What are the Advantages of Porous Paving?

Have you ever tried walking on a path through a park when it has been raining heavily? If you have you will know how muddy and slippery it can be. It is very easy to lose your footing on this kind of surface, particularly if it happens to be uneven and on a slope.

rnHowever there are solutions to this kind of problem. What’s more, the solutions are currently in place up and down the country, and they use something called porous paving. As you might imagine from the name, this is nothing like regular paving slabs or stones that you might see some paths made from.

rnInstead the paving looks like a hollow grid. It is laid down on a suitable surface and then filled – either with earth so it can be grassed over or with gravel. The filling will depend on where it is placed. Some use permeable paving to allow them to successfully lay grass up an embankment. You can use the same paving to place gravel on a slope without losing it as well.

rnThe design is very versatile and can be used in lots of different circumstances and situations. The good thing is that it is very hardwearing and thus it can be used in areas of heavy foot traffic. Some people even use it in car parks to minimise the amount of damage done to the gravel surface there. Instead of having the gravel moved around a lot the permeable paving holds it in place, with just a thin layer covering over the top of the paving so it cannot be seen.

rnMost of the time, the task of laying a path – particularly one that is to be used in public areas – is quite difficult. It can take time to lay it correctly and in some cases, depending on the materials used, you need to allow time before the path can be used. This is not the case with porous paving because it can be laid down and interlocked with other pieces of the paving very quickly indeed. Once this is done the gravel can be poured in and spread out and that’s all there is to it. So for people who are looking for a good solution to quickly and effectively build a new path or revamp an old one, this could be the best course of action to take.

rnThere are certainly lots of advantages to using this kind of paving. But the good news is that you can be green while you are using it too. The paving is made from recycled plastic and once it has reached the end of its long life you can recycle it again too, saving lots of space in the landfill. In fact there aren’t any reasons why you shouldn’t be using it.