The Best Slag Driveway Solution for Your Home
When it comes to driveway materials, slag is one most people don’t know about. Steel slag is produced as a byproduct of smelting within steel mills and is comprised of the left-over elements of this process, such as silicon dioxide, elemental metals, metal oxides, and metal sulfide.
Usually found in the form of small chips, slag is somewhat glassy in appearance and durable enough to handle vehicle traffic with relative ease. For this reason, many choose it as an alternative to traditional aggregates like gravel when building their driveways, as well as other pavement projects.
There’s more than one way to implement a slag driveway, however. In case you’re interested in building a slag driveway for your home, let’s take a look at how you can optimize it by lengthening its lifespan and reducing maintenance needs throughout its lifetime.
Building a Driveway from Scratch Out of Slag
The process of installing a slag driveway is nearly identical to that of gravel and other aggregates. The driveway area will need to be excavated to the desired depth, with slag being used to fill it in afterward.
Some people like to go with pure slag, and no barriers or stabilization. This can be sufficient in some cases, especially if your driveway isn’t used very often or is only used for lightweight vehicles like dirt bikes and bicycles.
However, if you have heavier vehicles like motorcycles, cars, or trucks, you’re going to run into some problems with a slag driveway. For starters, that kind of weight being moved around across a loose, slag driveway is guaranteed to spread the slag. Once the slag begins to spread, your tires can erode the soil beneath, causing ruts.
This will make your driveway uneven and could result in mud holes and even bigger ruts when exposed to rain. Unstabilized slag can also be somewhat difficult to turn your wheels in, and can end up migrating into the soil on all sides of your driveway. This is known as “spread” and is a common problem in unstabilized driveways.
Stabilizing Your Slag with Permeable Pavement
Unstabilized aggregate like slag is not ideal for the average driveway, but you can eliminate almost all of the problems that occur with slag by stabilizing it with permeable pavers. The TRUEGRID PRO LITE and TRUEGRID PRO PLUS systems, for example, are the most effective products for stabilizing slag.
Made from 100% recycled plastic, these pavers are durable enough to withstand the weight and friction of any vehicle for up to 60 years without breaking down or requiring maintenance. They work by providing a perfectly level layer of stabilization over the top of your slag driveway.
Once the pavers have been installed over your filled-in slag driveway, more slag is then poured over the top and pressed into the pockets within the pavers, weighing it down and preventing the pavers from moving. This top layer of trapped slag also serves to accentuate the color of your driveway, with the black pavers becoming less visible.
Because of the filter fabriclaid at the very bottom of your driveway before any slag is poured in, a permeable slag driveway built with TRUEGRID pavers won’t allow your slag to migrate into the soil below. This keeps a slag driveway from sagging and allows it to more easily support the weight of any vehicle you drive on it.
One of the best things about TRUEGRID PRO LITE and TRUEGRID PRO PLUS pavers is that they are much more eco-friendly than almost any other paving product on the market. Because these pavers prevent any slag on the surface from being loosened and moved around, you’re able to get more creative with your driveway designs as well.
If you’re just looking to implement slag into part of your driveway but not all of it, TRUEGRID pavers are the best method for locking it into place and allowing you full artistic control without worrying about migration and spreading.
Stabilize Your Driveway with the Most Effective Pavers
Stabilizing a slag driveway is crucial to preventing it from spreading out, rutting, flooding, and degenerating in a variety of ways. If you’re looking to build a sturdy, durable, eco-friendly, and affordable driveway that will serve you faithfully for up to 50 years, TRUEGRID is the answer.
By implementing either the TRUEGRID PRO LITE or TRUEGRID PRO PLUS system, you can rest assured that your slag will stay locked firmly into place, wherever you choose to use it. Especially If you’ve got a long or steep driveway, you’ll benefit from the affordability and durability of TRUEGRID pavers.
Able to be installed in less than a day, your new slag driveway will be ready to use immediately, and for a fraction of the cost of asphalt or concrete.
If you’re ready to build a slag driveway the right way, don’t hesitate to contact a pavement professional at TRUEGRID today.
