What Is MOT Type 1 And Why Is It Essential For A Garden Path?

I can’t wait for the gloomy, cold and rainy days to end, so I can start being outside more often. With Spring just around the corner, I’ve been looking at my garden and thinking of ways of refreshing it and making it more special. The latest thing on my mind is to create a beautiful garden path. 

For some professional advice on how to create the perfect garden path, I spoke to Mainland Aggregates. This family-run business provides decorative aggregates, recycled aggregates and quarried aggregates to create driveways, patios, paths and more.

Their team recommended adding a sub-base material called MOT Type 1. You might be asking, “What is MOT Type 1?” or “Why should I use a sub-base material when creating a garden path?”. These are great questions, and today, I’m answering them all.

What Is MOT Type 1?

MOT Type 1 from Mainland Aggregates is a sub-base material essential for high traffic areas, from footpaths and car parks to driveways and building bases. This approved sub-base is ideal for applications that require a certified material to be used. Also known as type 1 MOT or DOT type 1, this sub-base will offer a high level of compaction, which in turn, provides a strong sub-base material.

Why Use MOT Type 1 For Garden Paths?

As Real Homes mentions, a sub-base is the main load-bearing layer of any pathway, patio or driveway. This layer provides support and evenly spreads the load of traffic. A good sub-base will reduce settlement, distortion and damage. With this in mind, MOT Type 1 sub-base is essential for ensuring a longer lifespan of these surfaces.

“Heavily used driveways and footpaths will need to be professionally installed to get a long lasting finish. The use of the correct aggregates also makes a huge difference. Get it wrong and these vital elements deteriorate quickly and make spaces feel old and run down.” Comments Wood Create.

At What Depth Should You Add A Sub-base?

For light duty applications, such as a garden path of a pedestrian patio, the depth of the sub-base should be between 100mm to 150mm. This is a general rule but it is important to note that the depth or thickness of the sub-base also depends on the soil type.

Landscaper David Dodd shared with the Society of Garden Designers that “best practice stipulates a geotextile non-woven membrane (e.g. Terram 1000), which acts as a filtration/ separation layer between the subgrade and sub-base. If the sub-base isn’t correct, a beautifully laid terrace may well become useless in a relatively short space of time.”

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