Making pavers by one's own hands

How to lay out the paths in the garden? There are a lot of options! One of the most preferable - paving stones. Advantages of the material, among other things, is that it can be made and laid out with your own hands. How to do it? Read on!

We make paving stone

What do we need?

1. Form.
2. Ingredients for mixture preparation.
3. Dry paint( if necessary).

Make mold

You can buy a ready-made form in any construction shop, but it is much more profitable to make such a product yourself. We will consider an example of manufacturing a wooden square shape. Similarly, you can make a template in the form of a triangle, diamond, rectangle, etc.

bars. We work in the following order.

The first step. We mark the bars into pieces of the sizes we need. We take into account that the dimensions of the finished pavers will be equal to the internal dimensions of the template. We cut the material into markings.

The second step. Collect the bars in a square. From the outside we connect the shape elements in the corners with the help of corners and screws.

The third step. Shape the form.

Fourth step. If desired, we cover the frame with a double layer of varnish. In the future, thanks to this, tiles will be easier to extract from the template.

To work faster, it is better to do several such forms at once. Specific quantity is selected individually taking into account the scope of the planned event.

Video - How to make a mold for pavers

We prepare the solution

The pavers can be cast from different solutions, but each of them is prepared on the basis of cement and sand.

If you are planning to make a light tile, take white cement and quartz sand. The recipe is simple:

• cement - 1 part;
• quartz sand - 3 parts;
• water - until a mixture of viscous consistency is obtained.

To visually approximate the appearance of the stone blocks to the appearance of natural stone, add fine gravel to the mixture. The recipe is elementary: sand, cement and gravel are mixed in equal amounts and add water until a solution of a viscous consistency is obtained.

To increase the strength and durability of the tiles, we can add a little plasticizer( literally 1-2 grams per tile) to the mixture.

If you need a colored pavers, add dry paint directly to the mixture. However, in this case the color of the tiles will not be very bright. If you need a more saturated shade, paint the paving stones on top, soon after casting the mold. The principle is simple: the solution in the frame just stiffens, you sprinkle the fill with the dye of the desired color and gently rub it into the main material with iron ironing.

Fill molds

The first step. Set the forms on a flat horizontal surface.

The second step. Fill the solution with about half the volume of the mold.

The third step. We spread the reinforcing mesh from wire or scraps of steel rods.

The fourth step. Fill the mold completely.

The fifth step. Carefully compact the fill, smooth and smooth the surface of the products.

Next, we work depending on what we want to see our paving stones. If you need pavers with a pattern, do the following:

• take a rigid wire and bend out of it a pattern of the desired shape;
• press the received stain into the wet fill to the desired depth.
  

  Make a beautiful pattern can even a burlap leaf

If you need a smooth and shiny tile, we perform its ironing. To do this, on the surface of the product, which has not yet had time to harden, we gradually fill in a little cement and gently rub it with a smoothing iron. By the same technology, various small pebbles can be rubbed into the tile.

Allow the paving to dry. The drying time depends on the thickness of the products. On average, this takes 2-3 days. If possible, leave the paving stones straight in the molds - so it does not exactly crack. If the heat in the street, periodically wet the surface of the products with water.

Video - The technology of manufacturing paving slabs, pavers, curbs

Lay out tracks

We have made the right amount of pavers and are ready for further work.

The first stage - preparation of the project and layout of the platform

Take the plan of our site and directly on it we draw future paths. We think over everything to the smallest detail.

We transfer the plan from paper to the site. For marking, we use any stable pegs and rope. We drive pegs with a meter step and pull the cord between them.

The second stage - excavation

We begin to dig a trench along the width and length of the future path. The depth of the pit is selected so that after laying the pavers its upper surface is at the same level with the ground or slightly raised above it.

Otherwise, water will stagnate in the recess. In addition to the calculated depth, add 10-15 cm for the sand layer, about 10 cm for the gravel cushion and 4-5 cm for the cement fill( in areas with complex terrain).

We remove garbage and roots, level the walls and bottom of the pit, carefully compact the ground. We cover the trench with geotextile, so that the weeds can not germinate to our paving stones and spoil it.

We fall asleep about 10 cm of gravel and 10-15 cm of sand. Each layer is rammed. Instead of gravel, you can use crushed rock - it's even better.

Fill a trench with a 4-5 cm slurry( part of cement, three parts of sand, water).Carefully level the fill by level. We give cement a few days to gain strength.

Important! Cement must be filled only in areas with complex terrain. If the terrain has a normal relief, you can do without such a fill.

Video - How to make the paving stone

The third stage - install curbs

Borders will make our tracks more beautiful and neat. We can buy finished products or make them ourselves, for example, from the same paving stone, just a little thicker.

To equip the curb with a swarm additional trenches along future paths. We install the formwork in the excavated trench and tightly expose the elements of the border, cementing them with cement mortar. The height of the fringing is at your discretion. We give the border for at least a day to dry out and continue the work.

Fourth stage - we lay the main linen

We stretch the cord along the curb - on it we will spread the first row of pavers.

If you have not poured cement, pour the sand cushion with water for additional compaction. Cement fill in the pre-treatment does not need.

For more convenience, before starting work, we shoot down a 100 x 70 cm box. We install such a box on the base and begin to pave the paving stones.

Place the tiles as tightly as possible to each other, decorating the desired pattern. In this moment, be guided exclusively by your preferences. The maximum width of the joints is 1-2 mm. To make them the same, install plastic crosses. For additional rallying of elements of furnish we use a wooden hammer.

Table 1. Material consumption( g / m²) on the lining of the track depending on the size of the pavers and the thickness of the joints

Tile dimensions( cm)	Joint width 2 mm	Joint width 4 mm	Joint width 6 mm	Joint width 8 mm
2x2x0, 3	750	1500	-	-
10х10х0,6	300	600	900	1210
15х15х0,7	240	470	710	950
20х20х0,7	180	360	540	720
30х30х0,8	140	280	410	550
40х40х0,8	100	210	320	420
50х50х0,8	90	170	260	340

Important! Be sure to check the smoothness of laying each tile with a level. To eliminate deviations, remove the tile and fill it out or remove the excess sand from under it. In the presence of cement screed, such problems will not arise.

We lay out the entire planned surface with pavers. For cutting tiles we use Bulgarian.

Fifth stage - finishing of surface

In the end, we can only apply a layer of moist sand to the lined path and rub it into the joints. For grouting it is convenient to use a mop with a hard pile.

Successful work!

Video - Paving stone making by yourself