Building Green one driveway at a time...

There are a lot of new driveways slowly getting built around the city these days. More calls and questions about permeable paving and our ecogrid then ever before. I'm really pleased to see Torontonians are looking at the ecogrid for their driveways. Although we're getting a lot of calls from people who are looking at fixing up their driveways with the e40 - I've been answering more and more questions about alleyway parking areas.

I walk everywhere - don't own a car - which isn't really necessary for me personally in the city of Toronto. It means I get to see a lot of back alleyways, cross a lot of parks, and see things at a walking pace.

And wow do I see a lot of alleyways here in Toronto that are really in need of fixing up. The City of Vancouver really seems to get it .... terrafirm has done a lot of work with CoV. And then Chicago is really making the move too. Hopefully Toronto will get the idea - because to be honest - its much much easier to build a green driveway then to build a green roof.

Usually parking areas in the city are fairly small - and some are terribly neglected. A lot of the houses in my area are 50-90 yrs old. The laneways are about 50 yrs. And most of them are crumbling chunks of pavement, broken asphault and deterioating cement. If they aren't that - they are probably like my landlords: compacted gravel and weeds.

There's a pretty simple solution for most laneways, alleyway parking and parking pads. Dig up the old stuff - excavate it out - put down some fresh gravel, some e40 (or e50) Ecogrid - fill it up with more gravel. It lasts indefinately. Think about that.. eliminate ruts and potholes - and don't worry about it for 20 yrs. Now that's sustainable green living! (plus hey - its 100% recycled materials - and it can be recycled too - not bad!).

Or better yet - look at building a green parking area. Most of the time you only park there at night. The grass has hours of sunlight in the day. It soaks up the rain and gets rid of the mud. Suddenly, that ugly patch of concrete becomes a green spot. Put in one of the new low-mow grasses so you don't have to worry about cutting it as much - and now there are some really sturdy, drought resistant grasses that are tough.

Thats the plan too. Turn the driveways of yesterday into green areas. As far as a company goes, really, its a simple and beautiful idea. Simple to install. Simple design.

It would likely save so very many of the trees too. I've spent most of the past weeks talking to various tree-companies. yay for Arborists! They usually look at our ecogrid - like the e50 - and realize how it works. Smart bunch. I think they have the best grasp of what permeable paving does - and how easy it is. I've been impressed. Maybe its something about the trees and finding a solution that works so well with the ecogrid? I suspect so.

Whenever I walk through the streets and alleys of Toronto - I have become keenly aware of the pools of water. I look at them and see the standing water - or see it slowly finding its way into the drains. Its a shame. That water heading to the stormwater drains could be filtered - it would go through the permeable paving grid - and sink into the soil. The ground would eventually filter it. All those trees would get a bit more water - which is why I guess the arborists get the solution so quickly.

So that's part of my life. The rest of it is making steampunk jewelry - recycling watches, computer parts and whatnot - but the other half is talking about digging up driveways. To be honest I scratch my head on this one... but hey. Its green. So I'm happy.

But to be honest... I love talking to people even after having done 10 yrs of tech support - and this really feels different. I know that when someone commits to replacing their crappy asphault driveway and replacing it with Gravel - or GRASS! - then I feel like the world just got a bit greener. And of course it has.

Permeable Paving Solutions - exploring the options

As far as I'm concerned there are really 4 options for paving "green". Some, in my mind, are a lot less green than others. Only one looks really green. The others look more traditional. It would be - in my mind - a great thing to mix some of the options if we can't seem to rethink paving everything over entirely.


1. Grid - like EcoGrid or other grid systems - that has large spaces which allow the "green" to grow through. They are easy to lay down - at least EcoGrid is - and don't need special knowledge to install it. You can seed the grids with grass or use them with gravel. They are often made with recycled materials - in this case 100% recycled - but you have to check the specs. These grids act like a support structure for vehicles - distributing the weight. After a rains, the grids allow water to gradually absorb into the soil below.. watering the grass. Out of all the systems it seems the greenest... looks greenest. Can be installed by anyone who has master the fine art of putting together Lego.


2. Permeable Pavers = blocks of stone or brick - that can be laid out in a pretty pattern. They look solid but the water actually should flow between the blocks. Of course they don't look green, but they are what many people think of when they think of a permeable driveway. They can crack and shift a bit, and are more costly to install. I personally wouldn't install them myself.


3. Permeable Concrete. Well its a step up from regular old concrete! Again, it won't look as green as green can be. I've never actually seen it in use. Since the composition of permeable concrete is different it does require special installation. There is a great article here on pervious/porous concrete installation. There needs to be a lot of care with the ground prep and to quote the article on it "Because pervious concrete has a low water content, special attention is required during transportation and placement."



