Laying of paving slabs the hands – process difficult, labor-consuming and long. But the result will please for many years, and the path will become the real decoration of the yard if material and technology are chosen correctly.
Paths in the house adjoining territory are not only esthetic element of landscape, but also utilitarian – the comfort of members of household and even purity in the yard and the house depends on them. The excellent result for many years can provide only high quality of materials from which they are created. Optimal variant – paving slabs which can be laid the hands, without resorting to services of experts, and saving thus money. Besides, cost reduction happens thanks to the low price of this material – there is it much less, than natural stone.
What the paving slabs are and as to choose it
When choosing paving slabs most of consumers make a start from its cost and esthetic data, without paying attention to technical characteristics. Wrong can also lead such approach to material selection to additional expenses, if parameters of tiles do not correspond to loading and operating conditions, then they will serve not for long.
Before buying paving slabs and to lay it the hands, it is necessary to get acquainted with its types and their features. The paving slabs can be made from
- crumbs of natural firm stone,
- ceramics,
- crumbs of natural soft stone,
- monochrome concrete or color,
- mixes of polymers and sand,
- synthetic materials with properties of natural stone.
In respect of the cost of the most available the paving slabs from concrete are. There are two types of such material, and they differ on way of production, technical characteristics – vibrocast and vibropressed. The vibropressed paving slabs are suitable for operation in the conditions of sharp fluctuation of temperatures, continuous influence of ultraviolet, rain.
Whatever has been chosen paving slabs, it is necessary to pay attention to its thickness – for forming of street paths for pedestrians material not less than 4 cm thick will be suitable, and for platforms where the car – not less than 6 cm is put.
What is required for laying of paving slabs
To spend minimum of time for laying of paving slabs the hands and to receive excellent result, it is necessary to prepare all consumables before works and to have near at hand necessary tools:
- bayonet and sovok shovels – for marking of site and dredging,
- rake – for alignment of surfaces of pillows from bulks,
- wooden stakes or the remains of armature – for fixation of points of marking,
- strong twine or cord – for designation of exact borders of future path,
- construction tape measure and level,
- soft broom or brush – for distribution of sand in intertiled space,
- tamper – wooden log or stick with the wide basis, with the handle or without it,
- the grinder equipped with disk for cutting of tile.
Except tools will be necessary also consumables without which creation of qualitative and durable path from paving slabs – borders from plastic or stone is impossible, cement, preference it is worth giving to the PC 400 brand or analogs with similar characteristics, enough the washed or bank sand, geotextiles – the nonwoven synthetic cloth used in road making as the basis.
Before purchase of tile it is necessary to calculate its exact quantity, taking into account contingencies (inexact calculation), necessary quantity of tiles on cutting.
Preparation of site for laying of paving slabs
Before works it is necessary to define exact location of path from tile and to execute site marking. At this stage the spray paint of bright color can be necessary for preliminary basting of borders of works. It is much easier to put new point by means of paint, than to reinstall wooden pegs or pieces of armature.
At marking it is necessary to consider not only width of the path, but also width border which will support tile, to form peculiar basis, the guarantor of integrity of design at its operation.
After borders are marked and reference points are established, on them the twine or cord stretches, and dredging begins. Depth of dredging is defined individual for each site, depending on features of the soil and what result needs to be achieved – to receive path above ground level or below. Expected thickness of pillow and the most paving slabs is surely considered. Soil is taken out from site where works at once will be carried out, otherwise it can get to ditch and to become the plane draft reason from paving slabs, its deformation.
After the ditch of necessary depth is dug, excess soil is taken out, tamper of bottom is carried out. If the soil friable, then can be necessary creation of the concrete pad strengthened by armature. Such pillow should be dried, and it can take from 2nd to 10 days.
How to make pillow for laying of paving slabs
The paving slabs cannot be placed directly on soil – over time it will surely settle, in intervals the grass will sprout, tiles will crack and will break. The most dense and strong pillow is formed where the site or path from paving slabs will be exposed to serious loadings. It consists of several layers:
- the stamped (condensed) soil,
- layer of sand and binding gravel, each not less than 10 cm thick,
- the concrete layer 12 cm thick strengthened by armature and road grid
- sand-cement mix from 2 to 4 cm high,
- finishing layer from paving slabs with sand-filled intertiled spaces.
The ditch for site or path from paving slabs where the grass actively grew, should be dimmed geotextiles. The fact is that the remains of roots of plants get rather deeply into the soil and can give sprouts which will spoil exterior of path. It can happen even in several years after performance of work, and geotextiles exclude germination of grass completely.
In places where the tile will not be exposed to loading, it is possible to make the simplified pillow option – without concrete layer with armature, of geotextiles, layer of sand, crushed stone and the tile. And here borders in this case need additional support – in places of their joints the concrete mix is put. Start finishing works after concrete completely hardens and will dry out.
Preparation of tile and its laying by the hands
Experts recommend paving slabs before laying by the hands to process hydrophobic structure. It can be bought in any hardware store, department or in the market. Are the cornerstone of such means
- polymers, alcohols or water,
- silicone, vegetable or rock oils, insoluble soap,
- the functional additives providing resistance to temperature drops.
Hydrophobic structures for paving slabs can be applied on tiles with normal brush, the roller or by means of spray. Their structure such is that the structure instantly gets into the minute pores of tile, fills microcracks, considerably raising its engineering and operating ability.
Laying of figured tile is begun from the center of path (site). Experts recommend to carry out so-called "training" stage – to lay out the small site on ideally plain surface of the yard by tile. It is it must be done obligatory if on tile there are patterns, drawings.
If tiles have the rectangular or square form, all the same laying needs to be begun in the middle of path that the cut-off tile (if it is necessary) was on both sides. Thus the geometrical symmetry of the drawing created by tiles remains.
Before laying of paving slabs through the center of site the cord that the first, initial row of tiles "has laid down" ideally exactly is stretched, all drawing in general depends on it.
Finishing finishing of path from paving slabs
The last stage of laying of paving slabs the hands – seal of intertiled seams and vibrotamper of the site (path) which is laid out by tiles. Works are performed in the following sequence:
- primary vibrotamper,
- charge of intertiled spaces sand,
- finishing vibrotamper.
After the first stage of tamper the site is filled up with the washed or sifted bank sand and carefully swept out by soft brush or normal broom. During this procedure of grain of sand are hammered into intertiled seams and strongly connect cloth. To use mix of sand and cement for these purposes, trying to increase path durability, it is impossible at all. After drying it will be difficult to wash structure from tile, and sometimes and in general it is impossible. Besides, it is necessary to show consideration for the choice of sandy mix – in its structure there should not be salts, organic chemistry, clay, roots of plants.
Further finishing vibrotamper of path is carried out from paving slabs. The last stage needs to be carried out especially carefully, lingering on seams between tiles that sand strongly was fixed in them. At once after finishing processing it is not recommended to wash path or to exploit her, kind of there was no wish for it. Experts advise to wash up it after the first rain and only after that it is possible to go safely on it, to put machines if the site for these purposes was preparing.
Besides, it is important to follow several more rules – not to perform work in rainy weather, to protect the prepared site from moisture before completion of works, to consult with the expert or to entrust laying of tile to professionals if the site is in the marshland, has difficult landscape.