How to improve car port flooring?

Question

Looking for suggestions for economical and easy ways to improve our 4m x 6m carport in Richmond. As you can see from the pics it’s a combination of sound and dirt and it ends up coming inside the house. In an ideal world we could repave, but I’m wondering if there are hacks such as matting that we can lay over the top,

and any tips for installation?

update: it’s on a slope - roughly 50 cm down into the lane over the 6m. And based on Bunnings visit today and now thinking that I would do an Astroturf for the whole area and then two tire tracks with extra strong matting. Something like the attached pic

Dave-1 · Answer

Good Afternoon @ahaedius

Thats a bit of a hard one, The weight plus the trying to stop even a slow roll is going to tear most things I can think of without even getting to the underside of the material.

I am also heading towards that pebblelock that @JacobZ mentions, but not sure on how to stop the pebbles from scattering. I also wouldnt trust the astroturf you have mentioned. 😕

I could imagine a dual solid double tyres width of pavers and then astroturf in and around the pavers to give a smooth surface. Only problem is oil/coolent plus air con condensation dripping on the astroturf.

Another way to stop grit and stuff comeing off the car wheels would be some sort of course styled mats you drive over on your driveway as you get to the carport. I have had a quick look but cant see anything. If you were willing to go to that option then maybe an automated high spray system that is triggered as you drive over from the underside of the car? Just depends on how clean you want the area.

Dave

AlanM52 · Answer

Hi ahaedius,

Industrial matting.

Use bracing plywood so the matting sits on a smooth surface.

The plywood will survive those conditions for quite a while - years.

Cheers

JacobZ · Answer

Hi @ahaedius,

Thank you for your post about tidying up the floor of your carport.

How big an area are you working with, and is it all just compacted sand and dirt?

I think the simplest solution you could use is to lay down geotextile fabric, followed by these PebbleLock Permeable Pavers and then add stones over the top.

This system will keep the sand and dirt suppressed beneath the geotextile fabric, with the stones being the driven and walked-on surface. The pebblelock pavers will help to lock the stones in place so they are not shifting and spreading out from their desired location.

You can then install some garden edging to delineate the driveway and hold the stones in place.

Other things, like paving or concreting the driveway would also be options, but they would require considerably more prep work.

Allow me to tag @Dave-1, @DIYGnome and @AlanM52 to see if they have some ideas.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob