Is there any sort of grass driveway that works well?
Discussion
Just wondered if anyone has experience of or ideas for a grass driveway? I have a stupid planning issue around the appearance of hard surfaces within an AONB and old garden. Thinking it could be resolved by keeping the surface as grass but I don’t know whether these grid systems really work in practice. I need reasonable grip on the surface (pre war cars with skinny tyres) and it’s all on clay - but I guess subsurface deals with drainage. Thanks in advance if anyone has experience!
lear said:
Just wondered if anyone has experience of or ideas for a grass driveway? I have a stupid planning issue around the appearance of hard surfaces within an AONB and old garden. Thinking it could be resolved by keeping the surface as grass but I don’t know whether these grid systems really work in practice. I need reasonable grip on the surface (pre war cars with skinny tyres) and it’s all on clay - but I guess subsurface deals with drainage. Thanks in advance if anyone has experience!
My pals use it at their B&B. As overflow parking it works well. But not heavy use, turning etc. If you are going to park on it, the grass will die.
I have some plastic grid for parking a trailer on and it works fine. I wouldn't bother using the plastic if you are using the driveway every day, I would looking into concrete permeable pavers. Some thing like this.
https://www.gardenista.com/posts/zangra-grass-pave...
Still need to do something with the parking area or park in the garage.
I have some plastic grid for parking a trailer on and it works fine. I wouldn't bother using the plastic if you are using the driveway every day, I would looking into concrete permeable pavers. Some thing like this.
https://www.gardenista.com/posts/zangra-grass-pave...
Still need to do something with the parking area or park in the garage.
A few years back they started appearing on parking spaces around my part of London. They looked good while the developer’s for sales signs were up. Made the frontage of converted houses look like cottage gardens. However, they never seemed to stand up to use. The typical central London car is static 5 days a week so the grass just died and filled with moss and weeds around a visible plastic lattice.
I’ve had good results with this mesh. I used it to turn a lawn into visitor parking. Put it down in April and it was invisible by summer.
It certainly stops the grass and soil getting churned up, especially in winter. But as I said it was just for visitor parking, and if you were to park on it long term you may end up killing the grass where the tyres have been sat on it.
https://www.sure-green.com/grass-reinforcement-mes...
It certainly stops the grass and soil getting churned up, especially in winter. But as I said it was just for visitor parking, and if you were to park on it long term you may end up killing the grass where the tyres have been sat on it.
https://www.sure-green.com/grass-reinforcement-mes...
I've got a similar predicament myself, trying to claim an 8 foot strip down the side of our 30 foot garden for very occasional vehicular access to the garage (that I've not built yet) down the bottom. Mrs is not having it at all and maintains she needs the entire width for vegetables or flowers or somesuch 
Reinforced grass might just about be acceptable to her so I'll do some research and present it as a possible compromise. How much do these grass grids offer in the way of traction? Our garden is on a slight slope and I want to keep a motorbike down the bottom, am I going to be able to get it out on a rainy day without carving up it sideways Ewan McGregor style? It'll be for a sportsbike with almost slick tyres rather than a BMW GS too.
Reinforced grass might just about be acceptable to her so I'll do some research and present it as a possible compromise. How much do these grass grids offer in the way of traction? Our garden is on a slight slope and I want to keep a motorbike down the bottom, am I going to be able to get it out on a rainy day without carving up it sideways Ewan McGregor style? It'll be for a sportsbike with almost slick tyres rather than a BMW GS too.
Thanks All. Grasscrete an interesting suggestion - hadn’t come across that but looks rather more substantial than other methods I’ve seen. I actually have a fair bit of that sure-green reinforcement mesh as a temporary access; can certainly see how it works well on drained soil. Problem I’ve had on solid clay is that it has sunk about an inch below a layer of mud already - which of course becomes slick in the wet. It’s definitely invisible though! Not looking to park on it - it’s to provide garage access. Gravel was the optimal plan but we’re having a fight about re-establishing a second entrance where apparently twenty metres of gravel will ruin the whole AONB...
lear said:
Thanks All. Grasscrete an interesting suggestion - hadn’t come across that but looks rather more substantial than other methods I’ve seen. I actually have a fair bit of that sure-green reinforcement mesh as a temporary access; can certainly see how it works well on drained soil. Problem I’ve had on solid clay is that it has sunk about an inch below a layer of mud already - which of course becomes slick in the wet. It’s definitely invisible though! Not looking to park on it - it’s to provide garage access. Gravel was the optimal plan but we’re having a fight about re-establishing a second entrance where apparently twenty metres of gravel will ruin the whole AONB...
A bit left field but is it possible to get coloured gravel? If you got green gravel you could spread it over the 20m strip bit by bit so in effect create your own semi ravelled/semi grassed strip, which doesn't stand out too much?Just a thought
The best looking stuff is where the visible concrete appears as isolated bits in the grass, rather than having bits of grass poking though gaps in concrete. Soil wants to be set low vs the concrete surface otherwise you just end up with mud. Choose the grass/cover plant so it can cope; normal lawn seed isn't really up to it.
The 'poured slab with holes in' stuff is nice and strong but the finish usually looks rubbish - industrial use only.
If the existing soil is clay you probably want to think about making sure you sort out a way to get the subsurface to drain well, and don't use the clay soil to fill the grasscrete, otherwise you just get wet greasy mud everywhere.
The 'poured slab with holes in' stuff is nice and strong but the finish usually looks rubbish - industrial use only.
If the existing soil is clay you probably want to think about making sure you sort out a way to get the subsurface to drain well, and don't use the clay soil to fill the grasscrete, otherwise you just get wet greasy mud everywhere.
Just thinking of other options - one low impact & decorative choice if it's just for access instead of parking on is to just have a couple of strips for driving on, made up of granite setts (say 200x100x50mm ones) set end on into concrete for half their length then filled around with soil in the joints, with the joints maybe a bit wider than normal. Nice high friction surface but the impermeable / non-grass area would be minimal.
Darkslider said:
Our garden is on a slight slope and I want to keep a motorbike down the bottom, am I going to be able to get it out on a rainy day without carving up it sideways Ewan McGregor style? It'll be for a sportsbike with almost slick tyres rather than a BMW GS too.
No. Not unless you get one which is far more concrete than grass. My mate had one of those mesh's you can put down, and it worked well for a very temporary solution and did stop the grass getting cut up, but it provides no support or load bearing capability, so you had very obvious tyre indentations, and if used when it was wet you still could tear the grass on top until your wheels hit the mesh.
This was posted up not so long ago:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I bought into the Sure-green GR14. Worked a treat, and hardly noticeable, but worked well.
I didn't spend too much time in preparation, nor did i throw down a layer of top soil and grass seed.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I bought into the Sure-green GR14. Worked a treat, and hardly noticeable, but worked well.
I didn't spend too much time in preparation, nor did i throw down a layer of top soil and grass seed.
Edited by bunchofkeys on Tuesday 7th July 09:32
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