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Car Parking Domestic Driveway Gravel Driveway

50m² X-Grid® Gravel Driveway – A Customers Self-Written Case Study

This case study comes from Paul, after deciding to install a Car Port on the side of his workshop needed to convert his part tarmac driveway and part gravel path into a strong, easy to lay and permeable gravel driveway. After using our X-Grid® in a previous project, he decided to use our fully recycled gravel grids again to transform his driveway. Paul wrote up his project for us:

The Project

A new car port was being installed to the left of the workshop, which required part of the old tarmac driveway to be removed, and a new self-draining gravel driveway installed.

Removal of the tarmac revealed a sub-base still in good condition, so I decided not to disturb this area. The remaining garden had the gravel removed and a few inches of topsoil removed, crushed brick and type 1 sub-base was then used to give a relatively level surface to lay my X-Grid®.

X-Grid Gravel Driveway: the project
X-Grid was installed on an existing sub-base after the surface had been levelled.

Preparation & Installing X-Grid®

Before laying the X-Grid, I used Galvanised staples from MatsGrids to fix the GeoTextile Membrane in place prior to laying 25mm of sand.

The edge is held in place with the edging strip and plastic nails, again from MatsGrids. As I had used the old sub-base from the original tarmac drive the grids would have stood about 25mm proud of the path, so they were laid as shown, with the gap to the path filled with concrete and gravel pressed into it while still wet.

As well as providing a smooth transition between the path and drive, this also prevents the grids from moving and the gravel from migrating. I know this is not the recommended method but after several weeks of driving the car in and out it seems to be holding up well.

I am no builder, just an average DIYer of advancing years, and would never attempt a project like a driveway before these grids were invented. The whole project was completed quite simply without the need to hire any heavy equipment.

Preparation & Installing X-Grid®
The GeoTextile Membrane was held in place with the edging strip and plastic nails.
Preparation & Installing X-Grid®
The X-Grid installation process was simple.

Conclusion

The photos throughout the blog show the completed drive and car port. There is still a fair bit of tidying up to do and another ton of 20mm crushed gravel wouldn’t go amiss to give a more uniform appearance, but overall I very happy with how it turned out.

I’ve used X-Grid from MatsGrids in the past for a smaller project and have always received great service from them. Our local garden centre are selling a similar product for £24.99 per m2, so these are an absolute bargain.

We would like to say a massive thank you to Paul for first of all using our X-Grid® and second for writing this fantastic case study for us. If you have any photos of your installation to share with us or have any questions regarding our products then please do not hesitate to contact us.

50m² X-Grid® Gravel Driveway: conclusion

2 Replies to “50m² X-Grid® Gravel Driveway – A Customers Self-Written Case Study

  1. Would I be able to use the mats with grass and still expect the mats to withstand the weight of cars, or does the gravel strengthen the mats?

    1. Hi Jill,
      You can use Grass to fill X-Grid® and it will be strong enough to support the weight of cars. Unfilled, X-Grid® can withstand up to 420 tonnes per square metre.
      Hope this helps.

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