CORE COMMERCIAL installed
CORE case study · Oxford
Free-draining gravel parking in Oxford
At least 1,200 m² of CORE COMMERCIAL created a stable, free-draining gravel car park for an Oxford showroom.
- Client
- Modern Living Ltd
- Sector
- Commercial showroom
- Location
- Oxford
- CORE components
- CORE COMMERCIAL
Bedding aggregate grading
Gravel finish
CORE COMMERCIAL grade
A landscape shaped by its purpose.
Modern Living Ltd required a public car park and courtyard within the grounds of a new kitchen showroom in Oxford. The area was initially specified in porous tarmac, but the client preferred the more natural appearance of gravel and needed a system that could make that finish practical for commercial use.
Because showroom visitors would arrive in a wide variety of vehicles, the build-up needed a heavy-duty gravel restraint rather than a domestic-only surface treatment. It also had to work with the drainage-led construction already prepared on site.
The brief
What the project had to achieve.
Create a stable, presentable and free-draining public car park for a commercial showroom, capable of receiving domestic cars and heavier vehicles.
- 01
Free-draining finish
The parking surface needed to preserve the drainage performance of the prepared SuDS-compliant Type 3 sub-base.
- 02
Mixed vehicle use
The grid had to accommodate regular domestic traffic as well as the heavier vehicles expected at a commercial site.
- 03
Showroom appearance
A clean gravel finish was chosen in preference to the originally specified porous tarmac.
- 04
Commercial durability
The surface needed to remain stable beneath regular showroom traffic and heavier vehicles.
The CORE solution
Selected around the site—not just the surface.
CORE COMMERCIAL was laid over 2–6 mm bedding aggregate on the existing SuDS Type 3 sub-base, then filled and covered with a 10 mm flint gravel finish.
The SuDS-compliant Type 3 sub-base was already in place, allowing the installation team to proceed directly with the 2–6 mm bedding aggregate. This was graded across the prepared formation to receive the gravel stabilisation system.
CORE COMMERCIAL heavy-duty grids were installed over the bedding. A 10 mm flint was then placed into and over the cells, with lutes used to distribute the aggregate evenly and leave the grid concealed beneath the finished surface.
The filled cellular structure controls the gravel under regular vehicle movement while leaving the natural 10 mm flint finish visible across the car park.
Installation
How the system was installed.
- 01
Existing SuDS Type 3 sub-base
- 02
2–6 mm bedding aggregate
- 03
CORE COMMERCIAL CC7530 grid
- 04
10 mm flint aggregate fill and cover
The result
The completed car park provides the appearance of loose gravel with a controlled, stable surface suited to the showroom setting and mixed day-to-day traffic.
“The gravel stabiliser was the perfect option and suits the location so well.”
— Modern Living Ltd
Project outcomes
- A stable gravel finish for domestic and heavier showroom traffic
- A free-draining surface working with the existing Type 3 construction
- CORE COMMERCIAL concealed beneath an evenly spread 10mm flint
- A natural-looking alternative to the originally specified porous tarmac
Project team
The people behind the project.
- Client
- Modern Living Ltd
- Installation contractor
- CORE Landscape Contractors
- Location
- Oxford
- CORE system
- CORE COMMERCIAL
Technical downloads
Project and product documents.
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