Porous driveway pavers are lightweight pavers, usually made out of recycled plastic, that provide structure to surfaces that would otherwise be damaged by traffic, be it from people or vehicles. They are the perfect solution for those who like the look of lawn or gravel, but also want to use an area for a driveway, a parking space, a footpath or a thoroughfare.

But even though they are purpose-built to add strength and form to surfaces that might be otherwise malleable, it’s still fair to say that the thin, lightweight recycled plastic construction doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence about the ability of porous pavers to handle a heavy load.

So do you need to be careful about what vehicles your park on your porous pavers, lest you break or crack them?

The answer, in short, is not particularly.

Most porous pavers are built to handle a load that far exceeds what a normal residential driveway or parking space would ever experience. A standard porous paver weight load rating is 150t per square metre – the equivalent of 25 African elephants. This being the case, your family sedan or four-wheel drive will not worry a lightweight porous paver one bit.

The key is in the design. Porous pavers are generally fashioned in a honeycomb pattern – the strongest pattern there is. They also apply force straight down into the ground via solid vertical walls, so act as a conduit for the weight, rather than taking the strain all upon themselves.

That said, there are porous pavers on the market that are advertised as ‘heavy-duty’, but these are designed for the constant and particularly heavy loads that are seen in places like truck yards and service stations, so are simply overkill for domestic applications.

So, unless you’ve somehow occy strapped 25 elephants to the top of your Landcruiser, no, you don’t need to be particularly careful about what vehicles you park on your porous driveway pavers.

Get your hands on sturdy porous pavers; call All Stake Supply at 1300 130 123.