We have just took our van to a new seasonal pitch and it is a site were all year round you are allowed to leave up an awning.All our neighbours seem to have raised area built either with decking,ply,tarp etc.
At the moment the ground next to our van is just a complete mud bog..would covering this with wood chipping help?
Has any one had any exp in doing this and roughly how much does it cost,,ive been told if decked it will be v expensive,,someonelse advised use pallets,tarp then thick cod carpet inside awning...also to add my husband isnt great with d.i.y...so the easiest option would be best
I would be greatfull for any advice as im dying to use my van without swimming through the mud to get into the door lol :)
Wood chips are no good, they will work for a short time then just rot into mush. The easiest quick way is wooden pallets but you will need good ones of same size/thickness, europallets are smaller & more solid so get a load of them. Europallet size is 120x80mm. Standard pallet size if you can get good ones is 120x100mm.
You can also get plastic pallets of that size, main thing is to get all your pallets same size/type. Rake the ground as flat as you can first then put them down. Lino over the top would do the job.
the wood chips will just sink in the mud so you will need alot to build up the area.i think the pallet idea is a good one.try an advert on your local freecycle site for some.the problem is with pallets is the gaps between the timbers are quite wide so you may have to place a layer of ply on top aswell but if you get osb or external grade ply at half inch it is about £12 a sheet.
The gaps in the slats are less on good quailty pallets, the cheap throwaway(1 time)pallets are no good because they are not strong enough, it is difficult to get secondhand standard pallets of good enough quailty, nobody is legally allowed to sell the blue ones so don't buy those if offered.
As I said your best bet for consistant quailty secondhand would be europallets.
thats why i said to cover over with half inch ply tentz as you only tend to get the cheap ones given away(well around here)but as you say if you can get hold of the better ones the gaps are not a problem.
Many thanks for all your replies,,good job you all said the chipping would rot,,I was off to get some....
The euro pallets and ply sound easy enough,,I'm presuming ply still would be needed to stop the gaps
We are going at the weekend and plan to measure and then go hunting for pallets and ply..fingers crossed
And gareth,,,I hadn't really considered it as a site prone to flooding...until now...omg...maybes that is why every neighbour has a higher area..as the site has just opened it is quiet and we have yet to make friends with our neighbours as they were not there...as the weather has been very cold and damp I just thought that maybes all grass pitches are like bog land at the min...now I'm really concerned...as we have already stumped up the 1620 8months fee for our pitch..today I did ring and ask if any hard stand we could upgrade to,,but I was told there wasn't:(.....
Really hope we have made the right choice going to this site,,the site itself is lovely...just hope our pitch doesn't let us down...and I plan to dig out my diy manual from the garage and even do some nail work myself ( Rommel no 5 in red best applied with vino in hand watching husband work...ha ha...joking guys. I will be doing my bit not shirking on the work)
I was trying to answer your specific question rather than comment on the pitch, but yes it does seem a rather poor start if its muddy before you even use it. You are obviously committed for 1 season so the pallet idea seems the cheapest solution.
Just Google 'pallet suppliers' in the local area, they would deliver for you but still a fair outlay. How does the pitch lie? is there lower ground for the water to drain to or are you in a dip? If it looks as if it will drain away then perhaps thick plastic sheeting a couple of layers with the edges turned up & an awning mat over it would do until the ground dries out.
If the site is new perhaps the owner could do something to assist with drainage, ie digging trenches at lowest point etc. Put postcode into flood map to see if you are in a flood area.
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Topic: how to build an awning deck cheap
