Green parking lots are a compromise between total urbanization and landscaping.

The solid concrete or asphalt pavement of the yard is becoming a thing of the past, and not at all because it has lost its decorative effect.

It is difficult to breathe in the yard with such a coating due to the fact that the heated material actively returns the heat received from the sun to the already hot air.

Modern technologies are aimed at returning a person to nature, but without prejudice to the comfort familiar to everyone.

One of these solutions can safely be called lawn grates, which are used to create a lawn for pedestrian loads and eco-parking.

Outwardly, everything looks like an ordinary grass cover, only a rigid frame is fixed inside it, which protects the root system from damage. That is why the crushed grass is quickly restored and continues to delight the eye with its emerald greenery.

Lawn grills are made of concrete or plastic. Next, all the pros and cons of this coverage will be considered, but even if it seems to you that this is an unreasonably expensive solution

CONCRETE more suitable for continuous paving of the yard, main paths, driveways and parking areas.

Here, the frame makes up more than half of the surface, so the grass grows in ordered islands.

PROS

• The design load on the concrete grid can be up to 20 tons.
• A concrete grate for parking in a small volume can be made by hand.
• Such a grating will cost no more than paving stones, which means that it can safely compete with it.

MINUSES

• Concrete is a heavy material. Transportation of concrete products can be more expensive than the material itself.
• The disadvantage of this type of lawn grids is the small area of ​​landscaping in the presence of thick walls. Under such conditions, the soil dries out very quickly and the grass cover without regular watering can quickly lose its attractiveness and simply die.
• It cannot be confidently asserted that this option has a high decorative effect, since a priori it looks like an artificial structure.

POLYMER gratings are a more modern solution. They are not cheaper than concrete, and often more expensive, but the duration of operation depends on the material of execution.

PROS

• Almost entirely composed of open cells with thin walls, the green coating is continuous with barely noticeable partitions.
• The grate itself is light and easy to transport.
• The locking method of fastening allows you to quickly install.
• The polyethylene grate withstands forty degrees of frost.

MINUSES

• The load on the polymer lattice can be up to 3 tons, but it is better to check this figure with the manufacturer.
• Polyethylene gratings are not cheap pleasure.
• Under the influence of sub-zero temperatures, polypropylene products become brittle and when the car moves, thin walls (1-2 mm) break.
• When hit by a car, the grass is cut off on plastic ribs, which is why the lawn repeats the pattern of the lattice.

Some types of lawn grating are designed for heavier loads. For example, the products of German manufacturers are lawn grating TTE.

Its rectangular cells have enhanced rigidity and, in addition to soil and gravel, can be filled with paving stones (naturally, from the same manufacturer).

The lawn grating in combination with paving stones is designed for parking heavy trucks.

GREEN PARKINGS can hardly be called a budget option, but they have a lot of advantages before the traditional methods of designing paths and playgrounds:

• serves as natural drainage
• do not interfere with heat transfer, which means that its surface does not overheat in hot weather,
• green lawn helps to purify the air,
• crushed stone backfill, thanks to the walls of the cells, does not move under strong mechanical loads (car traffic),
• polymer gratings have an enviable longevity, because high-quality products from trusted manufacturers can last up to 20 years (according to the guarantee) and more,
• this coating has a decorative and, at the same time, natural appearance and high environmental performance.

Flaws All lawn grates have in common:

You can buy a lawn grate and install a green parking lot with your own hands. But first you should clearly consider where it will be located and how to fill it.

The fact is that it is possible to clear snow from a lawn grate in winter, but either a rolled layer of snow will remain or the bare root system will freeze. Therefore, continuous sowing with grass is carried out mainly on garden paths, guest parking lots or in places with low walking intensity.

It is better to fill the pedestrian and driveway in front of the house with small gravel or special paving stones (for TTE gratings). Then, after cleaning, it remains only to sprinkle the ice with bischofite (an anti-icing drug that is safe for the soil) and the yard will be completely free of snow.

Installation of a lawn grate is extremely simple.

ON MOISTURE PERMEABLE SOILS remove the sod layer, clear, level and compact the site, cover it with geotextile (it will protect against weed germination and crushed stone penetration into the soil).

Next, sections of the lawn grid are laid, fastening them together using the built-in locking mechanism.

In places of docking with parts of the house and elements of the yard, the excess is simply sawed off.

The laid grating is filled either with crushed stone of a fraction of 10 mm or with soil, followed by sowing. Moreover, it can be combined, alternating stone and landscaped areas (stripes, squares, other patterns).

In such areas, they dig a trench to the depth of the pie (rubble + sand + lawn grate height). It is desirable to make the bottom of the trench with a slight slope to drain water.

It is leveled and compacted (with a hand roller), covered with a layer of geotextile. Many consider this an unnecessary waste, but non-woven agrofibre will prevent crushed stone from being pressed into the ground. And this means that your track will not sag in certain areas and will serve you for a long time.

Further, layer-by-layer backfilling is carried out in the following sequence:

• crushed stone layer from 10 to 30 cm (depending on the type of soil and the amount of precipitation in your area), fraction 20-40,
• a layer of wet sand (coarse fraction) must be leveled and compacted,
• geotextile layer — it will prevent sand from mixing with the cell filler, later you can make a local replacement of the burnt turf with young sowing,
• lawn grate
• cell filler (fertile soil, crushed stone of fraction 10, special paving stones)

Lawn grass is sown after the soil shrinks (for this it is enough to shed it and fill it up in places of subsidence).

A thin layer of earth or sand is poured over the seeds, gently watered from a hose with a fine spray (so as not to wash the crop).

Watering is continued for the next two weeks until shoots appear. Where empty clearings appear, the grass is sown.

Remember that lawn grass should be cut at intervals of once every two weeks, then the grass area will always be flat and not crushed.

You can maintain the beauty of the green carpet by applying nitrogen fertilizers to the soil 2-3 times a year (along with irrigation, dissolving them in water).

During the drought period, abundant watering is required at least once every 2-3 weeks.

GREEN PARKING, PHOTO

A lawn grate is a versatile option for covering a yard, allowing you to ennoble the yard with one tool, while maintaining a green lawn. This is a way to simultaneously plant greenery and strengthen the soil not only on the route and parking lot, but also in the backyard, recreation areas, paths and green lawns with intense mechanical stress (playgrounds).

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