Gravel Grids

Communication.

Above all, your project needs service you can rely on. Whether it's information regarding your delivery or trying to get hold of someone for technical advice, we're there ready to go. Dealing directly with the manufacturer puts you in direct control and cuts the chain of communication right down to just you and us.

Quality

We've been manufacturing our grids for over 10 years. In this time we've made constant incremental improvements to the design.

Service

It's not just quality of the products but the quality of the service that has allowed us to become the industry's go-to manufacturer. We don't turn the phone off when the office shuts: we're accessible when you need us and respond quickly to everyone.

Installation of gravel grids is very simple and anyone can do it.

We recommend you read our installation guide to make sure you're prepared for the project.

You can install grids on any surface including soil and grass surfaces. But for the best performance, we recommend you use a solid sub base of type 1 MOT.

Soil and clay surfaces expand and contract with different seasonal temperatures and rainfall. This results in movement which undermines the installed surface. This is true whether that is with driveway grids, paving or concrete/tarmac.

If you're not worried about that movement too much, then at least line the base with a membrane. This helps stabilise the surface beneath the gravel grids and prevent any surface-level movement.

Every good surfacing project starts with a well compacted sub base. This is true whether you’re using driveway grids with coloured stone or block paving to create your finish.

Without a good sub base, your final surface will be unstable. Gravel grids rely on sub bases without voids, air pockets or inclusions.

Our standard recommendation is to:

• Excavate to at least 210mm depth.
• Line the base of your hole with a permeable membrane. You want the rainwater to trickle through to the subsoil which stops erosion.
• Fill and layer your excavation 50mm at a time with Type 1 MOT, dampening and compacting with each pass. Keep filling until you are 60mm below the top surface level.
• Once you have compacted and levelled your base, add a layer of screeded 10mm sharp sand.
• To prevent the grids from migrating into the sand, line it with a woven, permeable ground cover membrane. An added benefit is that it helps to prevent any weeds growing. This helps simplify the ongoing maintenance of the surface.
• Connect the grids together, with the grids sitting 5-10mm below the finished height.
• Now choose your aesthetic and fill with any 10-30mm stone.

We over-engineered our grids to be as good for commercial use as they are for domestic.

This means reliable access roads, car parking areas and even warehouse hardstandings are possible with IBRAN grids.

There isn't much our grids can't handle.

The answer to this is dependent upon how well you prepare the foundations. Like a well built house, solid foundations give what’s on top the best possible standing in the long term.

If you build your sub base to a good standard, your grids will peform to a good standard. They can outlast and outperform any tarmac, concrete or even block paving surface. We use sturdy recycled plastic for our products. With good preparation and ongoing care, you can expect your gravel grids to last more than 25 years.

Like any surfacing option, grids only sink if the sub base is of poor quality, not prepared well or non-existent.

Good compaction of the sub base and good in-fill of the grids stops virtually all movement. You may see some secondary compaction but a well compacted sub base helps to minimise it.

We cannot stress enough how important it is to prepare your sub base well. For best results, please refer to our installation instructions.

Yes, you can. This is often one of the most affordable ways to replace an existing concrete surface. Using gravel grids is the only way to lay gravel on concrete without you losing the gravel. The existing surface (no matter how badly broken up) is as solid as a conventional type 1 MOT sub base.

But when installing on existing concrete or tarmac, you need to consider what edging you choose. When cars ramp up onto the grids, they apply twisting and compressive forces onto parts of the side walls not intended to bear weight. That’s why we have a range of different edging products including the industry's only ramp edge designed especially for gravel grids.

Only if you want them to be. You have no obligation to leave your grids exposed if you don't like the look of them. Lower the excavation by 10mm so the top of the grids sit 10mm below the final height so you can add more stone.

If you prefer to see your grids, you will want to make sure that you fill and maintain your grids with enough stone to do the heavy lifting. Whilst the grids are strong in their own right, the stone and its compaction is where the strength comes from

We make our paving grids from eco friendly, 100% recycled plastic (PP+HDPE).

We consciously made this choice with the environment - and not profit margins or greenwashing - in mind.

The company's entire ethos has always been to contribute positively to improving the natural and built environment. With so much plastic floating around in the oceans, why would we choose virgin material when we can lock it up for good?

Depending on what type of stone you’re using, it may vary. The general rule we apply is to start with at least 20-30kg per grid. To calculate it the most directly, for every 1 square metre, you need 80 - 120kg of aggregate.

You have so many different types of aggregates and gravels to choose from. Think as much about things like clogged up tyre treads as you do aesthetics when you choose your gravel.

To lay a gravel driveway or parking lot, we recommend 20mm angular gravel. For footpaths, we recommend 10mm pea gravel. Our gravel stabiliser holds anything from 10mm to 30mm.

To do this calculation quickly for you, we built a gravel grid calculator. It finds the area and then multiplies it by our suggestion.

The calculation: Length (m) x width (m) x 120kg

You'll find more about our gravel driveway grids and more on our How To blog.