12 tips for laying garden paths of concrete with your own hands

Content

1. №1. What are good concrete paths?
2. №2. What are the stages of creating concrete paths?
3. No. 3. What tools and materials will be needed?
4. №4. How to design a track?
5. №5. How to calculate the weight of building materials correctly?
6. №6. How to perform markup?
7. №7. How to prepare the soil?
8. №8. How to mount the formwork?
9. №9. How to equip the pillow?
10. №10. Preparation of concrete and kneading
11. №11. Reinforcement and Filling
12. №12. Final works

Which garden plot or country house does without paths? First of all, they serve to move the hosts, so they must be strong and properly located. They are also a decoration of the territory, with the help of tracks you can not only create an interesting decor, but also visually increase the site if you make the paths longer. The paths today are created from a mass of very different materials: tiles, rubble, artificial stone, butthe most popular remains the concrete, because it is optimal forprice-quality ratio. Moreover, the garden paths of concreteit's easy to make by yourself.

№1. What are good concrete paths?

Before you build on your site concrete paths, you need to know about all the advantages and disadvantages. To the mainvirtuespaths made of concrete, you can include:

• Simplicity of installation, you can do everything yourself without the help of specialists;
• low price (in comparison with other options);
• the possibility of manufacturing any shapes and sizes in the presence of a suitable formwork;
• extensive opportunities for decoration (adding pigment to the solution, using stone, mosaic and other ornaments);
• strength and durability;
• opposition to the harmful effects of the environment (moisture, frost, etc.).

Among the shortcomingsyou can name:

• no possibility of redevelopment. Since this capital structure and change direction after the completion of the work will be almost impossible, it is necessary to plan in advance both the structure itself and the entire surrounding area;
• labor input of preparatory work. To ensure that the design was really high-quality and reliable, it will take a lot of effort and time to prepare the materials;
• occurrence of cracks. Sometimes in the off-season, soil shifts can occur, as a result of which the concrete structure can gradually deteriorate, including from temperature changes.

If you compare concrete paths with other options for the merits and simplicity of the arrangement, then they largely benefit. This is also due to the desire to independently organize such trails on the site. From its beginnings and what to consider?

№2. What are the stages of creating concrete paths?

The whole process of creating concrete tracks can be divided into such stages:

• design and layout of soil;
• soil preparation;
• installation of formwork;
• cushion formation;
• installation of reinforcing elements and pouring of concrete.

No. 3. What tools and materials will be needed?

Before starting work it is necessary to stock up all necessary, namely:

• cement not lower than grade 300;
• sand;
• crushed stone;
• waterproofing additives in concrete;
• pieces of plywood, boards or metal to create the formwork;
• wooden or steel pegs;
• sledge hammer or hammer for clogging pegs;
• a container for mixing the solution;
• a pair of shovels;
• steel building mesh;
• smoothing pad for smoothing the surface of the track;
• trowels and spatulas.

№4. How to design a track?

The first thing you need to think about,where the tracks will be located, who will be moving and when on them, why does their width and shape depend. On paper, you can draw a plot plan, indicate on it the location of all buildings and important areas, connect them with straight lines that will be axes for future tracks. Trails can remain flat and straight only between huge beds, in other cases they are better make a little bent to give the territory an interesting look and make the travel more comfortable and convenient.

Track width, which leads from the gate to the central entrance of the house, should be about 2 m, for auxiliary trails there is enough width, -1 m, between the beds it is possible to equip the tracks with a width of about, m. Those tracks along which the car will move should not be wider than the width itself cars.

№5. How to calculate the weight of building materials correctly?

In order to avoid the need to purchase cement or sand in the process of construction, it is better to estimate in advance approximately the amount of materials that will be needed.The layer of concrete in different conditions may differ: for heavy clay soil - 5-7 cm, for sandy and light loam - 10 cm. In addition, if the soil is marshy, then it is necessary to provide a layer of gravel 5 cm thick. In any case, the so-calledpillow that is made of sandand has a thickness of 10-15 cm.

Calculation of all necessary materials is quite simple. Let us assume that it is necessary to construct a track of width W = 1 m, length A = 10 m and thickness T = 10 cm (m), and the underlying layer of sand will be equal to n =

• for the organization of a sand cushion the amount of sand necessary is calculated as W * D * P. In our case, we get 1m * 10m *, m = 1m3. According to the reference information, the weight of a cubic meter of sand is , 00 kg, so , 00 kg is needed to carry out the underlying layer;
• concrete can be prepared in proportion of 3 parts of sand and 1 part of rubble, cement and water, but there are other options, as described later. It is more convenient to first calculate the volume of the required concrete by the formula W * D * T, it leaves 1m * 10m *, m = 1m3. According to the reference information, the average weight of a cubic meter of concrete is 2800 kg. The resulting weight of the volume of concrete can be divided into 5 parts, not including water: 2800/5 = 560 kg - the weight of one part, i.е. cement. The balance of 2240 kg is the weight of sand, gravel and water. You may also need colorants, plasticizers, water-repellent additives, etc.

Of course, this calculation does not pretend to rigorous mathematical accuracy, but it allows us to approximately understand how much and what will be needed.

