Ground Reinforcement & Gravel Stabilisation

Continuing on the theme of Ground Stabilisation systems, I figured I would write about the other type of products we also offer which fall into the ground protection product family.

Cellular systems have come a long way since the early days of the hugely heavy concrete systems. There are literally hundreds of products on the market these days all claiming to do this better or that better, or can carry this much weight or can tolerate that much heat expansion, and the fact of the matter is that yes they can, and many of the products are generically similar in design - quite who copied who and which patents were infringed first is the subject of many long and expensive legal wranglings, and most of which really won't make a jot of difference, because as one goes another will reappear claiming to be an enhancement to its predecessor.

The point you have to ask is:

"Will it do what you want it to do, and what will be the intended infill?"

It is a valid point that some products perform better with different infill materials - by which I mean gravel or loose aggregate as opposed to grass. And what easily defines this is the make up of the cell structure. A predominantly open cell base is far better for grass than that of a predominantly closed structure as the root system has a better opportunity to pass through to the subsoil beneath. Whereas a closed cell structure is better for gravel and aggregate as it is more difficult for the aggregate to pass through.

(Above: Closed Cell With Aggregate Infill)

As mentioned there are quite literally hundreds of cellular ground reinforcement products currently available and Unreal Solutions offer 2 products too. We chose two as in our experience one is particularly suitable as a Grass Paving System while the other is ideal as a Gravel Stabilisation System. When contacting us we suggest mentioning which most interests you and we will endeavour to help you with this.

We also have a team of installers who can operate in and around North East Lincolnshire to install these systems, and we can also supply all the necessary materials too which you may need to complete your project (membranes, edgings, fixing pins etc)

These paving systems are completely permeable allowing water to pass through naturally to the subgrade beneath and can also help to alleviate storm water run off which at times inundates our rainwater drainage system, and being made largely from recycled materials, these products are also environmentally friendly too.

One critical point as with all systems like these, they are only as effective as the base on which they are laid. The more emphasis that is put on preparation beforehand the better the product will perform. If corners are cut on sub base materials for example using broken bricks and flagstones instead of good quality sub base material the product is likely to fail. and the same if there is no membrane used to separate the subsoil from the sub base, the base will migrate and the sub base will fail resulting in a disappointing and uneven surface.

Call us to discuss further, we are here to help and advise accordingly.

More blogs on products to follow shortly, thanks for reading.