Ground Matting

[Guest Kathleen]

Hi I wonder if anyone can help? I'm trying to find the name and supplier if possible of the ground matting that's sometimes used at outdoor shows. It's a kind of green square matting and helps to prevent vans etc from getting stuck in the mud. I thought this product would be ideal for parking our van in the garden. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you Kathleen

[Guest David]

Hi, Are you thinking of Astro turf which Sports Ground Contractors supply ( See Yellow Pages ). The other product which could be of interest is the concrete blocks which you can lay in the garden and sow grass in the patterns cut in the blocks. David

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Kathleen There are a number of products that may be suitable, it depends on how long you'd be leaving the van in the same place. If it is more than a very few weeks at a time, the grass beneath will die for want of light/water. That would rule out and of the solutions that rely upon reinfircing the ground, be it plastic, concrete or mesh. If the van is to stand for extended periods then you'll need to put down a proper base whatever you choose as a topping. If you don't, sure as eggs is eggs, the ground will sink/groove where the wheels track backwards and forwards, but especially where they stand. In time, the plastic tiles will just distort under the weight of the van, so they too will need a good base if they're not to end up looking tatty. It will depend a bit what your ground is like, clay, rock, or more probably smmething between. If it is soft then you'll need to excavate the topsoil away and possibly start with a geotextile fabric (a tough synthetic that prevents the soil extruding back up through the hardcore) then 150 - 200 mm hardcore or, better still, type 2 road base material. Once that is down and compacted you can top off with pretty much what you like, brick pavings, tarmac, gravel etc. If you're on something really firm, then you'll get away with maybe 100 - 150 mm of base laid straight down once the topsoil is removed. Cheapest would be gravel, most expensive brick paving. Don't however, go for paving slabs, they are too big and will just crack. You won't need a concrete slab, just the appropriate depth of base properly compacted. Bricks laid and jointed dry i.e. no mortar, are absolutely fine so long as they are the paving type. Topsoil removal is a mini digger job and all the materials quite cheap. Talk to a reliable (not cowboy) local drives/roads contractor. Your local roads authority may be prepared to suggest who to go to. If you want grass, I'd still take out the topsoil and lay the base, but be sure the top of the compacted base finishes 75 - 100 mm below the surrounding grass. Then place the reinforcing blocks of whatever type on that and backfill with the topsoil, then seed with a tough grass mix. However, do bear in mind that you'll still have to mow it, and that may mean moving the 'van. You'll need to talk to local builders merchants, preferably the larger ones, and garden centres, to find out what is readily available near home. When you've decided what you prefer, then is the time to talk to the potential layers and take their advice - they'll probably have used the stuff and may well suggest a different product of similar type that they have found more successful. Do talk to three or four (if you can find that many) though, and not just one. It just helps them sharpen their pencils if they think someone else is also under consideration. If you keep the materials labour local, you should get a fair price and it shouldn't be that expensive. Also, consider how much you can take on yourselves as another way to keep the cost down. All these solutions should drain naturally, to the same extent more or less as the adjoining grass, so ponding shouldn't become a problem.

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Kathleen: There's a small company called Tylyne that markets a "Lawn Protector". This comes in a 2m wide roll (about £30 per metre run), is placed on top of the turf and alows the grass to grow through and 'breathe'. Tylene is based at Worcester (Tel: 01905 458630 Fax: 01905 455904) and also sells a wide range of rubber matting products. The company has recently begun to exhibit at motorhome shows and was present at the MMM 2005 Western show at Malvern and the 2005/2006 Shepton Mallet events. There are also (expensive) square concrete or plastic matrices that are sunk into the soil to provide inconspicuous vehicle parking in landscaped surroundings. A builders' merchant should have details.

