ᐅ Car parking space on gravel grid, turf reinforcement grid, or similar systems

Hello,

we are planning to add an additional parking space for a car. The plan is to use gravel turf, but only as a preliminary design without detailed planning. We will mostly handle the landscaping ourselves. Now I have some concerns about the gravel turf and have started considering grass pavers instead. However, the closer the project gets to execution, the more uncertain I become since I will need to order materials.

For example, the grass paver stones cannot be compacted with a conventional vibrating plate compactor, and heavier vehicles might cause damage. Essentially, this parking space is also intended to provide access to the rear part of the property, for instance with a mini excavator. I do not want to damage the stones.

With gravel turf, the issue seems to be that in wet weather it tends to result in a rather unattractive and muddy parking area.

The parking space will be used by visitors to park cars, minivans, or motorcycles/bicycles. Additionally, a waste bin enclosure will be located next to the spot, so the bins need to be easy to roll or push to and from the space.

Are there any alternatives? We want or need to keep the sealed surfaces to a minimum.

Why shouldn’t grass pavers be compacted with a plate compactor? The problem with this material is that the lawn only looks really good if vehicles park there only infrequently.

Why choose grass pavers instead of permeable eco-pavers?

Dragging heavy garbage bins over grass pavers or even gravel… that’s not going to be enjoyable.

Shoveling snow becomes even worse. That’s truly hard labor—I experienced that once in a rented house.

bauenmk2020 schrieb:

Hello,

we want to create an additional parking space for a car. The plan is to use gravel lawn, but only as a preliminary draft without detailed planning. We will mostly do the landscaping ourselves. Now I have some concerns about the gravel lawn and have switched to grass pavers. However, the closer we get to implementing it, the less sure I become since I need to order materials.

For example, the grass pavers cannot be compacted with a conventional vibrating plate, and heavier vehicles might cause damage. Basically, this parking space is also intended to allow access to the rear part of the property, for instance with a mini excavator. I don’t want to damage the pavers.

With gravel lawn, the problem seems to be wet weather, which can result in a rather unattractive and muddy parking area.

The parking space will be used by visitors and, for example, cars, minivans, or motorcycles/bicycles will be parked there. Additionally, a garbage bin enclosure will be adjacent to the area, so the bins should be easy to move.

Are there any alternatives? We want/need to keep the sealed surface area as small as possible.

Definitely avoid gravel if motorcycles will be parked there. It’s difficult to ride and stand on, and can be quite frustrating.

xMisterDx schrieb:

Why use grass pavers instead of permeable eco-friendly paving?

Because of wastewater fees. Also, I want to keep the area available for a rainwater harvesting tank (cistern) in case I decide to install one later. The parking spot is intended for that, and the grass pavers are easier to remove.

xMisterDx schrieb:

Dragging heavy trash bins over grass pavers or gravel... that won’t be fun.

From the bins to the street, it’s about 2–3m (6.5–10 feet).

Fuchur schrieb:

Shoveling snow is even worse. That’s really hard work; I experienced it once in a rented house.

I would only need to clear the parking spot in case of an emergency. It might be possible to cover the spot later (carport). For the trash bins, I’d only need to clear 2–3m (6.5–10 feet).

I would never use grass pavers. They simply look very unattractive and are impractical because of all the holes.

Originally, I had considered a flower-gravel lawn for the driveway but then decided against it and chose paving instead. Mainly due to the issue of snow removal. However, I would find flower-gravel lawn absolutely fine for a guest parking space. There is also a path planned behind the house, which I intend to construct as flower-gravel lawn, and I hope to finish it this week. The base will be gravel 0/16, then 2cm (about 1 inch) of compost will be evenly spread and the surface compacted. The seeding will be done with a flower-gravel lawn mix.

The conventional gravel lawn differs from the flower-gravel lawn in that the gravel lawn usually contains 50% topsoil mixed in and is primarily seeded with grasses. The flower-gravel lawn has a higher proportion of herbs and, due to the greater gravel content, should have significantly less mud buildup.