Building a gravel parking lot: construction and costs

A gravel parking lot is a cheap alternative to paved parking spaces. They can easily be implemented on your own with the right approach. Good planning is particularly important for this.

Statutory Regulations

Before you can start building it, you need to plan it out. One of the most important aspects during planning are the legal requirements that must be observed for the project. Even for a gravel parking lot, you have to pay attention to three specific points: building permit, development plan and neighbors. The building permit is essential and must be applied for prior to construction. Whether you need a building permit depends on where you live. Every federal state requires a building permit including a building application for a different area for the parking lot. A small overview of the differences between three federal states shows the area from which a building permit is required:

• Bavaria: from 50 m²
• Berlin: from 30 m²
• North Rhine-Westphalia: Building permit does not depend on the area

As you can see, do your research beforehand to avoid additional costs. The same applies to the development plan of your community. It gives an insight into the possible spaces on your property that are permitted for the gravel parking lot. As a precaution, speak to your neighbor if the parking lot is at Property line should be in order to avoid future problems. As a precaution, plan the minimum distance to the property line, which varies depending on the municipality. You must also observe the minimum dimensions for the parking lot stipulated in the special building regulations. They are limited to the size of a single vehicle. If you want to build a larger parking lot, you definitely have to choose twice the size. The following are the minimum dimensions:

• Width: 2.5 m
• limited on one side (e.g. B. through hedge, wall): 2.70 m
• limited on both sides (e.g. B. through hedge, wall): 2.90 m
• Width for people with disabilities: 3.5 m
• Length (parallel to the road): 6.5 m
• Length (perpendicular to the road): 5 m

Note: When creating the parking space, it is essential to pay attention to the size of your vehicles. Modern automobiles are usually larger than the specified minimum dimensions, which can lead to a lack of space.

Gravel: determine costs

Once the planning for the gravel parking lot has been completed, you will of course need the gravel for construction, which you have to order in the necessary quantity. For this purpose, be sure to choose gravel for your gravel parking lot that is coarse enough. This is the only way for the stones to interlock to provide sufficient support for the vehicles. Sizes 0/32 and 0/45 are well suited. If you want to use frost-proof, water-permeable ballast, use KFT ballast of the same size. To determine the material requirement, you need the volume of the excavated pit. The following formula is used for this:

Length in m x width in m x depth in m = volume in m³

You should plan a depth of 80 centimeters for the pit so that frost protection is granted. For a parking space of 5 meters x 3 meters, the values ​​are used as follows:

5 x 3 x 0.8 = 12

The pit has a volume of 12 cubic meters. In order to determine the need for gravel for the gravel parking lot and thus the costs for the material, you have to multiply this value by a factor of 1.5. This gives you the weight in tons. You can then use the tons to determine the cost of the ballast. Note that these can vary from region to region and gravel to gravel. The following example assumes the determined volume of 12 cubic meters and a KFT ballast of size 0/32:

• 12 x 1.5 = 18 t gravel
• Add 3% more material
• The reason is the compaction of the material
• The material requirement is therefore 18.54 t
• KFT price per ton: 16 to 20 euros
• Material requirement x price = material costs
• 18.54 x 16 or 20 euros = 296.64 to 370.8 euros
• Include delivery costs

Materials and tools

In addition to the gravel, you need suitable tools to make the gravel parking lot a reality. The following list gives you an overview of the necessary utensils. Do not worry. If you do not have the devices in the list available yourself, you can borrow them from hardware stores or companies for a certain period of time. You should book the devices long enough, especially for larger projects. You also need something to secure the excavated earth and the delivery of gravel. Traffic cones or barrier tapes are ideal for this.

• spade
• shovel
• alternatively: mini excavator
• Garden hoe (compacted or stony soils)
• Tape measure, roll measure or folding rule
• hammer
• Vibrating plate for compacting
• wheelbarrow
• 4 x wooden stakes, ground anchors or pegs
• Guideline
• Benchmark
• Street broom
• optional: container for waste such as sod
• optional: vehicle with trailer (if gravel is picked up)

Tip: If you are struggling with a lot of weeds, you happen to be betting on a so-called geotextile. It is installed between the ground and the bulk material as a protective layer against weeds.

preparation

To make the construction of the parking lot as effective as possible, you need to prepare the spot. Days without uncomfortable weather are ideal for this, as otherwise the measurements could be strongly influenced. This is especially the case with freshly moist soils, as the earth can still move without any problems. To prepare, do the following:

• set the first corner point
• use ground anchors, stakes or the like for this
• alternatively orientate towards the wall or obstacle
• measure the first side from the corner point
• Set right angles by eye
• set the second corner point
• repeat until all corner points are set
• Tension the guideline
• Check right angles across the diagonal
• optionally apply the 3-4-5 rule
• If necessary, place tarpaulin for excavation
• ideally spread next to the building site
• weight down corners of the tarpaulin in the event of wind

Structure: Instructions

The construction of your new parking space can be done very quickly on a small scale. Like the costs, the effort remains very low. Be sure to keep roads and sidewalks as clear as possible throughout the project. Places such as your material store are cordoned off by traffic cones or belts. This way you can work in a relaxed manner. The following approach explains exactly how to build the gravel parking lot:

• Dig a pit for the parking space
• Remove any turf that arises at the beginning
• store separately from the excavation
• cut with a spade along the plumb line
• Dig a pit with a shovel
• Remove any stones or roots with a hoe
• Thoroughly compact the soil with a vibrating plate
• 1. Fill in and compact the ballast layer
• Layer thickness: 10 to 20 cm
• 2. Fill in and compact the ballast layer
• Layer thickness: 30 cm
• repeat until the pit is completely filled
• straighten the top layer (straightedge)

• condense
• Refill ballast if necessary
• condense
• now the gravel parking lot is complete
• Dispose of excavated earth or use it in the garden
• Dispose of construction waste
• Finally, sweep the streets and sidewalks
• this will avoid potential problems

Note: Sort waste such as sod or stones well before they are taken to the landfill or disposed of in containers. This avoids unnecessary additional costs.

frequently asked Questions