Parking (parking) in the country with their own hands

After the rains or in the spring, coming home from the dacha with a kilogram of dirt on your boots is a dubious pleasure. It is for this reason that you begin to think about the need for parking in the country. Full confidence comes after the next rain, when it will be possible to leave the site far from the first time. And not even from the fifth. That’s when there is a desire to make a country parking lot. There is nothing complicated in it and it is quite possible to do it yourself. 

Types of suburban parking areas

Dachas, and everyone’s requirements for comfort are different, and parking in the country for a car is more than a dozen options. There are only seven types of coverage, as well as their combinations, the possibility of installing canopies. They differ in performance characteristics, costs. So, the coverage for parking a car in the country can be of the following types:

• From crushed stone or pebbles (bulk).
• Lawn or eco-parking.
• From paving slabs.
• Concrete.
  

• Asphalt.
• Rubber tiles.
• Flagstone.
• Parking grate.

The cheapest in the device, at the same time convenient in operation, a platform for parking a car made of crushed stone or pebbles. With the right device (using geotextiles), crushed stone does not mix with the soil for many years. Even if geotextiles were not laid (this often happens), then pouring crushed stone is not a problem. After some time, the bottom cake of crushed stone and soil becomes so dense and strong that this process (mixing with soil) stops.

Parking in the country: the pros and cons of different options

A separate and very important plus that parking in a country house made of rubble gives is natural drainage. You do not need to construct drainage. Water seeps between the stones and goes into the ground, taking with it pollution. But this type of site is not suitable for areas with high groundwater levels. Standing in a puddle on rubble is not the best solution to the problem, although the problem is solved by creating a drainage system for the entire area.

Green parking has become more and more popular in recent years. This is not an ordinary lawn, but a special one. Under the grass there is a plastic grate that redistributes the load on the ground and prevents the wheels from falling through. Caring for such a parking lot is similar to caring for a lawn – mowing, watering. Weeding is not required, since the preparatory work involves the removal of soil, that is, most of the roots go away. Herbal varieties are used special and this is the problem: they are expensive. The second minus is the possibility of freezing (and the seeds are expensive, and the greens do not grow too fast). But it’s beautiful. And it can be used not only as a parking lot, but also as a recreation area.

A platform for a car in a country house made of paving slabs is the best option for a hard coating for heaving soils. And the water does not linger for too long – it goes into the gaps between the tiles, and the integrity of the coating does not suffer during heaving. Two more options: concrete and asphalt summer parking – are reliable and durable, but only if all the preliminary work is done correctly. Their disadvantage is that they are expensive, the appearance of cracks is very noticeable.

Arrangement of a country parking area: preparatory work

Despite the various coatings for parking a car in the country, the preparatory work is not much different. The difference may be in the layer on which the coating is laid (for example, it is necessary to pour a layer of sand when paving paving slabs), but the whole cake and the list of other works is the same.

General recommendations

The first thing to decide on is the location. Parking in the country is usually located either right next to the gate, or not far from them. And it makes sense. But this zone should not be the lowest point, otherwise water will constantly stagnate here, and the height difference is also undesirable here – putting the car on the handbrake, putting pads on it is not exactly what you want.

With all this, solid coatings such as concrete or asphalt should not be brought to zero in level: water after washing the car or rain will not leave. So that it does not stagnate, it will be necessary to form a slight slope – from the center to the edges. A slope of a couple of degrees is already good. And the car will stand stably, and the water will come off.

dimensions

The dimensions of the country parking lot depend on the planned number of cars “living” there. A plot of 3 * 5 meters is enough for one car, i.e. 15 m². This space is quite enough not to think that you need to park exactly in the center, otherwise you will have to go out onto the lawn, into the flower bed, etc. Parking at the cottage of such an area makes it possible to safely bypass the car in front and behind.

If space is limited, the length can be reduced by 0,5 m, but with this size it will be possible to walk either in front of the car or behind it. Only if you have a solid-sized jeep, it is better to increase the width of the site by at least 50 cm, and even better – by a meter. These machines are large, and they need more space.

If there will be two cars to park and they are of “standard” sizes, the comfortable parking length in the country house remains the same – 5 m. With enough space, we take the same width of 3 meters. That is, to park two cars, you will need a platform measuring 5 * 6 m (5 meters is the length). With a shortage of space, the width and length can be reduced by 0,5 meters (4,5 * 5,5). But in this case, it will not work to open the car doors at the same time and it will also be difficult to bypass the car around.

