Grass Pavers - non-concrete solution

[piney1]

I've used two 2x12x16' long boards for guiding my boat to its parking space since I moved here. These have worked but are not perfect and can be a pain to deploy. I've been wanting to put down two concrete strips ever since I got my last boat but have not done so. Anyhow, I was at a school last weekend and saw grass pavers in use. Wow, this is exactly what I was looking for.

https://starttraffic.com/geogrid-plastic-permeable-pavers-ground-paving-grid

For $110 and some sweat, I'll have permanent and strong 3' wide strips back to where the wheels go up onto the wood.

Thought I'd share in case there are others who have similar issues.

 

[itsdgm]

Those look awesome @piney1. Thanks for posting. I was looking into "turf blocks" a few years ago and found them both expensive (for the small area that I needed), very heavy, bulky etc. these grass pavers look perfect for lighter use areas. Please take pics and document how you prep, lay them down and what you put over them (rocks, sod or grass seed). I'd love to see the results. I'll be watching this thread for sure. Thanks.

 

[BobJohnson]

I saw these used on an episode of ask this old house a while back. Used it to widen the driveway. Great idea for an application like this. Nice job.

 

[Rideitout]

I use a similar product (same concept, different grid design) at the end of a gravel drive specifically for driving the boat across it. We dug down about 8-9", laid washed gravel wrapped in landscape fabric, laid the grid on the gravel, and installed the recommended mix of sand and topsoil in the grid.
It works as advertised for providing a solid, permeable driving surface but the two sections that come in contact with the tires don't grow anything.
With nothing growing on those sections, the sand and topsoil would slowly erode away so now I keep it covered with leaf mulch or pine straw.
The center section that doesn't get driven does grow vegetation.

 

[d_coyne1984]

I used landscape timbers and class 5 fill on top of some old landscaping rock I wanted to get rid of to make a driveway. It turned out pretty well, but I think if I could do it again I would have used the pavers with some kind of gravel to keep it looking cleaner.

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[piney1]

It took me a while to get around to getting these put in. Thankfully one of my guys at work has two strong high school students looking for money and willing to sling a shovel. It took 3.5 hours with my help. (I'm literally in the Jacuzzi at this very moment lamenting the decision to help.)

IMG_2203

• piney1
• Mar 25, 2017

Area dug out for the ground stabilizers.

IMG_2207

• piney1
• Mar 25, 2017

Used the boards that I used for driving across to stabilize and flatten the bottom of the area...

IMG_2206

• piney1
• Mar 25, 2017

The grates went in on top of a bed of gravel. The gravel is on top of the board.

IMG_2219

• piney1
• Mar 25, 2017

Dirt on top of the grates, drove over it a few times to tamp it down and then I put some sod on...

Once the sod roots and the grass comes back to life, I should be good to go for many years to come.