looks as rough as ever.
It was probably laid in the 1960s and we have anecdotal evidence that the area was at least partly turf before. It was put down during development to turn the house into an institutional building by the local health authority - needless to say the house is now re-domesticated! I would love to grass it over again and be able to mow it. I am interested in trying a small area of grass paving by laying those concrete or plastic cellular thingies and putting soil and grass seed in. If it works we would like to cover the whole area. It would have to carry light vehicular traffic - say 6 cars a day. It currently has two drains set into the surface - about 9-12 inches square each - located roughly along the centreline. Allowing for the issue of raised levels, which I think we can handle, the main concerns I have are Cost and Drainage. Cost-wise, I think any extra expense over the cost of ripping the tarmac up and laying turf, with all the preparation that involves, is worth it if it avoids the hassle. Plus a grass paving system should be much stronger than plain turf anyway (especially considering our rainfall...). Regarding drainage, I believe some of these systems incorporate cut-outs for cross-drainage between the cells but whether these would be sufficient over 10 or more metres of impermeable tarmac I do not know. Anyone with any advice out there?
Grassing over a tarmac courtyard
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Tool
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- Location: Isle of Man
Hi m8
Well i have just done a job a few weeks ago using the plastic grass pavers and its a good way of doing it here is the link
http://www.netlon.co.uk/_turfsystems/introduction.htm
all you need to do is dig out the area then get your levels, put in some hardcore and compact it thne lay the blocks on top.
When filling the blocks fill to the top of the tile and then leave it to sink naturally do not compact the soil with a wacker plate because the grass wil not grow.
The grass needs to grow below the top of the tile if it isnt the cars will just scrub the grass of the area
Well i have just done a job a few weeks ago using the plastic grass pavers and its a good way of doing it here is the link
http://www.netlon.co.uk/_turfsystems/introduction.htm
all you need to do is dig out the area then get your levels, put in some hardcore and compact it thne lay the blocks on top.
When filling the blocks fill to the top of the tile and then leave it to sink naturally do not compact the soil with a wacker plate because the grass wil not grow.
The grass needs to grow below the top of the tile if it isnt the cars will just scrub the grass of the area
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danensis
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lee
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- Location: Bath United kingdom
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Tool wrote:Hi m8
Well i have just done a job a few weeks ago using the plastic grass pavers and its a good way of doing it here is the link
http://www.netlon.co.uk/_turfsystems/introduction.htm
Hi tool, just out of interest... What its the final price per square meter laid retail??
How did you find it to lay.... easy / complicated? easy to cut...etc
would be good to know for the future!!
'tool'....lol is there something else i can call ya!!
ta
lee ???
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Tool
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 1:37 pm
- Location: Isle of Man
Alright Lee
Well i did a repair on a car park so i couldnt tell you how much the tiles are to buy, the customer had spares so all i did was lift the sunken areas and re install the tiles.
The guy who fitted them must have made a fortune and he fitted them wrong aswell, this guy makes out he is the best in my area too lol when people are like that you know they are full of crap.
what you need to do is make sure you have a base of wakered hardcore then lay the tiles straight on to that, the guy who done the job i repaired used sand and it all sunk lol idiot its a carpark too ok with block paving but not this method also he compacted sub soil into the tiles meaning the grass could not grow.
It is a good system if layed right.
To cut the tiles just use a grinder it is easy.
The final price to lay is i would say around £85 a square metre thats what i worked it out to be.
i was asked to re install the car park, it is i would say 2500 sq metres, i said that i would but not till october november it is a big job.
It is a good system i would say its a good way of having a green carpark.
hope that helps m8
Tool :p
Well i did a repair on a car park so i couldnt tell you how much the tiles are to buy, the customer had spares so all i did was lift the sunken areas and re install the tiles.
The guy who fitted them must have made a fortune and he fitted them wrong aswell, this guy makes out he is the best in my area too lol when people are like that you know they are full of crap.
what you need to do is make sure you have a base of wakered hardcore then lay the tiles straight on to that, the guy who done the job i repaired used sand and it all sunk lol idiot its a carpark too ok with block paving but not this method also he compacted sub soil into the tiles meaning the grass could not grow.
It is a good system if layed right.
To cut the tiles just use a grinder it is easy.
The final price to lay is i would say around £85 a square metre thats what i worked it out to be.
i was asked to re install the car park, it is i would say 2500 sq metres, i said that i would but not till october november it is a big job.
It is a good system i would say its a good way of having a green carpark.
hope that helps m8
Tool :p
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lee
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- Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2003 9:31 am
- Location: Bath United kingdom
- Contact:
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Tony McC
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There's a couple of issues here that concern me. First of all, there's the issue of drainage: All grass paving systems rely on highly efficient drainage, both to ensure the grass doesn't become saturated and also that it doesn't become too dry. Both spell death to the turf. With that layer of bitmac beneath, I'd want to know just how the drainage for this installation would function. Will the bitmac be punctured to allow excess water to drain through to the sub-grade, or could a horizontal drainage composite (known by some as a 'waffle drain') be used?
Secondly, the cells will need to be laid on a regulating layer of some description, to accommodate any variation in level of the existing surface and also to ensure sufficient depth of growing medium.
In terms of cost, the basic recycled plastic cell systems strat at around 15-20 quid per square metre to buy. Installation, loamy soil, seed and everything else is extra, of course.
I'd also urge a degree of caution. 6 vehicles per day is 12 traffic movements and I'm struggling to think of any grass/cell installation handling that volume of traffic that still actually looks like grass, particularly on areas where the same traffic route is used time and time again.
Secondly, the cells will need to be laid on a regulating layer of some description, to accommodate any variation in level of the existing surface and also to ensure sufficient depth of growing medium.
In terms of cost, the basic recycled plastic cell systems strat at around 15-20 quid per square metre to buy. Installation, loamy soil, seed and everything else is extra, of course.
I'd also urge a degree of caution. 6 vehicles per day is 12 traffic movements and I'm struggling to think of any grass/cell installation handling that volume of traffic that still actually looks like grass, particularly on areas where the same traffic route is used time and time again.
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