How to make concrete tracks in the country: decoration options, photo

Concrete is called an artificial stone for its high strength characteristics. Therefore, concrete slabs for tracks will last for a long time, but not only due to the high strength of the products, but also due to low abrasion and high frost resistance. In this article we will look at several issues related to the manufacture of concrete tiles: the proportions of the mortar, on the forms, and the technology of casting. After reading the article, you will know exactly what and in what order, workers should do when pouring concrete slabs for tracks.

Form for plates

Form, it is also a formwork for garden paths, This is a huge variety of sizes and configurations. There are no restrictions on the choice of these two parameters, except for common sense. In this case, your chosen design can be made of sawn timber in the form of boards or slats, metal (steel tape or corner). The main requirement - the form must be collapsible.

The number of formwork elements is selected based on the casting speed. The more of them, the faster the required amount of concrete slabs will be made.

Filling technology

In order to properly fill the concrete paths at the cottage or a country site, you need a flat platform, preferably concrete or asphalt (without large drops, bumps, grooves and cracks). If this is not, then any open area will fit, on which sheet metal is placed under the forms. Because the main requirement for tiles - flat planes.

Mixing concrete solution

The recipe of concrete mix for garden paths is classic:

• one volume of cement M400;

• two volumes of sand;

• four volumes of crushed stone or gravel of small fraction (up to 5 mm) - not always used.

As for the amount of water, in the classical recipe it is equal to 0.5 of the volume of laid cement. If a concrete mixer is used for the kneading, then all indicated fractions are kept strictly. If the kneading is done in a trough with shovels, then more water can be taken to facilitate and increase the convenience of mixing the components of the concrete solution.

If a concrete mixer is used, then cement is first laid in its drum and water is poured. The main thing is that all the cement particles are well moistened. After that sand and crushed stone are put in portions.

If kneading is carried out in a trough, then all the dry ingredients mix well with each other. And then water is poured into the mixture. And the solution is thoroughly interfered.

On our site you can find contacts of construction companies that offer a turnkey landscaping service. Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".

Pouring concrete into forms

Concrete tile for tracks is a product that is to be reinforced. The armature is a lattice assembled from metal rods with a diameter of 4-5 mm. Usually used for this steel rod. Lattice elements fasten together by electric welding or knitting wire. You can use a finished steel mesh with cells of 20x20 or 25x25 mm as a reinforcing frame.

The production of concrete tiles begins with the pouring of the concrete solution to half the height of the formwork. Pledged solution must be compacted. Ideally, a vibrating table is used during the manufacturing process. But if there is none, then a trowel is pierced with a mortar to trowel in order to remove air from it, which gets into the concrete during its kneading. Air pores and shells reduce the strength of a concrete product.

Then a reinforcement cage is laid on top. Its size is slightly smaller than the internal space of the formwork. And from above pour the concrete solution to the edges of the form. Flooding the mixture is pierced, and then the surface is aligned at the edges, removing excess material. The surface of the tile is smoothed with a trowel, achieving maximum smoothness.

If the task is to decorate the finished product, then it is at this stage that the top surface of the plates is trimmed. For example, placed on top of pebbles, pieces of ceramic tiles, other materials. If you need to make tiles of any color, then pigment is added to the concrete solution itself. The latter is poured into the concrete mixer drum during the process of adding fillers.

Unsampling

If the air temperature is outside + 25C, then the formwork of concrete garden paths should be removed after 1-2 days. But immediately use the tiles is not recommended. It is better to dry them during the week when the concrete is 50% mature. Therefore, the tiles are collected in one place putting them "nopa", that is, on the edge. In this position, they are well blown by air from all sides, there is a uniform drying of the concrete in the whole body of the product.

The video shows how the demolition is carried out:

On our website you can find contacts of construction companies that offer the service of designing small architectural forms. Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".

Laying the track with concrete slabs

The technology of laying concrete tiles depends on the soil, which is located in the suburban area.

