Grass Pavers: Plastic vs. Concrete Grids and How to Install Them

Grass pavers are open grids, plastic or concrete, laid over a gravel base and filled with soil and grass (or gravel). They spread the weight of cars and trucks so the lawn doesn't rut, while letting rain soak in. People use them for overflow parking, fire lanes, driveway extensions, RV pads and side yards where a paved surface would look too heavy.

Plastic vs. concrete

	Plastic grid (rings or cells)	Concrete grid pavers
Look	Mostly invisible once grass fills in	Concrete pattern stays visible
Weight	Light, rolls or panels; easy to carry	Heavy pavers; slower to install
Load	Rated for cars, many for fire trucks with the right base	Strong; good for frequent parking
Grass coverage	High; more soil area	Lower; concrete takes up more surface
Cost	Usually lower	Usually higher
Snow plowing	Raise the plow; avoid steel blades	Plows fine with care

How they're built

1. Excavate to firm subsoil, deep enough for the base plus the grid.
2. Base: compacted crushed stone, often 4 to 8 inches for car traffic and more for heavy trucks or soft soil. A sandy loam and stone mix is sometimes used so roots can grow into the base.
3. Bedding layer: about an inch of sand or a sand-soil mix, leveled.
4. Lay the grid and connect panels.
5. Fill the cells with a sandy topsoil mix just below the top of the cells.
6. Seed or sod. Seed is easier with plastic grids; with concrete pavers, seed the cells and topdress.
7. Let it grow in before parking on it, usually several weeks of mowing.

Follow the manufacturer's base recommendation for your traffic; that's the number that matters most.

Grass or gravel fill?

• Grass: greener and cooler, but needs sun, water and mowing. Grass under parked cars dies, so it works for occasional parking, not a daily spot.
• Gravel: fill the cells with clean angular stone for a stable, permeable surface that needs no mowing. Good for daily parking, shady spots and RV pads.

Where they work

• Overflow and event parking used a few times a month
• Fire lanes that need to support emergency vehicles but look like lawn
• Driveway edges where cars cut the corner
• Stormwater-sensitive sites, since water soaks in instead of running off

Where they struggle

• Spots where a car parks every day (grass dies under it)
• Heavy shade
• Steep slopes, where turning tires tear up the fill
• Areas that get salted in winter, which harms grass

For an all-gravel surface that handles daily parking, see crusher run driveway.