Homeowners of a riverfront property in the Texas Hill Country included RutGuard Geocell on their home renovations. Around 16,000 total square feet of geocell was installed throughout the property in order to confine the decomposed granite material to prevent future erosion issues and prolong the longevity of the renovation project.
The owner wanted to build up the elevation of the driveway areas, so the subgrade was compacted to provide a solid, even foundation for the RutGuard, which was installed directly atop the prepared subgrade over a layer of fabric.
Decomposed Granite was chosen to fill the cells, as it is known for its ability to compact due to the presence of fines within the crushed rock. With this being a large quantity of panels (70 Panels to be exact!) the installation crew decided to join the panels before expanding to cut down on time and make simplify the process. The panels were joined with large zip ties and then were expanded out to desired dimensions and held in place using wooden stakes. Since this was a flat, base application, the stakes were removed once the panels were filled.
Stone Edging
Edging is not typically required with geocell installation, as it all depends on the site conditions, application of the project, as well as the overall finished look that the customer is wanting to achieve. With this being a residential driveway project where the installed area consisted of a majority of the property, the customer used large stone pieces as edging throughout the outer edges of the filled geocell. This not only provides aesthetic appeal, but benefits the longevity of the project by "locking" the edges in place.
Other options of edging would include metal edging, railroad ties, other stones or rock, or simply by overfilling the outer edges of the buried geocell panels.
Curved Edges
Geocell panels are flexible, which allows them to fit the contour of the desired installation area. Every driveway, parking area, road is different! So this is very beneficial to keep in mind especially when wondering about your circular drive. The panels are also able to be cut down to size, or cut and reattached around obstacles such as fence posts or trees. The possibilities are endless when it comes to RutGuard!
Using Less to Strengthen More
When the geocell panels are filled with material, the individual cells are working together to confine and strengthen that material. When weight is applied, whether foot traffic, passenger vehicles, trucks and trailer, ATVs, golf carts, or even delivery trucks or emergency vehicles, the weight of that load is spread laterally instead of down into the sub-base. The pressure that the sub-base would typically see (without geocell) is significantly reduced (by roughly 75%!). This is the science behind the idea that RutGuard allows you to use less to strengthen more.
Why was the 3" cell height Chosen?
In just 3" of material, confined within the cells of RutGuard, you are achieving the same strength as you would with 15" of sand or 9" of gravel alone; providing you with 3x the strength of gravel and 5x the strength of sand. The strong, prepared sub-base prepared by the customer was considered when choosing a cell height. Instead of laying 9" of loose gravel, the customer opted to lay just 3" along with the 3" geocell panels.
Learn more about our products and the science behind them by reviewing the resources on our website, or contact us today to learn more about how RutGuard can serve your particular project.