Sunday, March 3, 2013

Drive straight in


Most homes in America have a standard raised driveway, with a rain gutter. When I moved to the states and started living in one, I felt that the way my car handles the gutter was uncomfortable, to say the least. Unless I drove over it at 1 mph it less, it would give me a nasty and noisy bump.
As it turns out, a lot of people feel the same, and several companies offer a solution. The popular one is bridgit, available for around $300 on amazon. It’s especially designed for this.











However, 300$ is a lot of dough, even for a stand up hi-tech fellow like me, so I looked for something more affordable.

When I visited a playground with my kid, I noticed that the entire thing was on a rubbery platform made of tiles. It too is made from the same material as the bridgit...recycled tires. The platform is made if 2'x2' tiles, and at the platforms edge, 4' ramps!

A quick search turned out that just a few miles away was a company that erects all these playgrounds....northwest playground equipment . I went over, and grabbed a few of the ramp pieces, for about $65 each. Three of those were enough for my entire driveway, and so for less than $200, I had my solution. In fact, I could have done ok with just 2 pieces, and occasionally, they have returns or pieces they pick up from renovation projects that are even cheaper.