Gravel Terrace

Most people put paving in their gardens for several reasons. For an attractive green garden, the rule of thumb is that you should not pave more than 40% of your garden. The rest of the garden is then designated for greenery.

It is best to install permeable pavement such as gravel or wood chips. The rainwater that falls on the gravel or wood chips can easily sink into the ground. If you lay the permeable pavement lower than the rest of your garden, you can easily collect rainwater from your roof there as well. With well-drained paving, rainwater from almost all showers sinks directly into the soil. Only when there are heavy downpours does water remain for a short time. Practice shows that this is not a problem.

Cost

Constructing permeable paving is almost never more expensive than closed paving. Indeed, with closed paving, you have to make provisions for stormwater runoff.

Space use

For space use, it makes no difference whether you apply permeable or sealed pavement.

Difficulty

Paving involves some craftsmanship. It is a good idea to apply infiltration fabric under the gravel or wood chips. This keeps the material well separated from the substrate while still allowing the pavement to pass water well. Anti-root cloth does not allow water to pass through as easily.

Earthmoving

Most gardens are flat. If this is the case, you should excavate the area where the paving will be. Most paving should be laid on a bed of sand. Are you applying a gravel or wood chip paving? Then a sand bed is usually not necessary and less earthwork needs to be done. However, the garden should be low enough in relation to your house to avoid inconvenience during heavy rainfall. Then the water will not run into the house during a heavy downpour. If your garden is not low enough, you will have to remove the excess soil.

Maintenance

Permeable paving requires the same maintenance as other paving. Wood chips usually need to be replenished every year. Most paving requires removing weeds a few times a year.

Climate Goals

Paved areas do not contribute to increasing biodiversity and combating heat stress. Therefore, it is important to keep plenty of greenery in the garden. Permeable pavements are great for collecting rainwater and allowing it to sink into the soil. In the backyard in the photos below, gravel paving was installed in the past for the clothesline. The garden slopes down from all sides to this gravel terrace and is about 20 inches lower than the floor level of the house. The subgrade is highly permeable. The pavement consists of a layer of about 5 cm of gravel. The gravel terrace collects not only the rainwater from the entire backyard, but also 60^{m2 of} roof from the back of the house.

Biodiversity

Contribution to improving biodiversity