4. Permeable Asphalt - which for me falls to the bottom of the barrel of green choices. (sorry - that's a pun there since asphalt is scraped from the bottom of the barrels after all other petroleum-based products have been refined.) Despite the fact that its a better mix of materials its still ASPHALT. I am glad that it gets reused and all - but its still a step up from an impermeable surface. It looks more traditional - familiar - but asphalt is still ashpalt. Here's some great info on asphalt - what's that stuff . Not very nice. Not very green.

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So lets talk about what you'd need to look at if you are doing a green or gravel driveway with option #1 - choosing the Grid to create a "greener" driveway.


GRID:
Now I'm going to talk about what I know. About 7 or 8 years ago when I heard about grid use for parking lots it just seemed like an idea that wouldn't stand up. Plastic? Grid? What was wrong with a nice neat, black driveway like Dad had? It also seemed too radical. I envisioned something like plastic snow fencing, that could be rolled out, but that isn't what it really is like. (Well, there are some roll products which have their uses but if its for a parking application or walkway, or even a parking lot you'll need strength es).

Most grids come in sheets - large squares that allow you to lay them ontop of a gravel or soil/sand mix depending on what you plan to use them for. Most grass will need a few inches beneath a grid in order to grow. Some grass has deep roots - and the grass needs to grow through the grid and down into the soil to get established. The grid will protect the root base and act as a filter for rainwater. It doesn't matter if you place down grass or gravel - that layer acts the same way. Water seeps through into the base and then continues on its journey back into the ecosystem.


A few Important things to check for when you are looking at redoing your driveway and looking for grid:


#1. What kind of edge thickness does it have? If you plan on parking on it this will be an important factor. Ideally, if you have an edge, it needs to be reinforced - a bit of extra thickness that will make sure it doesn't slid/slip around. If you can pick up a sheet of a grid product and bend it - then think of what will happen when your car drives over it. So you need something with a bit of flex - BUT you also need to make sure it the grid won't splinter or crack when the cars turn or back up on it. Look for a grid with a good solid edge and you'll save yourself having to replace it.

2. Ease of Install:

Can you do it yourself or will you need to hire someone? This is the number one reason I think that EcoGrids are better than cement pavers. It costs a lot less ... and it won't cost a forturne to get installed. Personally, I would suggest a combination of both unless you like to shove dirt and gravel. A contractor can come in and regrade your surface, or simply excavate down a few inches. Another person will come in and dump the gravel. This part is suprisingly cheap. A small driveway can be excavated in a matter of hours. Someone who can run a bobcat will show up and be done quickly. Once the base layer is installed, (flatten it out too!) the grid goes down.

The diagram here is actually for horses = so the footing diagram shows a deeper layer. If you were putting down grass then you don't need such a high topping.





3. How Green is it? Is it recycleable? How much is made of recycled plastic? Personally, if I'm thinking green - I want to make sure it can be recycled - and has as high a content of recycled plastics as possible. Otherwise you're adding new plastic in. Rather defeats the purpose.





4. Does it crack or splinter? Can it be maintained like a regular gravel driveway





5. What temperature range is it designed for? If you live in the south or the north there's a huge difference. Is it environmentally neutral?





6. Is it available in different weights? Is there heavy duty stuff for trucks? Is there a light weight product? Is there a difference in how it gets used - is one for landscaping and one for driveways or is it all the same? What is the best weight for your application? For EcoGrid there are the technical specs available here.

Up to my boots in mud

Interesting day yesterday. I love talking to people across Canada and the US. Yesterday it was a man who loves boats. This year is the 400th Anniversary of Dutch Arrival in New York Harbor - which i didn't know. :) So this fellow is looking for a solution for some boats ramps.

I've never really thought much about boat ramps though I know we've used the EcoGrid for boat ramps. I guess dragging your boat into the water - or driving it down on a ramp - pretty much tears up the soil. We'll be doing some testing with him - but I know this will help. Lay down some gravel, put down the grid, more gravel = and he'll have himself a boat ramp. I'm going to keep checking back over the next few years to make sure it works well for him.

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Last night I walked home a few extra blocks because the weather was just perfect. It kept threatening to rain in the evening but it didn't happen. I noticed that there are more than a few laneways - alleys - and parking pads here in Toronto in desperate need for repair. I wish I could go over and talk to these people about considering using the EcoGrid like they did in Vancouver. They really have it going there - especially in the alleyways.

There's a few spots where the leaves and soil have collected around the drains - and all I can think of is the volume of storm water rushing into the drains. A few weeks ago all the frigging drains were plugged up in the local alley - so there were these big pools of water.

Its such a simple solution = they could put down grid. Grid n' Gravel maybe? I think that would be a good solution - because it doesn't take the maintenence of a regular gravel drive / area. Basicially the water would soak right through the grid / the gravel - and return back to the soil instead of forming big puddles. Then the drains wouldn't flood out.

Dang, I wish I knew who to talk to about this stuff. sigh. Sometimes I feel if i could just sit down and talk to the people they'd get it. heh.
Anyway,
Green Girl from TerraFirm Enterprises,
out for the day.