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H20ENG's avatar
H20ENG
Explorer
Aug 03, 2018

Parking strips or driveway?

Hello All,
Looking for inspiration and ideas from you knowledgeable folks. Finally going to pour a parking pad on the side of the house and trying to decide on the paving across the front yard to get to it. Currently grass with a tree that will be trimmed up to allow passage next to it. The run is about 40' from where the new gate will be to the sidewalk. I'll fab some metal ramps to put in the gutter when I need to traverse the sidewalk.
Current options:
Stamped Concrete strips. Not a huge fan of the strips but have seen some done well. If we did this, maybe some leggy low ground cover that would cover most of it. I could cut it back if I needed the traction. We only take the trailer out a few times per year.
I looked into the turf blocks that allow tufts of grass to grow through but in our climate the summers would likely kill anything that tried. The blocks would just be little kilns surrounding anything temporarily green.
Stamped concrete driveway. Would match existing but would leave only a small section of yard for anything green.
Pavers look nice but wont match any other concrete we have. Of course the driveway probably should be done soon too so that could be a larger integrated project, with a much larger price tag.
Gravel or decomposed granite- no freaking way. The older I get the less I want to nitpick clean up. I'm just too busy. If my leaf blower or power washer wont clean it, It's off the list :)

I'm sure many of you get to park your rigs at home. If you added parking, how did you tackle the access while not looking like an airport runway?
Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
  • DrewE wrote:
    Depending on the sort of soil you have (and how picky you are about a perfectly manicured lawn), doing nothing and driving on the grass the few times you need to do so may be an option as well. That's more or less what I do to get my motorhome from the driveway to the de facto parking space next to my garage (and, to a rather greater extent, in the back yard to turn it around).



    This is what I do. Unless you are using the RV every week. You won't hurt the grass. I have been backing, and pulling out again. around my house in the grass for 35 years, and the only times you can tell it. Is for a day or so after wards. Then the grass that was mashed down. perk back up, and look just like before I drove across
  • Mine is all cement, been there for 20 years. Yes it looks like an airport runway,20 some feet wide.
  • Gravel parking pad. Simple and easy to remove/enlarge/repair.
  • Depending on the sort of soil you have (and how picky you are about a perfectly manicured lawn), doing nothing and driving on the grass the few times you need to do so may be an option as well. That's more or less what I do to get my motorhome from the driveway to the de facto parking space next to my garage (and, to a rather greater extent, in the back yard to turn it around).