Permeable Solutions

Paving Permeable Solutions

At Unit Paving, we’ve been proud to lend our unique blend of design and installation work to clients all across the Carolinas and the surrounding areas for over two decades. But because the topic of ecological friendliness could not be more important to the modern era, one area that we’ve paid particular attention to is also one of the most critical: permeable solutions design.

While it’s certainly true that developers, architects, planners, owners and others have the impression that permeable pavement design is cost prohibitive, it’s clear when you look at both the wide range of benefits this brings to the table AND the 30 to 50 year lifespan of a permeable paver installation, this perception could not be farther from the truth.

Permeable Pavers: What You Need to Know

While it’s true that sometimes, permeable pavers can look practically identical from their nonporous counterparts, the end result is incredibly different – particularly in terms of their environmental effects.

As stated, permeable pavers (also referred to as permeable interlocking concrete pavement, or PICP for short) are built to be porous, letting storm water flow into an aggregate base, oftentimes creating a situation where there is no puddling or runoff of any kind. Impervious units are designed using small openings that create sophisticated, permeable joints (hence the name). In fact, between 5% and 15% of the surface area are filled with these small aggregates. These joints allow storm water to enter the crushed stone aggregate bedding later and base, which itself both supports the pavers and provides water storage and filtration properties that can’t be beat.

In terms of permeable solutions design, the goal of most applications involves not only controlling storm water before, during and after extreme weather events, but also improving overall water quality thanks to the imbedded filtering system of substrata layers present in the pavers to begin with. This, coupled with both the superior aesthetic appeal and the improved user experience, along with the opportunity to boost the environmental “brand” of new developments, make permeable pavers a clear winner in nearly any type of development or situation that you can think of.

In the end, permeable solutions are a highly attractive, totally sophisticated, easily repaired and incredibly durable option for all types of environments – all while being able to effortlessly withstand heavy vehicle loads at the exact same time. If you’re a developer or an architect that would like to find out more information about the many different types of permeable solutions that we offer, or if you have any additional questions that you’d like to see answered, please don’t delay – contact Unit Paving today.