Check-in for the car: water drain

The next step is to decide if you need drainage around the parking lot in the country or not. If the soil drains water well in a natural way and the coating is not continuous (tiles, lawn, stone), it is quite possible to do without drainage measures. If at least one of the conditions is absent, drainage will have to be done. There are many options, but there are three of the simplest:

• If the water on the site usually does not stagnate, around the perimeter of the site with a continuous coating (concrete, asphalt, rubber tiles) they sprinkle with rubble 30-40 cm wide. The water drains, gets into the rubble half and gradually goes into the ground.
• If a drainage system is made on the site, drainage pipes are laid around the perimeter (10 cm below the coating level, fill it with rubble, pebbles, mulch, sand, plant a lawn). These pipes are introduced into the general drainage system (do not forget to make a couple of inspection hatches for cleaning.
  

• Install/fill storm trays along the perimeter, which will lead to the storm sewer.

When can you not think about diverting water? When you have a sandy area or heavy rainfall are rare. Then there are no problems. Another option is a natural slope. In this case, the water will go away by gravity, but you will still solve the problem of storm sewers, only on the scale of the entire site.

With or without border

Any coating on the site for a car in the country will last longer if the area is fenced with a curb. In the case of a bulk gravel or pebble parking, the curb will not yet allow the backfill to crumble over the site. In the case of using paving slabs or stone, the presence of limiters can also be considered mandatory. They are laid on a sandy layer, and the sand can be washed out by rain.

This will not happen if the parking lot in the country house is at the same level or slightly lower than the rest of the site. But in this case, it will always be humid here and the water will not leave, which obviously will not benefit your car. So the presence of a border is desirable – at least bury a brick around the perimeter, but then natural stone is better. Or pour yourself out of concrete, but it’s less troublesome to use ready-made curbs. For a budget option, you can use reinforced concrete grape columns.

Layers: general sequence

After you have chosen a parking space for a car in the country, mark out the selected dimensions of the site (including the drainage system). Next, we work in this order:

• We remove a layer of soil with a depth of 30-35 cm.
• We remove all the stones, roots, level (it is not necessary to the horizon, but there should be no holes and humps).
• We take a rammer, we compact the soil.
  

• We spread geotextiles. Its dimensions should be 0,7-1 meters larger than the dimensions of the site, the edges should be wrapped around the edges of the pit for parking the car. When arranging drainage, a drainage pipe is wrapped in the “surplus” of geotextile. And so, the edges can be hidden under the grass, pressed with a curb, sprinkled with a layer of gravel.
• We pour a layer of sand, level, ram. In a compacted form, a layer of 10-15 cm. In order to make it easier to compact, the sand is wetted with water.
• We pour a layer of rubble. It is desirable to use two fractions: large and medium.
  • A layer of coarse gravel (20-40 mm) is laid on the sand, leveled, rammed. Its thickness is 10 cm in finished form.
  • A layer of gravel of medium fraction (5-20 mm). Leveled, rammed. Its thickness is also about 10-15 cm.
    

• Subsequent layers depend on the type of site coverage. We will consider them in a little more detail in the next paragraph.

In general terms, these are all the rules and features of a parking lot in the country. More precise dimensions of the layers depend on the soil structure and the planned load. For example, for loose (sands and sandy loams) and unstable (peat bogs) soils, to give greater stability, a road grid can be laid at the bottom of the pit. It will eliminate pushing.

The second example: a layer of geotextile can be laid between sand and gravel. The bottom layer (at the bottom of the pit) is necessary to stabilize the base, as well as to prevent plants from sprouting. Intermediate layers make the protection against plants more reliable, and also prevent mixing of the layers. In this case, even a heavy machine will not leave a track.

Features of sites with different coverage

Under paving slabs, brick, flagstone, rubber tiles, coarse-grained sand or fine granite chips (1-4 mm) are poured. Please note that for car parking, tiles need to be thick not less than 50 mm (under the tracks you can take from 30 mm). Another point: the smaller the size of the tile that paves the parking lot in the country, the less noticeable will be the inevitable “game” of the levels of the bricks.

Natural stone and concrete slabs

If it is decided to make a parking lot from natural stone sawn with slabs, it must also be taken 4-5 cm thick. It is not worth laying too large pieces: there is a high probability that they will break. They should not be laid close, but leaving gaps of a couple of millimeters. The gaps are filled with sand, to which you can add the seeds of lawn grass resistant to abrasion. If you make the same paths, it turns out beautifully, organically, and even there will be no dirt.

