Easy 10 steps to build an eco-friendly driveway
I think we should be really honest and say that we all feel a bit guilty about the state of our planet nowadays, it is depressing to know so much about the global environmental crisis, the state our planet is in today, that it is really what our ancestors are leaving us as an inheritance, but let's confess, we are a bit guilty too, we don’t use as many environmentally friendly products as we should (and really you probably don’t really now if the company is telling the truth about their production ethics, we don;t really do a much research for each item we use daily). But, I think we can all agree that we want to help our planet, we want to at least slow down its death but, we also don’t want to leave everything and go live in an total ecological community (By the way, they are absolutely awesome! check some of them out: http://ecosalon.com/10-intentional-communities-we-want-to-live-in/ ). So, why not just do something you already have to do, but make it ecologically friendly? How about a Driveway? If you are thinking of paving your driveway well, you might just as well consider a green one.
This are some simple steps for you to build your own Green Driveway? It beautiful, interesting and you are doing at least something for your and my planet.
Step 1: Definitely you are going to have to excavate the concrete because this will not allow the water to drain through to the ground.
Step 2: You need soil, in case you used to have a concrete driveway. You can buy beautiful soil mixes in http://www.wirralturf.co.uk/ and they will help you know what quantities you need.
Step 3: Consider your main material it could be grass, or gravel or even sand. This will depend on your taste, but in my opinion and expertise, it would be best to use grass, because it is alive and simply it looks stunning. (You will still need a bit of gravel though to mix up with the soil)
Step 4: Start digging. You’ll need to excavate 250mm deep at least
Step 5: Put the soil mixed with 3/4 gravel in, and make it even and at level and then compact it.
Step 6: Place the rest of 1/4 chip gravel over the entire driveway area. By the way, you can get great value chip gravel at http://www.corfestone.com/
Step 7: Cover the driveway area with half loam and half sand mix.
Step 8: Lay out the honeycombs sections these are essential for your design, this is where you will lay your seed for your grass. You can get really eco-friendly and good value honeycomb at http://www.pvcbuildingproducts.co.uk and I’ll get the Floplast GroundGuard
Step 9: Fill the panels (honeycombs) with a mixture of 40% sand and 60% loam
Step 10: Fill the panels with grass seed. And Voila! now all you have to do is wait till you grass starts to grow.
Now, this can be a bit tedious, you could probably get it done over one or two weeks work. We at Peninsula Paving can definitely help you get greener, we have more that 17 years of expertise and different types of green landscaping. Just give us a call for a free quotation, we can help you make a difference.