№6. How to perform markup?

According to the previously prepared plan for the location of the garden paths, it is necessary to determine directly where the trails will be located directly on the terrain. Their location is denoted bywooden pegs, which drive in the same distance from each other and stretch between them a rope. This is the simplest and most labor-consuming stage of work.

№7. How to prepare the soil?

At this stage, begin to choose the top layer of soil in the location of the trail. Remove the ground together with small roots, which can begin to rot, form voids, in which accumulate water, and if it freezes and increases the volume, additional pressure will be applied to the path.

If the "cushion" layer of sand is 10 cm, and the concrete - 10 cm, then taking into account that it is better tothe track for 3-5 cm rose above the ground level, it will be necessary to choose 10cm + 10cm-3cm = 17 cm of soil. If you need a drainage layer of gravel, then you need to add 5-10 cm to the value obtained. Select a layer of soil with a shovel.

№8. How to mount the formwork?

Formwork - a construction for pouring concrete. It is made of wood. If you want to make smooth lines or bends, you can always use plywood or some other flexible material. The formwork is assembled at once or in parts, as concrete is poured gradually. The second option will also save material costs.

Formwork should be 5-10 cm above the ground level. At the bottom of the prepared trench, you need to lay a building net, and every 5-6 m of the future track is set across the boards that play a roleexpansion joints. Thanks to them, the concrete path will not crack when temperature changes, placing a load on the boards. The height of the expansion joints must coincide with the height of the track.

№9. How to equip the pillow?

The so-called pillow under the concrete path performs several functions, the main ones are:

• load distribution of concrete;
• drainage.

The sandy base well passes water, which means that the soil under the path will not freeze, causing deformation of the path. Under the sand, many experts advise to organize a layer of compacted rubble, but this is not always necessary. Over time, sand can escape into the ground along with water passing through it, so it is better to lay it under itlayer of waterproofing from roofing material, geotextile or agrofiber. The last two manifest themselves very well, since they do not rot and excellently pass moisture.

A layer of sand should be well tampered. Perhaps, for this, it will have to be wetted, since there should be no voids inside. The surface must be level, so that the concrete layer is distributed evenly. It is worth noting thatan alternative to sandcan be a concrete screed or flat stones, but their thickness should be taken into account when deepening the trench.

№10. Preparation of concrete and kneading

The only correct proportions in the ratio of sand, cement, gravel, water and other constituents of concrete there. Concerningamount of water, then the best option is 1 part of water for 4 parts of cement, but as the formulation is prepared, water can be added to improve ductility.

For tracks with small loads, you can choose a ratio of cement, sand and gravel, like,. For motorways, the proportion 5. Many specialists useuniversal composition of strong concrete, where cement, sand and crushed stone are correlated in the proportion 1. Used as additives, which give concrete the necessary qualities.

It is better to choose cement not lower than M300, sand can be taken by river, gravel 10-20 mm in size. Optimum fit granite. If the load on the trails is large, then you can take a larger fraction of crushed stone in 40 mm.Mix all ingredients conveniently in a concrete mixer, but in its absence, any capacity of the trough type or simply a large steel sheet will do. First, sand and rubble are mixed, then cement is added, a gray mass is obtained. After that, add half of the required amount of water, mix, and then gradually add the rest of the water, so that the composition becomes the desired consistency.

The idea is, the thicker the concrete, the stronger it is, but with the more liquid it is easier to work and evenly distribute it. To simplify your task, you canadd a bit of plasticizer, which makes the concrete more plastic and fluid without excess water.

№11. Reinforcement and Filling

On the cushion of sand, the reinforcement or reinforcing mesh is laid, on top of which concrete is poured. The bottom of the trench can be additionally poured with water so that it does not sag under the weight of concrete. The layer is leveled and compacted until the appearance of so-called cement milk, which gives the concrete excellent strength characteristics and allows it to harden, and not dry out.So that the concrete hardens, and not, it is recommended to periodically wet the surface with water or cover it with polyethylene. Some even lay out a plastic film for concrete, but this is not the best way.

To prevent water from accumulating in the paths and puddles to form in the future,the central part of it is done a little higher, than lateral. The next day, when the solution is slightly hardened, but still soft, you can decorate the surface. For example, it is possible to make furrows in a chaotic order, imitating a stone surface. The next day, the grout is filled with a white or red cement mortar.

№12. Final works

2-3 days after pouring concrete, you can remove the formwork and pull out the pegs. The places deformed by pegs are treated with a solution with a waterproofing additive. The edges of the track are cleaned of debris, they are covered with the remaining ground and are rammed. In a few days it will be possible to walk along the path.

Since the garden path also carries a decorative form, it can be giveninteresting appearance. This is either an imitation of natural stone, as mentioned above, or giving a characteristic texture, coloring, or pressing pebbles, buttons, fragments of tiles at the stage of solidification. In places where there are not so many, you can do not monolithic concrete path, butmold slabs of a certain shape. Cheapness and simplicity made concrete the most popular option for creating a variety of garden paths.

The material was prepared with the support of the construction company "Russian builder"

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