Have you ever walked along a path made of crushed stone after a heavy rain? If you look closely at the path, you’ll see water slowly draining into the stone layers while the top layer provides a nice, dry place to walk. Permeable pavers mimic nature, becoming a solid path made of pavers that allow water through.
How is that helpful to you as a homeowner? Simple. Permeable pavers support flood control and stormwater management, helping keep your home and yard safe and dry in heavy rains.
Becoming childlike and traipsing through the mud and puddles can be fun. However, it’s not something you want to do with an armful of groceries or in your best shoes when heading out to work.
If you struggle with a flooded yard or are looking for preventative measures before the tropical storm season arrives in Houston, we’re here to help.
Permeable Pavers: Choose the Pavers that Allow Water Through
First, let’s discuss how permeable pavers work compared to poured concrete surfaces or standard concrete pavers.
Poured concrete surfaces prevent water absorption. In fact, poured concrete is sealed to repel water. Therefore, when a large concrete slab is poured in a yard, rather than aiding in water absorption, it becomes a source of water runoff or creates an area of standing water in bad cases.
Due to their design, concrete pavers do more to aid in drainage, and many times, drains are already set into concrete paver designs. However, their purpose is ultimately to provide a solid surface rather than aid in stormwater management.
That’s where permeable pavers come in.
Permeable pavers were created to allow water to pass through the cracks between pavers into a system designed to slowly absorb water back into the earth.
Using permeable pavers helps;
- Water absorb back into the ground.
- Drastically reduce the amount of stormwater runoff.
- Create stable surfaces that work for you, not against you.
How do Permeable Pavers work?
First, let’s talk about the foundation. Foundations are essential. It’s why we choose accountants with more than a basic math knowledge and go to hairdressers who know how to cut more than just a mullet.
One of the most important parts of a permeable paver surface or permeable paver driveway is the base. This is also one of the main components that distinguish standard interlocking concrete pavers from permeable pavers.
Traditional concrete pavers are set in a base of compacted gravel topped by a layer of sand. Permeable pavers use a base of aggregate carefully laid so that water is held within the stone until it can be absorbed into the ground below it.
Another essential part of permeable pavers is the joint. While interlocking pavers have small joints filled with sand, permeable pavers joints are filled with crushed gravel, allowing water drainage down into the base.
While the joints on concrete pavers are minimal, permeable pavers joints are set apart to allow for more water to get through. The size of the joint varies depending on the amount of water drainage required.
Projects that traditionally experience large amounts of water runoff or standing water will need wider joints for more water absorption. That’s one of the perks of permeable pavers: Your project can be tailored to achieve the best results.
Some permeable pavers may drain as much as six to eight inches of water per hour!
Do Permeable Pavers Help the Environment?
Using permeable pavers does more than just help you as a homeowner; they also help the environment.
While it’s easy to assume that permeable pavers help the earth by ensuring that water runs through them and back into the ground that needs it, did you know that they also help the environment in other ways?
Not only do permeable pavers reduce the load placed on municipal drainage systems, which helps the system and allows water to be better filtered before arriving at bodies of water, but they also create less waste.
Due to the ease of repairing pavers, which can usually be repaired in small sections, and the overall longevity of paver projects, fewer supplies are deposited into landfills over time.
Trust Pavertime with Your Permeable Paver Project Today
Permeable pavers are an excellent solution for flooding in the Houston area, and we’re the team that can help you install them.
With decades of experience in Houston, extraneous training and certifications, and one of the best customer service teams in South Texas, we’re the team that you can trust. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Check out our reviews and take them from clients with whom we have completed works of all sizes.
Getting started with a new paver project has never been easier. Contact Pavertime today to schedule your free consultation. One call gets the ball rolling (and the water draining).
