In any new development, one of the major engineering concerns is stormwater run-off and attenuation. In the Heartlands Property development in Linbro Park, commercial growth is underway, and engineers were looking for a way to create a natural-looking waterway that would be able to handle the area’s stormwater run-off. Pro Build Construction, working with the consulting engineers Knutton Consulting, decided to use Technicrete Grassframe, which allows the natural greening of paved areas.
Typically used to form hard wearing grassed driveways, roadways, footpaths and
parking areas, Technicrete Grassframe paving is simple to maintain and offers a natural-looking grassed alternative to traditional paving.
Marius van Vuuren of Pro Build Construction explains that the product comprises paving blocks with openings for grass to grow through. The grass not only looks attractive, but also helps to hold the soil in place once the roots have developed. For this reason, Technicrete Grassframe can also be used for embankments and light duty erosion protection.
“Grassframe gives a neat finish, even before the grass has grown, and once the blocks are packed together forms a solid surface,” says Van Vuuren. “It’s a good product that will be able to handle the increasing stormwater run-off from the various properties as they are developed.”
After designing the earthworks to suit traffic loading, preparation for laying the Grassframe blocks entails creating a surface of layer works to standard specifications SABS 1200MJ (max 10mm in 3m), and putting down a river sand bedding (with a recommended thickness of between 10mm and 15mm).
The blocks are then hand-compacted into the bedding sand using a rubber mallet. The openings in the Grassframe blocks are then filled with topsoil and grassed prior to trafficking.
The 400mm x 600m grey Grassframe paving blocks are available in 90mm, 95 mm and 100mm thicknesses to suit a range of different applications.
Photo captions: The completed water channel in the Heartlands Property development in Linbro Park. The Technicrete Grassframe paving used will ensure that once the grass has grown through the blocks, the waterway is not only natural-looking, but also able to handle the area’s stormwater run-off.
Further information is available from: Malebusa Sebatane, Marketing Manager, Technicrete Tel: 011 674 6957 Cell: 078 803 9863 email: malebusa.sebatane@murrob.com
Issued on behalf of Technicrete by: SJC Creative, Contact Sue Charlton Tel: 011 781 6178 Cell: 082 579 4263 email: sjc@worldonline.co.za
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