Paving slabs create a durable and comfortable coating. Neat paths from it will be appropriate in any country. Now for sale are tiles for sidewalks of various materials, different cost and for every taste. If you do the laying of tracks and platforms with your own hands, this will save a budget well.

What type of tile is better to choose for a garden path

Arrangement of paths in the country requires taking into account many factors. After all, this is not only a recreation area, but also a place for growing vegetables, fruit trees and flowers. Specialists in landscape design recommend making the paths with rounding - this will visually increase the area of ​​each zone. First of all, you need to draw up a plan for the summer cottage with the layout of the beds, garden, recreation area and all objects, and then outline the path to them.

Did you know? At present, paving slab laying machines have been invented in Holland. For a shift, it paves the pavement with an area of ​​300 m².

Conventionally, the tracks are divided into 2 types:

1. Utilitarian. They are used in the arrangement of economic zones, access vehicles. Be sure to consider the dimensions and weight of vehicles. Their width is 2.5–3 m.
2. Decorative. All other tracks on the site for access to different objects. They no longer have such heavy loads. Their width reaches up to 1.5 m.

Country tracks by their functions can be divided as follows:

1. home. Connects the entrance to the main buildings and the house. The recommended width is 1.5–2 m.
2. Minor. They are led to buildings on a summer cottage - outbuildings, a summer toilet, a bath, a pool, a fountain, etc. Their optimal width is 0.5–1 m.
3. Shallow pathsthat connect summer cottages and provide an approach to the beds with vegetables, flower beds, a fountain, etc. They should be unremarkable against the background of everything else. Their width is up to 0.5 m.

When choosing material for country paths, you need to consider that it should be convenient for walking and moving garden equipment. It is also necessary to inquire about its quality characteristics, service life and price.

Depending on the material of manufacture, tiles for sidewalks are:

• from a natural stone;
• concrete;
• plastic;
• rubber.

Of course, the best considered environmentally friendly natural stone. It will be in perfect harmony with the country landscape. In addition, it has the longest life. But the acquisition of such building materials will significantly hit the pocket. The most acceptable option is concrete tile. It has good characteristics, as well as different shapes and colors.

Such building material is more affordable and is the most popular. More modern are plastic tile coverings. They are lightweight, quick to install and inexpensive. This material can be large formats, curly and small.

By the method of production of concrete tiles there are:

• vibrocast;
• vibropressed;
• polymer sand.

Experts recommend that when purchasing this pavement, pay attention to the following:

1. The composition and method of production. This data can be obtained from quality certificates.
2. Thickness and size. The height of the tiles is selected depending on the degree of load. For walking paths, the thickness of the tile element is selected up to 3 cm, but for moving vehicles and equipment - at least 5 cm.
3. The quality of building materials. It is determined by visual means. There should be no cracks on it, but on the reverse side - different spots and inclusions. The composition of the material should be uniform.

Important! Do not get a smooth tile, as it will be slippery. You should choose options with a rough surface.

The most inexpensive are tile materials made by yourself. But to produce them, it will take time, the necessary tools and material. Then comes the plastic material, but it fades and cannot always be used all year round. A budget and durable option will be concrete tiles.

The standard shapes and sizes of paving slabs are as follows:

1. Square. It is usually available with sides of 30, 35, 40 and 50 cm. The latter option is rarely used for garden paths.
2. Rectangular. This is a classic brick shape, similar to paving stones. The most common sizes are 20 × 10 cm and 25 × 12.5 cm. This is the most popular form, because it can be stacked in various ways.
3. Curly. It can be of different shapes (honeycomb, clover, scales, wave, coil and many others). For example, a popular wave that creates an imitation of a water stream during laying has dimensions of 23 × 10.3 × 6 cm, 20 × 10 × 6 (4.5) cm.

The most durable and expensive type is clinker tile made of refractory clay using firing technology. It has the shape of a brick.

Necessary tools

Before installing paving slabs, you need to prepare the following tools:

• pegs made of wood and a rope for marking sizes;
• mallet (rubber hammer);
• garden rake and bayonet shovel;
• hose with irrigation nozzle;
• Master OK;
• construction level (not less than 80 cm) and measuring tape;
• a grinder and a disk (with diamond dusting);
• manual ramming;
• a board of 5 cm or a bar in cross section 5 × 5 cm long along the width of the track.

Preparation of materials

It is necessary to purchase the following building materials:

• sand;
• granite gravel;
• geotextiles (if the soil is mobile);
• brand cement from M-400 and more;
• tile and curbs for sidewalks.

Did you know? For the first time, paving slabs were mentioned in Holland at the beginning of the 19th century. Since natural raw materials for arranging roads were expensive, local craftsmen were able to produce this building material from concrete for the first time. He laid the road from Amsterdam to Harlem.

Be sure to make sure that there are electricity and water. Works are recommended to be carried out in rubber kneecaps and gloves. Previously, in order not to be mistaken in the calculations, you need to draw up a site plan and outline the location of future tracks. To calculate the number of paving slabs, you must first measure the entire length of the planned tracks. But the width should be chosen depending on the size of the purchased building material, in order to minimize waste on pruning and combat.

To calculate the number of borders, the length of the track is multiplied by 2 and divided by the length of this material. 20% should be added to the calculated amount to account for the battle and trimming of building products.

Construction stages

The construction of paths in the country can go on a simplified type, when the material is laid on sand, and using cement mortar. In any case, the paving place is first prepared and marked, the sidewalk design is selected, and at the end of the work grouting is done. Violation of construction technology can quickly render the coating unusable, therefore it is important to conduct this process properly.