If the grass does not appeal to you (it is more difficult to clean, you need to cut it somehow), fill the gaps between the plates with a mixture of sand and cement (for 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand). Sweep it off the stones so that there is nothing on them and water the area (not with a jet, but with small drops, and so that it does not flow). The mixture will turn into concrete. It will take a certain time to gain strength: 7 days at a temperature of + 20 ° C to achieve a strength of 50% and another two weeks for complete “aging”. Until 50% strength is gained, it is desirable that there are no showers during this period, and if they start, cover the site with polyethylene. Water in itself is not terrible, streams that can wash away fragile concrete are terrible.

This option has only one drawback: the high price of the stone. To reduce costs, you can use ready-made paving slabs of large format: 50 * 50 cm or so. They are also laid on a gravel-sand pillow. Everything is the same, only the plates are of artificial origin and clear geometry.

Concrete

For a concrete site, you will need to install formwork around the perimeter. Then it will be necessary to make a reinforcing frame in the form of a cage from a metal rod. The rod is taken with a diameter of 10-15 mm, a lattice is folded from it with a step of 10-15 cm, at the joints they are tied with a special wire (knitting). The resulting mesh is put on stops so that it is raised above the compacted rubble by 3-5 cm, and the concrete layer on top must also be at least 10 cm (preferably 15).

If a concrete parking lot in the country is made for two or more cars, expansion joints will be required. To do this, wooden planks with a thickness of 0,7-1 cm are laid on a lattice of reinforcement with an edge. The width of the planks is equal to the height of the concrete layer (they can be used as guides when leveling the concrete mixture). Lay them in 2 meter increments.

In the case of concrete, you will have to wait quite a long time for the start of operation of your parking lot. Concrete must stand for at least 28 days. And this is if the temperature does not fall below + 20 ° C. In this case, you need to ensure that the surface does not dry out. To do this, you need to water the site, and so that the water does not dry out quickly, throw on top of the matting, old bags, etc., throw a piece of polyethylene on top. This coating helps maintain humidity, equalizes the temperature (local overheating is harmful) and protects the surface from drops that are inevitable when watering.

If you can’t wait that long, add an “accelerator” to the concrete. An additive that accelerates the hardening of concrete. The term can be reduced to 7-10 days. But carefully read the features of caring for such concrete.

Green lawn parking

When arranging a green parking lot, special gratings are placed on a layer of gravel, the gaps of which are filled with fertile soil, sown with grass seeds. For parking a passenger car, and sometimes a jeep, a 10 cm high grate is enough. If heavy vehicles (trucks with materials) are to be unloaded on the site, a grate must be at least 15 cm high.

The difference in the cost of gratings for green parking is significant. But the difference in price is usually justified: some eco-parking lots do not sag, they look normal, others crumple, turning the surface into a mess of soil and grass. Therefore, when choosing gratings, do not chase cheapness.

Caring for a grassy parking lot is not very convenient: the rake gets stuck in the grate, not every lawn mower can work safely. Therefore, many owners of such sites are disappointed. But recently, another trend has appeared – instead of soil and grass, medium gravel is poured into the lattice, and the top is covered with small gravel or pebbles. Why is this option better than a conventional bulk site? The platform is not pressed under the wheels of even a heavily loaded vehicle. This option is ideal for clay soils.

Economy options for arrivals and parking

Although parking in a country house made of rubble is considered the most inexpensive, its total cost is considerable. If it is not possible to invest the appropriate amount or the arrival will be temporary, you can try to get by with more modest options.

The cheapest check-in is from laid old sleepers. Decommissioned sleepers, if desired, can be found and ask for very little for them. Since they are already soaked with everything that is possible from decay, they can be laid directly into the ground. But in order to prevent them from sticking out during heaving, it is better to dig a trench and lay at least 5 cm of rubble or construction debris on the bottom. On the sides of the sleepers, it is also desirable to make a crushed stone backfill of at least 5 cm.

One sleeper for the race is not enough (unless you are a super driver), but two under the wheel is enough. The option, of course, is temporary, but it is more than suitable for the time of arranging the territory.

There is a similar idea in a more civilized version: take concrete paving slabs 50 * 50 cm or 60 * 60 cm in size. Lay them out in two parallel rows – under the wheels. It is not worth pressing them one to the other – it is better to leave a soil gap. To avoid bulging during heaving on clay soils, as in the previous version, make at least a minimal backfill of crushed stone.

There are also paved suburban races. Brick, natural stone is used for paving. These options are good if the soil is not clay. The brick will collapse most quickly – it is not intended for such conditions, but as a temporary measure for arrangement it will fit perfectly.