Laying paving slabs with your own hands: step-by-step instruction

The technology of laying the paving slabs with our own hands. Photo

Tiles are made in a wide variety of species of any size and design, so it's not difficult to decorate the paths in the right style. Despite the apparent complexity, the process of laying paving slabs is a fairly simple job, so you can pave the garden paths in the weekend. On the ennobling of a large courtyard, of course, it will take more time, but with an aide such an event can be completed in a couple of weeks.

Do not rush to get started. First, deal with the basic types of paving slabs, select the material that is best suited for doing the work yourself and will be in harmony with the design of the other objects on your site. Let's notice, that now in the market of building materials it is possible to find stamped and вибролитые samples. Despite the higher price of the latter, they will add beauty and fundamentality to your sidewalks, and will also please with their longevity.

When choosing a material, you will also come across a question of thickness, which varies from 20 to 60 cm in different types of finishes. Note that the pavement paths that cars will drive must have at least a 40 mm coating, and the access roadsFor trucks it is necessary to equip from a material of maximum thickness.

Do not chase after the drawings of tiles like "stone blocks", "rhombus" or "brick".Remember that strict geometry will not forgive the flaws of beginners. The color of the product can be anything, but practice shows that concrete without dyes is better tolerated by the harmful effects of low temperatures. In addition, the cost of color tiles is slightly higher.

What materials and tools are needed for laying the tile

The amount and quantity of materials needed to improve the yard depends on the area covered and the features of the terrain. You will need to prepare:

Sidewalk tile. The more accurate the calculation will be made, taking into account the pruning, the less remains of waste, which will save a little.

• Border.
• Sand. Bulk materials require a lot, so you can safely import a full tipper.
• Cement.
  
• Building cord.
• Pegs( better from reinforcement or corner).
• Rubber hammer.
  
• Metal hammer.
• Rule( the longer, the better).
• Shovels( bayonet and shovel).
• Trimming.
• Two metal pipes with a diameter of 1 "or more
• Bubble and water levels
• Trowel
• Wheelbarrow or stretcher
• Buckets, broom
• Angle grinder
• Cutting disc for working on stone and concrete
  
• Do not forget about the safety features- glasses or a shield, knee pads, etc.
  

We proceed to laying the tiles

The first thing to do is to analyze the landscape of the and determine which way the slope of the site will be made.avoid puddles after rain and melting snow. It's best to make a slope to the street by taking its level beyond the reference line. To set the tiles in steps will avoid mistakes and speed up the work.

Along the zero line, towards which the slope will be made, it is necessary to hammer two pegs andtighten the cord by checking its horizontal position with the help of the level.

From each peg to the starting point of the sidewalk, extend one more cord, driving in a couple of additional supports. Make sure that they are slightly above the zero point. This will provide the necessary bias. By the way, only a couple of degrees is enough to prevent water from stagnating on the site.

Between the start pegs, pull the cord parallel to the zero line. Remember the need for accurate measurements and horizontality, which must be constantly monitored by the building level. If you did everything correctly, the threads will indicate the plane of your future walkway from the paving slab with the slope in the desired direction.

If the width of the site to be installed is wider than the rule used, the surface must be divided into strips. Their width is 10-20 cm less than the length of the instrument used. The markup is performed by driving additional pegs along the starting and zero lines, pulling the cords parallel to the boundary marking. In this case, strictly observe the levels on either side.

Align the path from the paving slab in such a way that it is parallel to the imaginary plane that the cords system forms. To do this, remove the primer in places that are close to the threads and pour the level into the cavities. As for the distance from the ground to the cords, it is taken equal to twice the thickness of the tile. It should be said that this work is rough, not requiring high accuracy.

Tumble the soil over the marked area. Particular attention should be paid to spilled areas with loose structure. The tamper used must be thorough. For example, an excellent tool is obtained from the excavator's support foot, to which the handle is welded.

Critically assess the degree of preparation of the territory and proceed with the preparation of sand and cement mixture. To do this, mix 6 parts of sand with 1 part of cement. I must say that this does not require special accuracy and accuracy, so the components can be measured "by eye", and the composition is prepared directly on the ground. The work is better done in the off-season, since the sand requires high humidity.

Prepared the composition evenly distribute on one strip and tamped. The height of the sand-cement layer should approximately be approximately equal to the thickness of the paving slab.

Under the side cords indicating the edge of the strip, lay the metal pipes, providing clearance to the tensioned threads, about a centimeter less than the thickness of the tile coating. Observe the parallelism and slope of cords and pipes.

For the next stage you will need knee pads, and since you have to literally crawl on the ground, change your shoes and pants, which is not a pity. When kneeling, pass the rule under the cords and place its edges on the steel pipes. Now, to align the area, it is enough to hold the tool along the steel guides. Add the prepared mixture to the cavities and tamp it, then once again, make a rule. So you get a perfectly flat band.

