If you were to take a tour of every parking lot in America, you’d find that while most of them are made from concrete or asphalt, there is a very large portion of parking lots built from gravel.
Gravel lots serve a very important purpose, mostly that they are the cheapest parking solution you’ll find anywhere. Unstabilized gravel lots, in particular, are the fastest to install and with minimal costs upfront.
For lot owners trying to save some money or who only need a lot for a certain period of time, gravel can be the perfect solution. The shortest-lived gravel lots still come with a variety of additional maintenance issues, however, that you won’t find with asphalt, concrete, or properly stabilized gravel lots.
In case you own a gravel parking lot and you want to know how to quickly and cheaply transform it into a long-lasting lot which never requires any of the typical maintenance that gravel so often does, let’s take a look at how that can happen.
The Hassle of Maintaining Gravel
A gravel lot without any type of stabilization usually consists of a single-layer border around the entire lot. This border helps to generally keep the gravel from instantly spreading out and becoming unusable the moment somebody drives on it.
What many lot owners come to realize is that the border doesn’t completely prevent the migration of gravel. Bare spots can still develop as gravel is displaced, leading to ruts, mudholes, and an all-around ugly situation for anyone trying to park their vehicle.
Another common problem with gravel parking lots is the buildup of dust. As vehicles continue to drive over and pulverize your unstabilized gravel, the gravel particles keep getting smaller and smaller until they become dust. This dust builds up rather quickly and causes a myriad of problems for you and your patrons.
Dust buildup sticks to vehicles, making the need for a carwash come that much quicker for whoever uses your lot. Not only this, but dust buildup in gravel lots can be kicked up as people come and go, causing air pollution and triggering allergies for anyone sensitive to it. This choking hazard is one of the worst effects of using an unstabilized gravel lot.
Gravel lot owners have tried to combat these problems in a number of ways. The spread of gravel is usually fixed by bringing in more gravel and leveling out the lot. While still relatively inexpensive, this needs to be done frequently. As far as dust goes, the only way to really deal with it is to constantly spray water on your lot, wetting down the dust and preventing it from being kicked up.
Not only does this leave you with a partially muddy lot, but the water also dries out nearly instantly on hot days. You can see how this is not a very effective solution and leads to much more hassle than it’s worth to maintain a gravel parking lot.
The Solution to Gravel Parking Lot Dust and Bare Spots
The only way to eliminate both of these problems at the same time is to use a gravel lot stabilizer. TRUEGRID is one example of a company that offers permeable pavers designed to keep your gravel firmly locked in place and prevents it from being pulverized by traffic.
A gravel lot stabilized with TRUEGRID pavers features an interlocking layer of highly-durable plastic grids placed over the bulk of your gravel. Most of your gravel will be laid into an excavated area and covered with these pavers, while another layer of gravel is pressed into the top of the grids by a heavy vehicle. These grids lock the gravel into place, preventing dust buildup and gravel migration.
By implementing these cost-effective, eco-friendly, permeable pavers, you can eliminate the need for constant gravel lot maintenance. Not only that, but the pavers are incredibly quick and easy to take apart, making their installation and deconstruction the work of about 1 full day, if not less.
TRUEGRID Pavers Make Gravel Parking Lot Maintenance Effortless
With all the benefits that TRUEGRID gravel stabilizing pavers provide, it’s no wonder that gravel lot owners all across the nation are making the switch. With all of the durability of asphalt and concrete, and none of the problems associated with asphalt, concrete, or unstabilized gravel, a permeable paver gravel lot is the best parking lot you could use.
Not only are there plenty of aesthetic options for style’s sake, the eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, quick install time, and almost zero maintenance requirements of these pavers make choosing TRUEGRID’s pavers for your gravel parking lot an absolute no-brainer.
Added bonus: in most areas, grid- stabilized gravel lots are coded as pervious cover, where gravel alone is considered impervious and may require detention or drainage systems. This is a great workaround for anyone considering a hassle-free parking area. Invest in Truegrid paving today.
