What are the criteria for choosing a street tile?
Even the covered yard in the autumn is exposed to dampness. It's fogs, and just a high level of moisture in the air, it also happens that a gust of wind blows rain drops under a canopy. Therefore, outdoor tiles must first of all be moisture resistant. And with an eye for the winter is also frost-hardy. What are these qualities expressed in?
It's no secret that the tiles are made of materials that to some extent have the property of hygroscopicity, that is, they absorb water from the air .And how many cycles of absorption and release of moisture withstand the material, so it is resistant to the effects of the water element. Another thing is the resistance to low temperatures, which is directly related to hygroscopicity.
When moisture penetrates the thickness of the structure of the artificial material, it fills all available pores, and during frosts it turns into ice. Then, during the temperature increase, the water thaws and is released from the tile by evaporation. Again, the resistance of the material to frost depends on how many cycles of freezing and thawing of absorbed water it will withstand.
Also pay attention to the strength of the tile, which depends on the thickness, density of the material and its component composition. Logically, the density depends on moisture absorption. As you can see, quality of any material is almost always interconnected and one should pay attention to all the characteristics in the complex.
How reliable is the tile for the street?
Since it is assumed that the paving of tracks will be performed by you, and not by a specialist( saving for the budget and gaining valuable experience), it is not recommended to choose a glazed tile. Work with it is much more difficult than with the usual, because of the inexperience may appear chipped. Otherwise, you can take any material you like for paving, the main thing is that it is floor ceramic granite tiles for the street, and not the floor and walls in the rooms.
As the fundamental criterion for choice will be, besides the characteristics, also the price, clinker tiles are unlikely to be among the preferred ones. Choose a tile with a high wear resistance, which is calculated in units of 1 to 5. The highest hardness of the material corresponds to 10, and this characteristic is determined by the way minerals can damage the outdoor ceramic tile .
However, the durability of the paving depends not only on the quality of the material, but also on how correctly it is laid, on what surface and with what help it is fixed. So, many masters are inclined to the fact that the concrete foundation for paving does not always justify itself, it is much more reliable simple ground-sand cushion. And to some extent this is true, because with strong frosts, concrete can crack, because of freezing of the soil, sand, especially well-tamped, only reliably grips the tile.
How is tile stoneware tiled for the street?
If on the site you plan smooth tracks, they need to be marked with pegs and stretched over them twine. However, someone likes asymmetrical paths, the width of which "plays" quite noticeably, in this case we do everything by sight. In order to get a quality track on the already landscaped area, we shoot along its future turf area.
In the received deepening we also remove the soil, taking into account how the laying of the street tiles will be oriented. If you want to make a paving parallel to the path, the ground is scraped to both edges, so that the center of the path rises above them a couple of centimeters. If the paving is diagonal with respect to the length of the path, then the soil is selected on one side, so that the gradient of 2-3 degrees is to the right or to the left. Under the curb trenches dig at the same stage.
All power work is carried out in clear weather, when the forecast for a few days ahead does not promise rain.
It should be noted that ceramic granite tiles for the street are ideal, it is durable and durable, but it is worth it to be poured into concrete, and all its properties can deteriorate significantly. For footpaths, the cushion under the paving is made up to 15 centimeters thick of coarse-grained sand, which is carefully watered with water to fully shrink before work commences. By drying the pillow, it is covered with a new layer on top, this time with a dry mixture of sand and cement. In it, the tile is hammered in a banal way with a rubber hammer.
If the road is planned to pass by road, even if it is an electric car for the garden, the pillow should be as thorough as possible. The excavation in the ground is made a little deeper than for the pedestrian variant, about 25 centimeters, and the pillow is created from compacted crushed stone 15 centimeters thick, which is topped with a ten-centimeter layer of sand, also trampled. Further laying the tiles on the street is carried out in the same way as for the footpath, in a mixture of sand and cement.
On the edges of the path it is desirable to make a curb so that the result of your work does not spread out after the first rain. The role of curbs can be played by drainage linear drains, they will provide additional protection from washing the path with showers or melt water. If the paving passes along the wall of the house, it is necessary to put in a corner between them a special concrete or stone plinth, so that the water from the wall does not fall under the tile.