Gravelling a front garden

[zetec]

Due to a vandal attack on my car I have taken to parking it on my front garden so it's nearer the house. Now the weather is turning I really need to get a hardstanding sorted. I don't want it paved or concreted as this a permanent solution to a temporary problem, in time I'd like to return the garden to 100% grass.

A friend of a friend (professional paver) has quoted me circa £250 to dig out 2 wide strips, lay hardcore/type1 base, whack down and to lay a gravel.

Does this sound about right?

[Laurel Green]

Why not use those concrete mesh type slabs, allowing for the grass to grow through.

[BoRED S2upid]

Laurel Green said:

Why not use those concrete mesh type slabs, allowing for the grass to grow through.

Thats not a bad idea, the police use this solution when they park up the speed camera vans on grass verges.

[Flintstone]

Laurel Green said:

Why not use those concrete mesh type slabs, allowing for the grass to grow through.

Just don't set your mower too low, it'll bugger the blades

[defblade]

If it's occasional use, I've run a couple of layers of 1" square plastic mesh (the sort you grow plants up) pegged into the ground where the tyres run. The grass soon grows it into itself, if you see what I mean. It gives enough strength to resist a normal car. The people who sell the grow-through concrete blocks do something similar, but it was a lot more expensive for what I needed!

[netherfield]

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=PR3HE...


Never tried it,and not over cheap,probably made for a lot of traffic.

[mrmaggit]

netherfield said:

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=PR3HE...


Never tried it,and not over cheap,probably made for a lot of traffic.

Tough if you only want to cover 10 square metres.

[Chrisgr31]

Dont forget that you are only able to cover your front garden with 5 square metres of non-permeable material, and heavily tamped hardcore may not apply.

[m3jappa]

Add up the cost of muck away,base and gravel and you will see he is basically doing it for free.

Very cheap and a good mate by all accounts

[odyssey2200]

Only use gravel if you want to turn your garden in to the biggest kitty litter in the neighbourhood.

I have a small area of pea gravel to one side of my garages and wish I hadn't done it

[MJG280]

To sort the kitty litter problem I sprayed the weed control membrane with creocote before putting gravel down. If cats do it in unsprayed areas I remove the mess scrape back the stones and put some more creocote down.

Keeps the little dears at bay. Strangely our cats prefer to crap in neighbour's gardens