Here at New Dawn Permeable Paving, we always seek to assist our clients in every stage of their paving journey!
We were initially approached by a local council for advice on how permeable paving could be used to create an accessible, hard-paved area underneath a grove of existing trees in a much-loved local park.
Brief and Background
We initially met with the council landscape architect who was designing the space to inspect the existing conditions and provide expert advice during the design phase. The mature pine trees were surrounded by granitic sand (gravel) and have established well creating a very hard, dry subbase. Unfortunately, when it rains, the gravel area was subjected to puddling and water rutting creating accessibility issues and an ongoing maintenance problem.
A major aim of the project was to improve the accessibility of the park, so the architect wanted to find a hard paved solution that would ensure long-term tree health whilst achieving the accessibility aims. Using permeable paving can relieve drainage issues, which is helpful to meet the issues faced by the council, while meeting sustainability needs.
In our meetings we demonstrated the effectiveness of our permeable paving and how it could achieve the local councils tree health and accessibility outcomes. Environmental outcomes and it’s ease to use in landscape design is a key reason why councils are continuously preferring permeable paving.
Ensuring tree health from the ground up
As the creation process progressed, the architect for this project sought further advice from us, and the project arborist on features to include that would protect the trees and give the best long-term paving performance. Feature circles, with a deep organic mulch layer, would allow the trees to benefit from nutrients and soil improvement as the mulch decomposes. It would also “break up” the area, softening the heavy effect of a large expanse of pavement.
We advised that the rings could easily be constructed out of Corten weathering steel, bringing a fantastic warm element to the landscape. Plus, the proposed steel edging system features absolutely no screws or sharp edges making it a great choice in a public space for families with young children.
With the design in place, the project was then awarded to a large civil contractor who engaged us to complete the permeable paving works.
Feature circles constructed out of Corten weathering steel.
Careful and considered construction
Once onsite, we began with the careful site preparation work required. Existing soft topsoil, mulch and gravel was removed with extreme care, making sure not to disturb the root-bearing soil beneath. Once a firm subgrade was achieved, a heavy-duty geofabric layer was installed to separate the screenings sub-base from the natural ground and prevent movement of the rock into wet ground, or rutting of the subgrade from water.
Permeable paving preparation works all completed!
With a suitable paving base established, we then set-out for the paving and feature rings. The completed landscape design included a new accessible BBQ and several benches and tables. We located exactly where all these elements would be placed, and made sure that the paving in these spots was wide enough for the required circulation space under the accessibility design rules.
We also cross-checked all paving levels, grades and cross-falls to ensure that all elements would meet the regulations under the DDA design rules. As experts in commercial permeable paving we always ensure we meet installation specifications.
The corten steel rings were then constructed, with perfect radii off of the centres of the trees calculated and checked. The exposed pavement edges were set up using our standard galvanised steel edge restraint, held in place with the appropriate formwork. Galvanised steel reinforcing steel was then placed and tied, and expansion joints installed to allow for future movement of the paving area.
We then poured our permeable concrete base to establish a suitable structure for our resin-bound aggregate permeable paving. Our in-house four person team placed and finished 350 square metres / around 50 cubic metres of permeable concrete in just two days, ensuring the head contractor’s strict timeline was adhered to.
Resin bound paving surface complete!
We were then able to install our resin-bound permeable paving surface over the permeable concrete base. Our in-house specialist four person team carefully installed the 350 square metres of paving in two days, ensuring the surface was perfectly finished, smooth and to the highest possible standards. The council architects selected a colour called Rockpool, featuring warm browns and yellows, sympathetic to the whole colour scheme being used in the park, and also a great choice as the browns will help hide dirt from the trees and BBQ users.
Rockpool colour – a fantastic warm colour choice.
Specialist contractors achieving excellent results
The project was completed on time, on budget and to the highest possible standards – and needless to say the council clients were absolutely thrilled with the result!
As specialist commercial permeable paving contractors, we achieve perfect permeable paving on every project large or small. Explore the variety of commercial projects we’ve undertaken by reviewing our Knowledge Base, to help plan what exactly you may need for your project.
If you have a commercial project with permeable paving, then get in touch with us today and let’s start a conversation about what we can achieve together! Call or email the team now to begin using permeable paving in public spaces.