1. If the ground is sandy, then the tiles are laid directly on the sand.

2. If clay, then prepare the base.

Preparatory work

At this stage, the garden path itself is marked out - its configuration and width. Then remove the top fertile soil layer, remove the roots of plants and the vegetation itself.

Filling is carried out on clayey soil: first, crushed stone with a thickness of 10 cm, then sand with a thickness of 5 -8 cm. Both layers are well tamped.

Installation of concrete tile

Laying of slabs is carried out from one side of the marking along the width to the other. The configuration of the masonry can be different: in the run to the floor slab, tidy. If the tiles are rectangular in shape, then perpendicular to each other. There are no restrictions here. Lay concrete tiles for tracks in the country with effort (pressure). That is, put the stove, crush their hands and tapped with a mallet on top.

The main task of the producer is to lay out the elements in one horizontal plane, leaving a gap of 1-2 cm between them.

Therefore, it is very important in the laying process that the master does not let go of the level.

1. The first laid tile is checked for horizontal positioning. If some edge sticks out, then I tap it with a mallet, drowning it. If you need to lift the edge, then pour a little sand under it.

2. Then the second track element is placed side by side, which is horizontally not only placed as a separate product, but also in combination with the already laid slab.

3. As one transverse row is laid out, it is checked by a long rule for horizontality.

It might be interesting! In the article on the following link read about rubber tiles for tracks in the country.

A concrete path assembled in this way is covered with sand, which is spread with a broom across the entire surface so that the bulk material fills the gaps between the tiles. Ideally, the finished track should be well poured with water so that the sand in the gaps compacted and subsided. After that, once again carry out additional filling and once again watered with water.

There is a technology in which the installation of concrete tiles for tracks is laid on a cement-sand mortar. His recipe: four volumes of sand for one volume of cement. Today in the shops you can buy ready-made dry mix, in which the proportions of the components are strictly maintained. It is simply diluted with water in the ratio indicated on the package (paper bag).

The application of this technology is several requirements:

1. A path from concrete slabs is assembled with a slight bias to one of the sides. The fact is that the cement-sand mortar will create a waterproof layer under the tiles. So, on the track water will be collected. To prevent this from happening, you need a small slope of the plane.

2. The gaps between the plates are filled up with either a dry cement-sand mixture followed by watering, or a ready-made mortar, filling the gaps with a trowel. The second option requires care so that the solution does not stain the track surface.

And one more thing. The path itself is formed not only by concrete tiles. To designate its boundaries use concrete or stone curbs. First of all, they are installed on a cement mortar, and then tiles are laid. But if the track surface will not protrude beyond the ground, then the curbs are not installed. The soil itself will keep the stacked products from sprawling to the sides.

There are several ways to create concrete slabs for a garden path. About them in the video:

It can be interesting! In the article on the following link read about the blind area of ​​paving slabs.

Decorating garden paths

In order not to make the paths of concrete slabs into an elementary landscape, though practical, but there are several ways to decorate the plates themselves, or the space between them:

Concrete tiles do not have to be gray - if you add coloring pigment to the cement during production, you can get a multi-colored walkway.

While the concrete dries, but while it is not completely cured, you can press the surface of the tiles glass, ceramic or marble chips - a beautiful mosaic.

Also, during the drying of the mortar, a relief pattern can be extruded on the surface of the tiles .

If you put the plates with a small gap, then in between them can sow grass.

Iron-making is a way to" polish "concrete tiles. For this, a layer of cement is poured on the still-raw slabs and rubbed into the surface.

It might be interesting! In the article the following link read about the price of paving slabs for tracks in the country.

Conclusion

For garden plots, concrete slabs used to form paths are ideal. These are durable products with high wear resistance, which are made in different sizes and shapes. At the same time it is one of the cheapest and fastest in the construction of options for finishing garden paths, which is easy to repair. If during the operation one tile is cracked, then replacing it with a new one is not a problem.