Important! Before starting work, you should pay attention to the reliability of the soil at the location of the paths. If it is mobile, then geotextiles or cement-sand mix with concrete should be used.

Site preparation

Preparatory work consists in step-by-step execution of the following actions:

1. First, marking is done with a peg and rope. In this case, it is necessary to take into account not only the size of the tiles and paths, but also the width of the borders located on its sides.
2. The area along which the sidewalk will pass is cleared of plants and debris.
3. In a marked place, soil with a depth of 20-50 cm is taken out with a bayonet shovel. These works depend on the load. For garden paths, which will only be walked on, it is enough to remove the soil by 20 cm.
4. The bottom of the excavation is cleaned with a shovel and leveled, and then it is rammed. If it was not possible to get a tamper, then for this you can use a log or a home-made product from a wooden beam.

Strengthening the edges of the track

Along the edges of the track, curbs are laid. They protect the track from warping and creeping. Borders can be laid at the level of the tile or just above its surface. Heavy parts deepen along the edges of the track at the beginning of work. They are recommended to be placed on a cement mortar. Small-sized curbs are installed after laying the plates. In this case, the markup is done without considering their size. When the tile is laid, recesses are excavated along the edges, a little deeper than the height of the curbs. Their bottom is covered with a layer of sand. Then the curbs are hammered with a mallet. Between them and the tiles leave a small distance equal to the size of the inter-tile seam. It will be covered with sand.

Strengthen the edges of the tracks without borders:

1. Deepen the tile surface at ground level. The sides of the trench are additionally compacted, they play the role of natural formwork.
2. Lay corners welded together, treated with anti-corrosion agent, along the edges. Holes are drilled in them, through which the pegs fasten them to the ground.
3. Fix the extreme row with cement mortar. In this case, a beginner should choose a coating in the form of a large square or lay the plates in parallel. In this case, up to 10 tiles from each edge are first laid out on the solution, and then the space between them is filled.

Laying sand cushions and tiles

When preparatory work is carried out, a layer of sand from 10 to 20 cm is poured into the recess. For the access road, which will bear the load from the transport, a sand cushion or a crushed stone layer of 20 cm is made. In this case, 2-3 cm should be taken into account for the subsequent shrinkage of bulk material. The spilled sand layer must be leveled with a board and moistened from a shallow watering can. Then, after several hours, align again.

Important! If a path or pavement is made against the walls of a building or structure, it is necessary to make a slope. Otherwise, rainwater will undermine their foundation.

Choice of styling design

An interesting option would be the execution of tracks with patterns. This will well decorate the summer cottage. But to create a styling design, you need to try and spend more time. The easiest way is straightforward masonry. At the same time, the elements should be mounted diagonally in order to better maintain the evenness of the horizontal line. When laying around, you need to lay out the material from the center of the pattern, for this they acquire the corresponding tile. When creating a mosaic pattern from the figured parts, you need to purchase more sand, since in this case the gaps between them will be larger than usual.

Step-by-step installation instructions

Installation of tiles is as follows:

1. Tiles are pre-applied between borders or markings.
2. Tiles are trimmed for better joining of elements. It is performed by a grinder with a diamond-coated disk.
3. Tiles are laid. If laying is carried out on flattened sand, then it is moistened before this. Then pull the cord-order or put the guides. Rowing is done from the curb. Tiles are hammered into place with a mallet. To ensure that there are even seams between them, special “crosses” should be used. After each row, the level checks the evenness and slope of the stack. If some tile does not lie on the level, then it is removed and poured or sand is removed.

Video: laying paving stones on the sand with your own hands

Laying on sand is considered the easiest way. Professionals prefer to lay tiles on a cement-sand mixture, as heavy rains and melt water erode the sand, and the coating begins to sag. First, a layer of fine gravel is rammed onto the prepared recess, and a mixture of sand and cement is laid out and then leveled at a ratio of 3: 1. Then, the cement-sand cushion is moistened and the tiles are laid. If the ground is unreliable and loose, it is recommended to add concrete.

Did you know? Mankind has known concrete for 4000 years. It was used in Mesopotamia, and the ancient Romans used it in mass construction.

Grouting

3The final job is to fill the seams between the tile elements of the tracks. For this, sand or cement-sand composition should be placed on top in a small layer. Such a flooring should be brushed into the voids between the tiles. Then you need to remove the remnants of sand (cement-sand mixture) and pour them from a hose with a divider. If after this a subsidence of the aggregate between the seams is revealed, then sand needs to be added to the voids formed.

To increase the service life of such tracks, it is necessary to ram the tile material after the grouting process. For this purpose, you need to use a vibrating plate (weight up to 100 kg). This procedure will make the surface more even.

How to care for a tile path

In the future, for tile tracks, so that they last longer, you need to properly care for:

• monitor their cleanliness - sweep, remove garbage;

• in case of severe pollution, hose;
• When cleaning snow drifts, do not use shovels and other household tools made of metal, so as not to damage the coating;
• Do not sprinkle with salt during ice, because when the ice melts, this substance spoils the tile;
• if there are places where the tile has risen, then it is necessary to remove it and shift it;
• for additional protection against moisture, it is possible to carry out processing with a special solution - water repellent.

For laying garden paths, concrete tiles are most often used. It can be laid out with your own hands. Before work, you should draw up a site plan and pay attention to the quality of the soil. Then you need to choose a laying method, calculate the consumption of materials, purchase them and get to work.