[Guest Kathleen]

To David, Brian and Derek. Thank you for your quick response. I am absolutely amazed at the amount of information that's available from forum members. From the information supplied I have found exactly what I am looking for. Once again many thanks. Kathleen

[Guest Mel E]

I have used Tyline recently. They have three grades suitable, in general for cars/small vans, large vans, light lorries. I used the middle grade to cover the grass at the front/side of our house so that I can reverse our motorhome off the front drive, over the grass, and then down the side of the house onto some hardstanding I have built there (1 inch shingle about 4 inches thick). This gets the 'van away from the front of the property where parking is not allowed under the covenants. Our new 'van is a Renault Master based conversion with a Max Weight of 3.5 tonnes. The Tyline works well, but, in damp conditions, you still do get some tyre depressions. I suspect the heavy duty stuff would have been better (but more difficult to handle and peg down.

[Guest Mel E]

I have used Tyline recently. They have three grades suitable, in general for cars/small vans, large vans, light lorries. I used the middle grade to cover the grass at the front/side of our house so that I can reverse our motorhome off the front drive, over the grass, and then down the side of the house onto some hardstanding I have built there (1 inch shingle about 4 inches thick). This gets the 'van away from the front of the property where parking is not allowed under the covenants. Our new 'van is a Renault Master based conversion with a Max Weight of 3.5 tonnes. The Tyline works well, but, in damp conditions, you still do get some tyre depressions. I suspect the heavy duty stuff would have been better (but more difficult to handle and peg down.

[Guest Mel E]

Sorry for the double reply! The grass has grown back through the plastic perfectly (and we only put it down last October).

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Problem is, the topsoil must contain some air. Rolling the vehicle over it, or parking it, inevitably expels some of that air. When, eventually, most/all the air has been expelled, the ground will have become depressed to the extent of the volume of expelled air. Under these conditions the ground can't drain and will tend to waterlog and pond. The roots of the grass in this compacted topsoil cannot then breathe, and the grass will suffer until the ground is aerated again by some means. This is not so easy through the reinforcing membrane. The process is gradual, depending on the number of passes the 'van makes and on how long it stands. It may, therefore, take several years before the grass begins to look really sick. It will therefore be better, if at all possible, to lay a hardcore or radbase layer first, then put back about 100 mm of a gritty topsoil mix with a fleece layer under it. The fleece will stop the topsoil just washing down into the hard stuff, the grit will resist too much compaction in the topsoil layer and the reinforcement will prevent too much general sinking. Products soch as tylyne do a good job of preventing wet turf being cut up by vehicle tyres, but they do still need some further reinforcement beneath to give best results for grass and vehicle. Yer pays yer money........... Regards Brian

[Guest Mel E]

Brian, the Tyline plastic is about a 1cm open mesh, so aerating the soil bebeath is a doddle using any of the usual tools (eg., garden fork). As for the sub base preparation, I would submit that it will help prevent overall sinking, but it won't stop the weight on the tyres squeezing the topsoil, under the grass, sideways, creating a dip and mountain effect. As we have clay just under the grass, this is what happens when it's all wet and, of course, there's no problem when it's dry and bone hard. What the Tyline does is to stop the wheels cutting up the grass by spreading the load somewhat. It also stops skidding. We have found it does what it says on the box and the grass continues to grow well, even during the non-growing season. Indeed, the Tyline is now virtually invisible so this lawned area looks completely normal.

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Mel It's all a matter of degree. If the popsoil above the hardcore layer is stiffened with grit, then it shouldn't groove too readily. Tylyne (or similar) meshes really work by converting some of the vertical forces into horizontal forces by being (intiially) stapled down and, eventually, by being absorbed into the turf. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not knocking the stuff - it really is good and it definitely prevents the wet turf getting cut up by vehicle movements. It's just my construction industry background that tells me it will work better if the underlynig ground is stiffened before it is applied but, as I said initially, it does depend on what nature's already put there! As you say, yours has developed slight depressions, presumably where the wheels have run back and forth. If there was the roadbase layer under the soil, and had the soil been stiffened a bit before being relaid and seeded, you'd have less of the grooving. Inevitably, though, as you say, you'd still have some. In any case, if it gets too bad, you can always add to the depressions and patch repair. You'll just have to repeat from time to time. Regards Brian