The parking lot is one of the most important and underrated aspects of any car dealership. It’s essentially the canvas for every vehicle you want to display. There are a variety of things that influence the overall quality of your lot, but its condition, color, and the material it’s made from can directly impact your sales.
As it stands, most car dealerships use asphalt for their parking lots because almost every parking lot in America is made from it. It’s the default material for car dealership lots and many are unknowingly sacrificing sales due to their run-down asphalt lots.
As the owner of a car dealership, your main goal should be to boost your sales and save as much money as possible by eliminating unnecessary expenses around your lot.
In case you’re interested in taking your dealership to the next level, let’s take a look at the downsides of asphalt parking lots, as well as what the best types of parking lots for car dealerships are right now.
Asphalt is Outdated and Expensive
Asphalt was originally introduced as one of the most cost-effective auto dealer lot solutions but with today’s stormwater detention and impervious cover restrictions, the cost of the asphalt alone doesn’t tell the whole story. And maintenance is frequent and expensive. Not only does it crack and get sticky on hot summer days, but it can also unravel or even shift and separate, leading to huge crevices in some parking lots. Not only that, who wants to stand on a steaming hot asphalt lot in the middle of the summer where temperatures climb exponentially due to heat absorption properties of the blacktop.
Asphalt does not stand up to cold winter temps very well either, often allowing water to seep through the surface and cause a ton of damage within the surface of the lot. This can end up causing ruts, divots, and even sinkholes in your lot.
The potential for vehicle damage is present with asphalt, but the main issues with it are the heat island effect and the maintenance that it requires when it inevitably falls into disrepair.
The heat island effect is caused when your black parking lot absorbs and retains heat from the Sun, creating an uncomfortably hot situation for both your customers and you. This can end up forcing a potential buyer away before they’ve had a chance to browse as much as they wanted to, a major missed opportunity.
Asphalt also unravels over time due to recurring traffic, which means you will need to resurface your lot every 10 years or so. This is not a cheap project, costing over $10,000 on average, sometimes much more.
The downsides of asphalt are that it can damage the atmosphere of your lot and make your vehicles seem cheaper than they really are, which is why you need a better solution.
Permeable Pavement Parking Lots are the Wave of the Future
If you want a dealership parking lot that looks just as, if not better than a fresh asphalt lot, with none of the downsides that come with maintaining asphalt, permeable pavers are the answer. The TRUEGRID PRO PLUS system, for example, is perfect for commercial use and will save you money in more ways than one.
Both stylistically diverse and uniquely beautiful, permeable plastic pavement is also much more durable than asphalt. It won’t break down in any weather and doesn’t react to Sun exposure either. For this reason, it will require almost zero maintenance throughout its entire lifetime.
There’s also the fact that permeable plastic pavement, like the kind produced by TRUEGRID, is essentially it’s own drainage system, allowing rainwater to pass directly through it and into the soil beneath. It typically is coded as pervious cover and you can actually use the system for stormwater detention, eliminating detention pond expenses.
This eliminates the need for sharp parking lot sloping as well as costly drainage systems and water detention pods. By eliminating the need for water detention pods, you can use that much more of your land for parking vehicles. Like 100 % of it.
TRUEGRID Permeable Pavers and Hardscape Hybrid
Another option is to use TRUEGRID in your parking spaces and hardscape like asphalt or concrete in your drive lanes.This helps reduce detention requirements and impervious cover restrictions but allows for more traditional approach to the pavement.
AutoNation and Cox Automotive are two auto mega-brands that have TRUEGRID parking lots.
Maximize your lot with SuperSpot® parking markers that come in a variety of colors for visually-pleasing, maintenance-free lot lines that never need to be repainted. You can also choose from a selection of different types of aggregate, depending on your personal preference.
When you take into account all the features and benefits of TRUEGRID permeable pavers, there’s no doubt that they are the best solution for car dealership parking. Not only will your vehicles look better parked on a clean-cut permeable paver lot, you can also save a ton of money on long-term maintenance, and eliminate the need for costly drainages systems and detention ponds as well.
