GB1512264A - Surfaces for recreational purposes - Google Patents

Abstract

1512264 Sportsground surfacings ENGLISH CLAYS LOVERING POCHIN & CO Ltd 19 May 1976 [19 May 1975] 21330/75 Heading A6D [Also in Division El] The surface of a sportsground, e.g. for cricket, tennis, golf, bowling football or atheletics, is produced by first laying, e.g. using a paver, a drainage layer of sterile granular mineral material i.e. devoid of living vegetable matter, with top and bottom substrata the predominant particle size of the top substratum being smaller than that of the bottom substratum and then laying on top of the drainage layer a surface layer comprising finer granular mineral material, water absorbent material, suitable seed, e.g. grass and seed nutrients. The granular mineral material of the drainage layer may be sand, gravel or crushed stone or any mixture thereof: sand may be used for the mineral material of the surface layer. One or more intermediate layers may be present between the top and bottom substrata, e.g. of sand or crushed stone. Water absorbent material eg. peat may be present in the top stratum. The water absorbent material of the surface layer may be a sterilized vegetable material, e.g. peat or other sterile compost, or a sterile porous mineral material, e.g. vermiculite, perlite, pumice or expanded or bloated clays, sterilized soil may comprise up to 25% by volume of the combination of granular and absorbent materials of the surface layer. The seed nutrients contain nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, lime and trace elements in a form whereby they dissolve slowlv into the water of the surrounding medium. The thickness of the bottom stratum is greater than that of any other layer of the drainage layer and is in the range 75 to 600mm compacted, the other layers being in the range 75 to 250mm compacted. The surface laver has a thickness of 15 to 35mm compacted. Preferred particle sizes are disclosed and a nutrient composition.