Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:33 pm
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?
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?