In addition to the elimination of the heat island effect, as well as lot lines that will never fade, it’s not hard to see why dealership owners across the country are making the switch to permeable pavers.
If you’re interested in transforming your dealership parking lot and giving your business a much-needed makeover, don’t hesitate to call us. Contact a paving professional at TRUEGRID for a quote today.
If you’re a homeowner or business owner in need of a parking solution, there are more than a few directions you could go. Most tend to opt for asphalt or concrete parking. These materials are very durable and stylistically pleasing at first, however they come with a litany of potential issues that can — and will — cost you big bucks down the line.
Dirt driveways and grass parking is another option, but they aren’t feasible if you’re looking for a professional-looking and long-lasting parking solution. Gravel pads can be a nice compromise between durability, cost-effectiveness, and aesthetic beauty.
However, not all gravel parking pads are built the same. In fact, not building with the right materials could lead to just as many problems as can be found with asphalt, concrete, dirt, and grass.
In case you’re interested in implementing gravel parking pads in your home or place of business, let’s take a look at the downfalls of traditional gravel pads and how you can eliminate them with an innovative, and eco-friendly, new product.
Issues with Traditional Gravel Pads
For homes or businesses without any type of pavement in place for parking, even an unstabilized gravel pad is an upgrade. Gravel pads provide a parking area that can withstand the weight and friction of vehicles. Instead of causing giant mud ruts or tearing up your yard, these pads and gravel are able to much more easily handle the parking needs of your vehicles.
However, gravel pads aren’t suitable for use over an extended time because they are essentially built like giant playpens. The gravel inside the perimeter of the pads is free to move around and shift without anything stopping it. This will lead to gravel becoming displaced. It may pile up near the edges of your parking pad, or even spill out over the tops of your parking pad perimeter.
Once the gravel has become displaced, it can lead to rutting inside the pads, displacement of the soil below the gravel, washouts, flooding, and recurring maintenance. This is less than ideal for anyone in need of a long-term parking solution and has led innovators to develop products that are much more capable of providing all the benefits of gravel parking pads without almost any downsides.
What’s the Alternative to Unstabilized Gravel Pads?
The solution to unstabilized gravel pads is to stabilize them. Instead of just digging out an area and filling it with gravel, there’s one more step that needs to be taken. This is where TRUEGRID PRO PLUS pavers come in. Built from incredibly durable, 100%- recycled plastic, TRUEGRID pavers stabilize the gravel and trap it into place.
Each individual paver is built with S-Flex Joints and a hoop strength design that allows it to bend but not break when handling the weight of even the heaviest vehicles. The X-Anchors within each paver trap the gravel inside and weigh the pavers to the ground, preventing any shifting or moving.
The pavers are made from Hi-Impact recycled polymer that can withstand the weight of a monster truck landing on them without breaking. The 3-Point locking tabs on the end of each paver can be snapped together effortlessly and quickly, slashing installation time and preventing the pavers from accidentally coming apart.
An Affordable and Long-Lasting Solution to Gravel Parking
Unstabilized gravel parking pads are more of a temporary solution, but gravel parking stabilized with the TRUEGRID PRO PLUS paver system will give you the best of both worlds as a homeowner or a business owner.
Since this paving system is so easy to install, it takes only a fraction longer to complete than an unstabilized gravel pad. Once the parking area has been excavated and filled with gravel, the pavers can be snapped into place over the top and filled in with more gravel, using a heavy vehicle or roller to press it into the top of the pavers.
Once the installation is completed, your gravel parking pad will never suffer from shifting gravel, ruts, or flooding again. There are plenty of different-colored aggregates to choose from for your filler material, and the end product will look very professional and stylish.
It’s safe to say that stabilizing your gravel parking pad with the TRUEGRID PRO PLUS system is the smartest way to preserve its lifespan. TRUEGRID pavers can eliminate long-term maintenance, rutting, dust, mud, and even vehicle problems as well.
Whether you’re looking for individual, residential parking, or you want to stabilize gravel parking pads at your place of business, the TRUEGRID PRO PLUS system can handle it all.
