Pure Genius

With Its Revolutionary Technology, PurePave Helps Pave the Way to a Brighter Future

PurePave’s attractive natural granites blend harmoniously with landscaping for a dignified effect.

With multiple municipalities, including Ottawa and Kingston, incentivizing through grants the installation of permeable surfacing for homeowners and businesses, this relatively new industry seems poised to play a big part in the Green Revolution. For Taylor Davis, CEO of Ottawa’s homegrown PurePave Technologies, their permeable pavement system represents both new opportunities and the culmination of a long journey.

Taylor started a property maintenance company as a teenager and became curious about the flaws in traditional pavement materials. “I was curious as to why driveways were all so badly cracked in Ottawa, but not in BC,” he recalls. Heaved pavement, cracks, and potholes seemed to be part and parcel of Canada’s yearly freeze-and-thaw conditions, but Taylor wondered if there was a better way.

As a longtime cottager and surfer, he was very aware of water issues. “I’ve surfed in Los Angeles at times when you couldn’t even go in the water because it had just rained and all the pollutants running into the ocean made it unsafe to surf or swim,” he recalls. He was developing an entrepreneurial mindset, but decided he would only pursue involvement with projects that work toward improving environmental conditions.

When one client of his asphalt maintenance business who lived in a sensitive watershed explained to him that no one in that area was allowed to pave their driveway unless the material used was permeable, it triggered an interest in the engineering behind permeable systems.

He contacted and began to work with pavement scientists in Europe. They would send him samples of their permeable systems, and Taylor would do field studies to see if the solutions that worked in colder European climates could be used here; however, he soon realized they could not. After one winter, the materials would show signs of deterioration.

“In developing something that would really work, we needed to change the material science of the surface composite,” Taylor explains, “and upgrade the engineering of the sub-base to improve performance in winter climates.”

PARTNERS IN RESEARCH

Taylor ended up working with the National Research Council of Canada, whose researchers determined that the early version of Taylor’s product performed much better than the permeable concrete that was available at that time. The NRCC decided to fund PurePave’s research, and Taylor became a permeable paving scientist under the federal government’s Industrial Research Program.

Within a year, he and his team had refined and developed PurePave into the product it is today, a 100 percent freeze/thaw–resistant permeable pavement, and the first pavement ever tested by University of Ottawa civil engineering professors to show zero strength loss from a 40-degree freeze-thaw cycles ASTM-c666 standard engineering test.

“We’ve been in the lab every year since to make improvements and disprove our hypothesis that this is the best permeable paving system possible and to this point our research has just validated exactly the formula we have,” he explains.

Today, more and more municipalities are funding end users to upgrade their properties to net-zero runoff systems to help nudge us closer to the ideal of the “sponge city,” a reimagined urban setting designed to incorporate abundant green spaces and natural areas intended to, among other benefits, absorb rainwater. PurePave has already been installed on several Muskoka properties, and installation is underway this summer on even more. In addition to the backing of multiple levels of government, PurePave has earned the respect of contractors; the company was selected as a finalist for the Canadian Construction Association’s Technology of the Year Award in 2023.

 

HOW IT WORKS

PurePave uses crushed and carefully processed granite aggregates plus a proprietary mixture of resins and plant-based polyols to create a filtration system that allows stormwater to penetrate the permeable paved surface quickly and return to the ground below, rather than flow toward storm drains while taking on chemicals and pollutants. This technology replenishes groundwater, reduces runoff pollution, and mitigates flooding.

Those who live in Muskoka are famously careful about preserving the natural gifts of the region, so PurePave’s technology makes good sense here.

Like gravel driveways, which many opt for because of their natural aesthetic, PurePave driveways and walkways blend in with the surrounding environment but have a few advantages. First, with PurePave you have a product that provides a natural-looking finished surface, but drains water almost instantly. Second, PurePave has a melting effect on snow and ice thanks to a mild geothermal effect from the open-pored base. In effect, snow melts fifty percent faster on PurePave than on traditional driveway surfaces, meaning far less need for harmful salt and less risk of dangerous underfoot surfaces.

For Muskokans who have water accumulation areas on their properties, the PurePave system can double as a massive French drain and is far superior to grass in terms of filtering and dealing with pooling water. Unlike other pavements, such as concrete and asphalt, PurePave is crack resistant, will not heave or form potholes, and does not degrade from sun oxidation, salt, vehicle weight, or water.

Weeds and grass will not grow through the pavement, and proper maintenance is as simple as leaf-blowing and watering down the surface every fall and spring to remove dirt accumulation, as well as having a professional clean and reseal the pavement every three to five years. When properly maintained, PurePave is expected to last up to 40 years and potentially much longer.

      

PurePave does not heave or crack due to freeze-and-thaw conditions, unlike traditional paving materials.

COMPOSITION

A truly Canadian company, PurePave uses granite from quarries in Muskoka, Ontario, and Quebec, and comes in over a dozen colour options. It’s also customizable and can be designed to recreate company logos or specific designs. “We use granite for its hardness, appearance, and for the fact that it’s available in our backyard here in Ontario and Quebec,” says Taylor. “Less transportation from quarry to customer also means less vehicle- related pollution, so it’s a win–win.”

For its Muskoka-area clients, PurePave is proud to work with Gravenhurst’s own Muskoka Rock Company. 

 

HIDEAWAYS Magazine Logo

This Outstanding project was presented as a Feature Article in HIDEAWAYS Magazine and delivered to every cottage dock on Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau, Lake Joseph, and Lake of Bays.

Additional coverage and reach was provided through HIDEAWAYS highly controlled, interior-location only racking system that provides availability of the magazine in 25 high-end locations surrounding the 4 Big-Lakes.

Categories

Related Posts

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
HIDEAWAYS Magazine is a production of Allair Media Inc.
241 Bay Street Gravenhurst, Muskoka, ON P1P 1H1 • 705-681-0258
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram