Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#283934 21-Mar-2021 11:53
Send private message

I’m going to cement in most of the grass to match my driveway, about 40 sq. meters

Except for sections “A” and “B.” For that, I’m going to turn “A” into native bush.

I want “B” to look nice and be maintenance free. I was thinking of garden tiles. It’s about 35 sq. meters, 3.5 x 10.

Any suggestions / alternatives?


View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2

gzt

gzt
17104 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2677851 21-Mar-2021 12:08
Send private message

The main reason I dislike concreting grass areas is, this increases noise reflectivity. So, I'm going to try and talk you out of it ; )

- New astroturf type stuff can be pretty good
- Moss!

It's a relatively small area so I'd suggest looking at replanting it with a grass variety that is much easier to manage.



BlinkyBill
1443 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user


  #2677852 21-Mar-2021 12:13
Send private message

Will definitely decrease the saleability of your property.


Eva888
2427 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2677902 21-Mar-2021 12:23
Send private message

Consider re-sale effect of cement. Many people like grass and if it’s concreted over it’s a major job to rip up and replace. Grass appeals to families. Are there pipes running under that area that may one day need maintenance after an earthquake or blockage? Simpler would be to use some sort of tile that can easily be pulled up leaving a few spaces for shrubs. Think of the aesthetics that would appeal to a buyer before making permanent changes. It might be your forever home now, but life can suddenly change and since this is a main asset you want it to appeal to the majority.



kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #2677905 21-Mar-2021 12:41
Send private message

What kind of grass needs the least mowing?

kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

Eva888
2427 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2677909 21-Mar-2021 12:55
Send private message

kingdragonfly: What kind of grass needs the least mowing?


Clover stays pretty green and doesn’t grow high thus mowing is not as necessary. Bees love it when it flowers and it spreads and smells nice but...a lot of people think of it as a weed in their lawn. Personally I love when it takes over since it’s green and soft when all the rest of the grass is brown and dry.

 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
richms
28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #2677913 21-Mar-2021 13:19
Send private message

council have coverage limits which along with cost is stopping me doing everything here with concrete, but gravel is an option too.





Richard rich.ms

FineWine
2981 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted
Nurse (R)
Lifetime subscriber

  #2677914 21-Mar-2021 13:29
Send private message

Dichondra repens, (Mercury Bay weed), has leaves that become tighter when walked on. My brother swears by it. Got rid of his mower years ago.





Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.


Scott3
3963 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2677922 21-Mar-2021 14:45
Send private message

richms:

 

council have coverage limits which along with cost is stopping me doing everything here with concrete, but gravel is an option too.

 

 

OP definitely needs to look into this. Many councils have limits to the amount of non-permeable (roof's and concrete) and semi-permeable (deck over soil etc) surfaces on your site. Many modern builds are pushing the upper limits.

 

In short, soil with grass / vegetation on it will soak up some rainfall before water starts to run off. A non permeable surface like a roof or a concrete surface will almost immediately send all the rain that lands on it to the storm-water system. The latter is more taxing on council storm-water management infrastructure.

 

Some councils allow the use of rain water retention tanks in place of grass etc. These are quite popular with developers trying to squeeze more dwellings and carparks onto small sites.

 

I understand your reasons for wanting to get rid of grass, but think options other than heaps of concrete should be considered for aesthetic & drainage reasons. 


kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #2677934 21-Mar-2021 15:47
Send private message

I changed my mind about concreting the front lawn / garden tiles. I think I'll resod it with something that doesn't doesn't grow like crazy like my current grass.

I'm in New Plymouth. Oddly the soil seems more spongy / bouncy under foot than anywhere else I've experienced.

Water doesn't seem to be a problem. I'd rather put in sprinklers than mow, it it got severe.

gzt

gzt
17104 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2677935 21-Mar-2021 15:49
Send private message

FineWine:

Dichondra repens, (Mercury Bay weed), has leaves that become tighter when walked on. My brother swears by it. Got rid of his mower years ago.


Tiles of it available in Aust: https://www.planttiles.com.au/native-dichondra-lawn-a-winner/
Looks really nice.

Dairyxox
1594 posts

Uber Geek


  #2677936 21-Mar-2021 15:53
Send private message

kingdragonfly: I changed my mind about concreting the front lawn / garden tiles. I think I'll resod it with something that doesn't doesn't grow like crazy like my current grass.

I'm in New Plymouth. Oddly the soil seems more spongy / bouncy under foot than anywhere else I've experienced.

Water doesn't seem to be a problem. I'd rather put in sprinklers than mow, it it got severe.

 

Good onya 👍. Concrete is not great for the environment or aesthetics.


kingdragonfly

11190 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #2677939 21-Mar-2021 16:10
Send private message

I came across this article: Cutting the grass? Cut it out!

To be clear I don't like the look of knee-high meadows, even if it's environmentally friendly.

Eva888
2427 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

  #2678025 21-Mar-2021 17:01
Send private message

Does anyone know the name of the grass that grows on the foreshore of Kapiti around the play area. That stuff seems to grow across rather than upward and feels like a very thick soft carpet. It doesn’t appear to ever be mown. I’d grow it in a heartbeat.

Good decision to ditch the concrete. You could also do a dense planting of shrubs around the perimeters to shrink the grassed area to a small patch in the centre enough for a picnic or a few deck chairs. Higher bushes at the road side. Griselina is a native and a nice dense tree that can also serve as a hedge to shelter and give privacy to the grassy bit.

 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.