Discard convex, curved propeller and concave tiles - they can be used for trimming. Uniform copies, if necessary, distribute by type and color and spread out next to the prepared place.

Laying of paving slabs starts from the outer element, carefully leveling its edges with cords. After that, tap the surface of the tile with a rubber mallet, drowning it level with the markings. It may be necessary to pour or remove part of the mixture with a trowel or trowel.

Similarly, stack the following instances, alternating the elements when you want to match the color or shape. Lay the lead "from yourself".This will allow to advance without destroying the prepared layer of sand-cement mixture.

After completing one page, start preparing and stacking the next one. Obstacles that can occur on your way, better bypassing whole tiles. The remaining gaps will require trimming and fitting in place. This work is best left for later.

The gaps that can not be avoided when laying the tiles are filled with the same mixture of sand and cement that is used to prepare the substrate. Take for yourself the rule at the end of the working day, the surface of the laid area is evenly covered with loose composition, after which a couple of times to sweep with a broom, filling the gap with a mixture. The process of eliminating the cracks is called - prometanie. Esli using colored tiles, then it can sometimes remain unaesthetic cement coating. This feature does not indicate a poor-quality coating and is due to the use of dyes and the specifics of production. In this case, it is better to refuse cement, sweeping the gaps with clean sand.

Even if your site has an ideally rectangular shape, and the width of the bands you calculated in strict accordance with the size of the paving slabs, you can not do without your scraps. To do this, in each case, determine the desired configuration of the fragment and cut it off, using an angle grinder and a diamond disk for concrete work.

If your plans include the arrangement of flowerbeds, then their borders must be marked with a cord and padding. In this case, the protruding parts of the tiles are cut by a Bulgarian.

The edges of the tracks with laid tiles, flower beds and lawns will never look complete without a curb. To establish the limiting elements, dig through the entire line of the trench. Its depth is chosen individually, based on the size of the curb stone and its height above the level of the plot.

Pull the cord for the edge, keeping the same distance to the tiles all the way through the section. Thus, the necessary bias, necessary for aesthetic perception of the picture, will be observed.

Using a rubber hammer and removing or sprinkling the soil, install the curb sections along the cord. To prevent their displacement, fix the fringing elements with a thick sand-cement mortar.

In the empty cells near the curb and the empty places near the obstacles set the cropped tile. In this case, the decision on the degree of trimming is taken in each individual case. Since at the digging of a trench to fringe a plot the ground could crumble, restore the base by using a rammer.

In those places where the tiles border on the gates, use not a loose cement-sand mixture, but a mortar. This will avoid shifting the extreme rows of tiles in especially stressed places.

We should take our instructions as the most complete and thorough way of laying the paving slabs, which are used in the arrangement of the yard or other areas of a large area. If you need to improve the sidewalks and garden paths, then preparation and some moments of work on laying the tiles can be simplified.

Laying patterns for paving slabs

A wide range of colors, a variety of shapes and design solutions make the tile an excellent tool for the arrangement of the yard area. The wide possibilities in terms of design and democratic cost are supplemented by practicality and reliability, which allows this material to occupy leading positions among finishing coatings for many years.

The variety of modern paving slabs makes it possible to create various color and geometric patterns by your own hands, which greatly enhances the aesthetic value and helps to stick to the chosen style in the design of the countryside.

You can create an interesting pattern by applying several types of paving slabs, laying it in a certain way. You can create a picture yourself or use the options below:

• the first pattern is characterized by the laying of paving slabs in a row with alternating colors, placing one color along the boundaries of the path, and others distributing between them;
• in the second case, alternating two colors of different thicknesses in the form of a stretched letter M;
• very effectively looks a complex geometric pattern in the form of a labyrinth or alternating twisted spiral, executed in a color different from the base;
• drawing from repeating squares, rhombuses or rectangles will help to decorate your yard in a strict style, however exact geometric shapes will not tolerate unevennesses and will require you to be very careful when laying;
• diagonal or chess two-tone laying of paving slabs exists in huge variations with different thickness of lines, sizes and shape of staggered parts.

Suggested pictures have fairly simple, but spectacular patterns, available for repetition by beginners. Using a rectangular or shaped tile, you can emphasize some of the merits of your yard.

It should be understood that the sidewalk covering will look great even with the most simple two-tone pattern. It is best to lay tiles in steps, neatly and in full accordance with the recommendations of experts, achieving a perfectly flat and neat surface. And vice versa, even the most expensive and beautiful finishing material laid out in an intricate pattern, will look lurking and unpretentious, if you do the work somehow, with irregularities and elevations across the surface.

Photo Gallery

In the photos below you can see what the usual paving slabs have with their souls. The combination of color and pattern on the surface of the tracks makes them bright and unforgettable. The implemented projects will help you to decide on the color and form, will serve as inspiration, will be pushed to the beginning of active actions on arrangement of the adjacent territory.