If you want an alternative parking solution that won’t require any sacrifice in terms of quality, durability, permeability or style, get in touch with the professionals at TRUEGRID today.
There are many dangers and risks associated with driving on a muddy road. Whether it be a public road, your driveway, or some type of service road, muddy roads are a nuisance to everyone. Your vehicle can end up covered with mud that dries out and cakes on your paint, they can rut, washout, or even collapse over time if not addressed.
Muddy roads are a troublesome issue, and many different attempts have been made to control or prevent roads and driveways from becoming too muddy. There hasn’t really been a good solution invented… until now.
If you’re in charge of maintaining a road or you just want to ensure that your driveway stays dry and stable, there is a way to effectively solve the problems of muddy roads and/or driveways, once and for all.
One Solution to Mud that Reigns Supreme
There are a few common methods of dealing with mud on roads and driveways, but none of them are effective in the long-term. One solution is to simply pour crushed gravel or pebbles into the muddy areas.
This is not only a temporary fix, but it’s not really feasible for public roads and service roads because of the amount of traffic they get. For a residential driveway, you’ll have to keep applying more crushed rock as it spreads out and migrates over time.
A permanent solution to stabilizing a muddy road is to install permeable pavement. For example, the plastic permeable pavers made by TRUEGRID are able to hold gravel securely in place while providing a dry and level surface to drive on.
The TRUEGRID PRO LITE and TRUEGRID PRO PLUS systems are capable of supporting any vehicle, including semi-trucks. They are made from 100%-recycled plastic and are so durable that a full-sized monster truck can drive off a ramp and land on them without breaking them. The PRO PLUS is the engineer’s go to paver for industrial 18 wheeler lots.
These pavers are incredibly strong and unbelievably durable as well. They will never break down in the hot sun, high temps, or cold weather. They are also essentially a set-it-and-forget-it solution to mud because they require almost no maintenance at all.
They eliminate mud because they are almost entirely permeable, allowing all liquids to drain directly through them and into the soil below.
Installing TRUEGRID Permeable Pavers Couldn’t Be Any Easier
This might sound like a bit of a complex solution to dealing with a little bit of mud, however, it’s actually a lot simpler than you might expect. The process of installing TRUEGRID PRO LITE or PRO PLUS pavers is so simple that it can be completed in as little as one day for a residential driveway, and a few days for a road.
First, the entire area must be excavated to a depth of 8 inches and rolled. Next, filter fabric is laid at the bottom of the pit to prevent gravel from migrating downward into the soil. After it is reinforced, the area can be filled with a aggregate of your choice. Crushed gravel is a favorite, though there are many choices available like limestone, blackstar, and more.
Once the excavated area is filled in with aggregate, it is pressed down with a heavy roller, and the permeable pavers are snapped into place over the top. Then, more gravel is laid to fill in the pavers and driven over to firmly press it into place. Once this is done, the entire process is complete.
There’s More than Meets the Eye to Plastic Permeable Pavers
One of the best things about implementing a plastic permeable paver driveway or road is the amount of savings it can generate in both the short-term and the long-term. They look stylistically clean and beautiful, and these pavers cost far less to install and will save you money on maintenance for years to come.
TRUEGRID also takes pride in the fact that their pavers are all made from 100%- recycled plastic, making them eco-friendly, as an added benefit. They have filtered millions of gallons of water and prevented millions of lbs of plastic from ending up in our landfills and oceans.
Take Care of Your Mud Problem for Good
Mud is a terrible nuisance for us and for our vehicles. If you like to maintain a clean vehicle, you’ll need to spend a lot of money on car washes if you drive on muddy roads or have a muddy driveway. Not only that, but mud can get stuck to our shoes and pant legs, dragging it inside of our homes as well.
Mud ruts and divots can also cause vehicular damage to your car axles, which makes eliminating it a top priority for many. If you want a solution to mud, you need TRUEGRID PRO LITE or TRUEGRID PRO PLUS pavers.
They are a super-quick install, they’re very affordable, eco-friendly, and long-lasting, benefiting you and your family for decades to come. If you need to fix a mud problem in your driveway, you should contact the pros at TRUEGRID today for a quote.