How can I make use of £300 worth of ground reinforcement mats?

GervisLooper

I bought these things for the stated price.

I wanted to put on wet boggy field and turns out they are awful for that without gravel base underneath. That defeats the purpose because I would just put gravel alone down instead.

As it is very uneven they just break up and also get swallowed by the mud beneath.

I now have a bunch of this horrible hard plastic which is not biodegradeable I have no immediate use for. I had otherwise made it a point to use buidegradeable or natural materials on the land, limiting the nasty non bio stuff to the minimum.

I guess I can use for walkways and a shed base if/when I get one. Again though it seems that gravel would be indicated for a shed base before putting these down!

Walkways might be better and less liable to sinking due to lesser weight of a human than a vehicle.

Perhaps interlock them for a very expensive compost bay.

I almost spend 2 grand in one to buy the whole run which I am glad I didn't now! I thought it better to buy a test purchase first but even 300 quid is not a trifling matter.

BrilliantButScary

Stick them on Facebook marketplace and sell them.
Sometimes you just have to put it down to experience.

GervisLooper

BrilliantButScary said:

Stick them on Facebook marketplace and sell them.
Sometimes you just have to put it down to experience.

Even fellow MSEs are not immune to such gaffes? Makes me feel somewhat better.

FlorayG

Can't help with what to do with those but what you need is THESE https://www.mudcontrol.co.uk/ no prep needed, will not sink, rated to I believe 60 tons. I have a tractor and trailer loaded with hay drive over them and they don't move. Worth every penny and when you no longer need them, take them up and sell them ( in fact you can sometimes buy them second-hand through the company

Eldi_Dos

The last thing we need is more plastic being introduced willy nilly into the countryside, we are supposed to be custodians of the land.
It is bad enough that in urban areas there seems to be constant pressure to build over or utilise any green area, can anyone really say that a street that has its front gardens dug up and turned into parking spaces is better for the general wellbeing.

GervisLooper

FlorayG said:

Can't help with what to do with those but what you need is THESE https://www.mudcontrol.co.uk/ no prep needed, will not sink, rated to I believe 60 tons. I have a tractor and trailer loaded with hay drive over them and they don't move. Worth every penny and when you no longer need them, take them up and sell them ( in fact you can sometimes buy them second-hand through the company

Ohh, they look good! Wish I knew about them yesterday before ordering these others but hey ho. You reckon they would work for none 4x4 van too as your tractor is going to manage well mats or no mats I guess!?

I thought they would be super expensive and they are more so than the other mats but if they work could well be worth it. £1584 vs. £2508. Gravel is cheapest but less versatile and requires redoing every now and then. How long have these mats lasted you? If they have worked for your for more than 2 years the increased price may be more than justified then as it would work out comparable or better vs. gravel longer term.

Just found this on another forum which makes them sound ideal:

Cost wise yes they are expensive but unlike hardcore (setting aside planning issues you may end up with) they dont wear out or wear thin and need redoing and as mentioned are moveable so can be used for different things/places all year round 😀

FlorayG

GervisLooper said:

FlorayG said:

Can't help with what to do with those but what you need is THESE https://www.mudcontrol.co.uk/ no prep needed, will not sink, rated to I believe 60 tons. I have a tractor and trailer loaded with hay drive over them and they don't move. Worth every penny and when you no longer need them, take them up and sell them ( in fact you can sometimes buy them second-hand through the company

Ohh, they look good! Wish I knew about them yesterday before ordering these others but hey ho. You reckon they would work for none 4x4 van too as your tractor is going to manage well mats or no mats I guess!?

I thought they would be super expensive and they are more so than the other mats but if they work could well be worth it. £1584 vs. £2508. Gravel is cheapest but less versatile and requires redoing every now and then. How long have these mats lasted you? If they have worked for your for more than 2 years the increased price may be more than justified then as it would work out comparable or better vs. gravel longer term.

Just found this on another forum which makes them sound ideal:

Cost wise yes they are expensive but unlike hardcore (setting aside planning issues you may end up with) they dont wear out or wear thin and need redoing and as mentioned are moveable so can be used for different things/places all year round 😀

I've had mine three years and moved them all once ( not an easy job - they are really easy to put down but a bu&&er to get up again once they settle in). There are people who have had them ten years still going strong. I bought a pallet and a month later bought a second pallet they are just unbeatable. I also had two single rows across some mud so I could drive my car onto them at one time. If your mud is really deep it will come up through the holes and you have to scrape it now and then. They make like a pontoon that 'floats' on the mud
If you are on FB join the group MUDCONTROL - Group for SHARED PALLET Deliveries (UK)

GervisLooper

FlorayG said:

I've had mine three years and moved them all once ( not an easy job - they are really easy to put down but a bu&&er to get up again once they settle in). There are people who have had them ten years still going strong. I bought a pallet and a month later bought a second pallet they are just unbeatable. I also had two single rows across some mud so I could drive my car onto them at one time. If your mud is really deep it will come up through the holes and you have to scrape it now and then. They make like a pontoon that 'floats' on the mud
If you are on FB join the group MUDCONTROL - Group for SHARED PALLET Deliveries (UK)

Hmm not sure how you know someone who had them 10 years as they were apparently only released in 2019 from what it says on equestrian forum thread I have reading?

Nope not an FB user!

The mud is not really deep. I am thinking perhaps that leaving the rushes and long wild grass over the top might even be beneficial rather than scraping down to bare mud due to added stability of the plant's and roots? Only issue with that is lack of level ground? That was the massive death kiss for the grass mats which just buckled at the first hint of uneven ground. Will these babies handle none even stuff?

I will get a few and FEW this time not £300 like last time to give a conservative test I guess and see.

FlorayG

In Germany long before they were in UK
Yes, all you do is stomp down the mud as level as you can, pick out any rocks and tree roots, they level themselves. In fact they level better if the ground it really horribly wet when you put them down

FreeBear

GervisLooper said: I guess I can use for walkways and a shed base if/when I get one. Again though it seems that gravel would be indicated for a shed base before putting these down!

A shed base needs 75-100mm of compacted hardcore topped off with 50-75mm of concrete. Larger & heavier sheds will need a thicker base. And if you plan on using it as a workshop with heavy equipment, you may need reinforcement in addition to even more concrete.

Gravel & grids are only really suitable for small sheds (think 6x4 or smaller) that are likely to be moved within a few years.

GervisLooper

As I have to top-up the hardstanding I already have of around 50ft and have some more gravel on the way I am wondering if they can be put to good use for the existing area.

What advantage do they have over just laying gravel direct onto soil? Does it make the gravel stay in place better or what? I am guessing it is a combination of that and adding to the structural integrity of the ground?