What are gravel grids and why should you use them?
Installing gravel on driveways and outdoor areas is an extremely popular paving method that offers many advantages. However, compared to paving or asphalt, gravel has traditionally been considered an inferior paving method. Common concerns about gravel driveways include::
- Accessibility – it is often difficult to ride over surfaces and gravel driveways with bicycles, wheelchairs or buggies.
- Gravel shifting – in gravel driveways, the gravel often shifts to the side or lawns, leaving the gravel next to the driveway.
- Rutting and pitting – regularly used gravel surfaces often show pitting and rutting, creating puddles and hollows that not only look unsightly, but also make the driveway less easily passable, making it more difficult for vehicles to manoeuvre on the surface.
What are gravel mats?
Gravel mats, also known as gravel grids, are designed to create a solid base under a gravel surface. They are manufactured from a variety of materials from manufacturers around the world and aim to create a stable surface that prevents gravel shifting and rutting and pitting while improving accessibility. Using a quality gravel grid gives you a pavement similar to asphalt or other paved surfaces, but with all the added benefits of a gravel surface.
What are the advantages of gravel grids?
Gravel gratings offer numerous advantages, both for the end user and the contractor. We list some of the advantages for you:
- Positive impact for the environment – with ever-increasing rainfall in Europe, many areas are becoming prone to flooding. Gravel grids support the natural drainage of water into the subsoil, reducing rainwater runoff. The gravel combined with the grating systems allows water to seep through the ground without creating puddles. If you are a contractor dedicated to designing and creating sustainable and ecological landscapes or you are an owner looking for a more eco-friendly garden or driveway, gravel mats certainly offer an ecological solution.
- Accessibility and stability – the use of a gravel grid provides a solid base to “hold” the gravel, creating a hard surface as firm as an asphalt or paved surface, even on a slope. This stable surface allows vehicles, wheelchairs and buggies to move easily over the surface without sinking or losing grip. The impact of a quality gravel grid on the stability of the surface is so great that one can even walk on it in high heels.
- Cost-effectiveness – in many cases, gravel surfaces are chosen as the ‘cheaper’ option that requires a minimum of skill to construct and provides faster results if you choose to install it yourself. However, if you do not use a well-prepared surface, you may need to replenish the gravel on a regular basis, remove the shifted gravel and eventually -out of frustration with the ongoing problems- require another surface. Using a gravel grid requires less maintenance and extends the life of your gravel surface.
What is ECCOgravel?
ECCOgravel is the first gravel mat produced in Europe by ECCOproducts, a company dedicated to designing and producing ecological solutions for outdoor spaces. When using gravel grid systems, it is important that no gravel gets underneath the gravel mat. ECCOgravel is manufactured in such a way that the risk of gravel getting under the gravel grid is reduced to zero. Other great features of ECCOgravel:
- Manufactured from fully recycled materials, while being 100% recyclable.
- Resistant to high pressure.
- Resistant to high wringing loads.
- Manufactured from frost-resistant HDPE for high durability and better results.
- Available in different colours to perfectly match the chosen gravel.
- Thermally bonded geotextile that prevents unwanted weeds and shifting of gravel.