Sloped Grass Driveway

axloz on 21/06/2020 - 09:32

Hello all, we have a vehicle access way that runs down the side of our small house. Its all just grass and is surrounded by single storey buildings on 3 sides (4th being the street) and doesn't catch a lot of sun, particularly this time of year. Its on a gentle slope downwards, probably about 8-10 degrees. I'd like to prep it to park a car there and am wondering if anyone here has done a similar thing?

I've seen the products out there like SurePave and other similar solutions, but is there anything that can simply be laid on top of the dirt/grass that will give a car a bit of traction when pulling back out?

I'd just park the car on it without any prep, but my concern is that at this time of year where it gets no sun, the grass and dirt will just turn to mush and the car won't get any traction..

Any ideas/advice will be much appreciated!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • apsilon on 21/06/2020 - 09:56
    +1

    Putting in a concrete driveway is obviously the best solution but otherwise a heap of gravel will help with traction but pretty much destroy the grass but driving and parking on it long term will do that anyway.

    • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 10:45

      Yep, true, and thanks for the reply. It'd solve the problem properly but I'd like to avoid pouring concrete if I can, mainly because its hard to remove later should we get rid of this (second) car. So I'm more looking for a temporary solution.
      The grass is pretty sparse anyway as it doesn't get much sun at all and its generally just damp dirt with some thin grass coming through here and there.. it grows a little better in summer though.

      Are there any products that can be pegged to the ground and allow permeation through? Like the SurePave stuff, but without the base screeding etc? I'm sure I've seen some plastic 'mat' sort of products somewhere.. Maybe a trip to Bunnings is in order.

      • apsilon on 21/06/2020 - 11:20

        Why would you want to remove it? Having it there is going to add some value to the property and it's less grass to mow. Gravel will do what you want but it's ugly and a pain in the long run. No idea about the surepav stuff or similar.

        • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 15:32

          Longer term project is to reno the whole area so I'd prefer not to have to jack up concrete.. Neighbours would love that!

      • Keplaffintech on 02/07/2020 - 21:33

        Be careful to consider drainage if you decide to concrete it, sounds like there would be nowhere for water to go.

        I'd go with gravel instead of grass.

  • oscargamer on 21/06/2020 - 10:48

    Pebbles or gravel

    • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 10:51

      How do I best prep the grass surface for this?

      • oscargamer on 21/06/2020 - 10:53

        spray with grass death killer stuff and spread to a depth of 80mm for gravel and 60mm for pebbles (small size - say 20mm)

        if you want to get very fancy, you could then wacker plate

        you will need to top-up from time to time as they will disappear into the ground / get compacted etc…

        what's the total area?

        • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 10:58

          Area is about 6m x 2.5m (narrow car space), plus another 4m x 2.1m driveway. I'd be happy to leave the driveway portion as grass and just cover the bottom area where the car will park. Given the subtle slope I think loose material up the slope (on the driveway) may end up down at the parking area anyway..

          • oscargamer on 21/06/2020 - 11:02
            +3

            @axloz: then just dig in a piece of 100 x 40 H4 treated timber as a delineation between the pebbles and the grass

            • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 12:32

              @oscargamer: Excellent. I think this might be the easiest and most DIY solution for us. Much appreciated!

              Are you in Sydney? What's your day-rate? :)

        • Nugs on 21/06/2020 - 13:44

          recommend using quarry rubble (or road base) before adding gravel
          it sets 'hardish' when wacked (or even stomped on)
          will reduce sinkage of gravel into the dirt
          added bonus it is permeable, unlike concrete that causes runoff
          .

          • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 15:30

            @Nugs: Yes, I'd like to avoid creating specific run-off, would rather it just do its thing naturally.

            So how far would this road base go under the gravel?

  • Davo1111 on 21/06/2020 - 15:02

    I've seen more of a square/grid version of SurePave, maybe thats a better option?

    • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 15:29

      let me know if you come across it somewhere. I'm still keen to explore something like this.

      • mapax on 21/06/2020 - 15:53

        Have a look into ground protection mats or site access mats.

        • axloz on 21/06/2020 - 22:12

          Thats a great idea, will check some of those out, cheers!

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