If you’re looking to do some paving around your home, choosing a type of pavement is going to be one of your biggest considerations. Whether you’re building a walkway, a garden, a patio, a new driveway, a water feature, or anything else that requires paving, there are plenty of fast and quick paving solutions to get the job done.
4 Great Quick Paving Options
There are many types of pavement but not all of them are fast and quick, so in case you’re looking to minimize cost and effort on your part, here are some of the best quick paving options to use around the home.
1. Loose Gravel
Loose gravel is probably the easiest and most accessible material you can use in a paving project. It’s cheap and very easy to install. There are many different types of gravel you can choose from and a relatively high amount of stylistic versatility.
One of the biggest benefits of using loose gravel in a paving project is the fact that it’s permeable. This means that it allows water to drain through it instead of causing runoff. Permeability is especially useful in projects like driveways and paving near water features as well.
The downside of using loose gravel to pave your projects is that it needs a relatively high amount of maintenance. Gravel spreads easily and it also grinds down into dust. This means you have to consistently add more and rake what spreads back into place. Loose gravel can also develop dust issues, leading to mud and dirtying your vehicles.
2. Cast-in-Place Concrete
This type of concrete is another fast paving option. It’s relatively affordable and easy to install. The installation can usually be completed within a few days. This material is notable for its incredible level of strength.
Cast-in-place concrete is great for projects that need to handle a lot of weight or traffic, like driveways and floors. There are many different colors you can find with this material and it can be stamped and stenciled as well, allowing for stylistic diversity.
For outdoor paving, it does cause runoff because it isn’t permeable. It also requires expensive maintenance, needing to be resealed every 5 years and resurfaced every 10. Concrete is also fragile in cold weather and can easily break in cold temps.
3. Wood Chips
For outdoor projects, wood chips can be an excellent choice. Wood chips are incredibly cheap and you can even make them yourself if you have a wood chipper. Despite seeming like a rather temporary material, you can actually use wood chips to build your driveway if you want to.
There are a handful of different colored wood chips so there is some stylistic flexibility. Some have a fragrance to them that adds a nice pine or cedar smell to the aesthetic. They are incredibly eco-friendly and biodegradable.
Wood chips will simply melt into the earth as they decay and you can pour more on top when they do. They can be compacted to withstand pressure and traffic, and you could even stabilize them with pavers if the chips are small enough. Wood chips are also permeable to varying degrees, depending on chip size.
This is not a very long-lasting material, obviously. You have to constantly add more chips as they decay. You can find chips that are designed not to decay, but they don’t tend to be all that eco-friendly.
4. Permeable Pavers
Permeable plastic pavers can be used to stabilize anything from gravel to wood chips, grass, and more. Pavers like the kind made by TRUEGRID are made from 100% recycled plastic, and provide an incredibly eco-friendly option. Both TRUEGRID PRO LITE and TRUEGRID PRO PLUS are 100% permeable and durable enough to last up to 60 years with almost no maintenance.
This means you can use them to build anything from smaller little paved areas to driveways, patios, garage floors, and more. TRUEGRID ROOT can be used to stabilize grassy areas and make them suitable for vehicle traffic. You simply lay them out and drive on them, and voila, you have a new parking spot!
The installation process for TRUEGRID gravel stabilizing pavers is incredibly fast and easy. It simply requires a basic excavation of about 10 inches. At this point, a piece of fabric is laid at the bottom of the excavated area. Next, the area will be filled with base stone for drainage & detention…compacted until level with the surface.
Then, empty TRUEGRID pavers will be snapped into place over the top as easily as LEGO bricks. Next, more gravel is poured over the top and compacted into the pavers, to anchor them down. This completes installation and the whole process usually takes less than a day.
TRUEGRID is the Best Choice for Your Paving Projects
If you want the best quick paving option out there, you can’t go wrong with TRUEGRID pavers. Their durability, affordability, and easy installation make them the go-to for any quick project.
If you want fast paving that’s permeable, durable, affordable, and looks great, call TRUEGRID today to get in touch with a pavement professional who can get you pointed in the right direction.