Want to make an original track in the country? This is a feasible dream. With such an idea, both a man and a woman can cope. There is no need for physical strength, but imagination is useful. The track can be laid out with different materials, but the laying algorithm will be the same. Read below for ideas and tips on paving footpaths.
Slabs and gravel
This method of making a track in the country with your own hands is suitable for those who have just completed the repair. In such a situation, a person always has a lot of construction waste. In order not to throw it away, you can put it on something useful. For example, create a track in the country.
How to do it? You need to start with the preparation of the foundation. As in construction, it plays an important role. You have decided on the location of the track, now you need to dig a trench 10 cm deep.
First we pour 3 cm large gravel, then sprinkle it with sand and spill it with water. Tamp the base well. Now you can start styling. We take the remaining after repair of the plate. We lay them out in a trench the way you like. Ideal in such a way to make a stepping path. That is, to lay the plates at a distance of 7-10 cm from each other.
Be sure to pay attention to the height of your creation. The path should be flush with the ground surface. It will be easy to measure with the help of a level.
You laid out the track as you like, now you need to fill the gaps between the plates with gravel. You can use any material. For example, broken tiles or small pebbles. If you want to create a more natural look for the track, you can even wake up the space between the plates with earth and grass seeds.
Tamp the track well. Seal the plates with a sledgehammer. You can frame the track with thin rubber tubes, or use small stones for this purpose or plantations of low decorative shrubs or flowers.
Wooden saw cuts
Want to make an economy track in the country? Then you need to pay attention to this option. The track can be made of wooden saw cuts. Making them will be quite simple. You should choose any dry tree and saw it into circles of 10-15 cm thick. In order for the tree not to begin to rot, you must dry the blanks. After this, each saw cut should be treated with a solution for wood. It will protect future elements of the track from decay and various insects.
Material prepared, how to put it? Tracks in the country from saw cuts are made according to the standard algorithm. It is necessary to dig a trench, first lay a layer of large gravel, then sprinkle it with sand and tamp. Now you should sprinkle the ditch with fine gravel, and then use the sand again. Sand should be watered, then the foundation of the track settles well.
After the preparatory work is completed, you can lay out the saw cuts. First, just arrange them the way you like. Alternate large and small workpieces. Now use a rubberized hammer to ram the wooden elements.
You can fill the space between the saws with sand or soil. In the future, you can plant lawn grass in between the wooden elements.
Bricks
Do-it-yourself paths in the country house can be created from materials left over from construction. For example, made of bricks. But keep in mind that bricks deteriorate over time. To avoid this, be sure to treat the material with water-repellent impregnation.
How to make tracks in the country? We start by digging a trench. According to the above algorithm, fill it with gravel and sand. Now you need to think about the design. You can lay out a path not only of bricks, but also add stones, for example pebbles, to it. This will help you create a unique design.
If you do not have pebbles, you can replace it with pieces of broken tiles or glass. But if you use glass, then it should be poured with concrete beforehand. What for? So that you can walk barefoot along the path and not be afraid that you will cut your legs.
Bricks should be laid edge-on. Yes, this will increase the consumption of material, but on the other hand, it will increase the life of the track. Be sure to pay attention to the soil of your cottage. If it is sandy clay, then the shrinkage of the material will be small. But if you have good black soil, then you need to make the track a little higher than the ground level.
Tile
If you are not very limited in finances, then you can make a beautiful and durable path. Of what? From the tile. For paths in the country - this is ideal.
Firstly, such a paved path will be durable. Secondly, along the track it will be possible to comfortably move and carry a fairly heavy load. Thirdly, this option looks very aesthetically pleasing. Tile for paths in the country is suitable for any type of soil. But again, an adjustment should be made for the composition of the earth and for the shrinkage of the material. To save a little, the tile can not be laid tightly to each other, but to make a stepping path.
What will the step-by-step process look like? You need to lay out the tile as it should look at the final stage. To create a straight line, you need to tie the two ends of a long rope to wooden wedges and drive them into the ground from one and the other side of the path. If you want to create a winding path, you should stretch the hose for irrigation as a guide.
The tile is laid out on the desired path. Now you need to arm yourself with a knife and a shovel. Cut holes in the ground to the size of the tile. Pour gravel and sand into each hole. On such a substrate, lay the tile and compact it well with a sledgehammer.
Boards for decorating the yard
If you have recently built a barn in your summer cottage or blocked the roof, then you probably have extra building material, for example, planks. Of these, you can make tracks in the country. A photo of this option is shown below. If your summer cottage is decorated in eco-style, such wooden paths will fit perfectly into the exterior.
In order to bring such an idea to life, you need to draw a plan. As you probably understand, a track made of boards should not be narrower than half a meter. Why? Because otherwise it will be inconvenient to walk on it.
And keep in mind, even if you treat the boards with a water-repellent, the life of your creation will be a maximum of 5 years. A tree immersed in the ground and constantly washed by rains and melt snow will quickly become worthless. But such a track looks stylish, and most importantly, it fits pretty quickly. Therefore, many summer residents agree to change it every five years.
How to lay a track? Dig a track 10 cm deep. Then you need to make a substrate of sand and gravel. And now on a soft base you can lay boards. Be sure to treat them with wood impregnation. And if you want your track to have a beautiful shade and glossy shine, you can use a stain. After laying the boards, they should be well tamped with a rubberized hammer.
Covers
Do not know how to make paths in the country? Do not want to spend heavily on such a project? Then, as a material for the track, you can choose plastic covers. The difficulty here can only be the collection of the necessary material.
If you do not want to postpone the implementation of this project in a long box, you will need to notify all your friends so that they collect the covers for you. But if the path that needs to be paved is quite long, then even with the efforts of all your friends, the required number of covers will be problematic. In this case, you can go to the beach and help clean the city from excess garbage. In the sand you can find many necessary plastic covers.
When the collection of material has come to an end, you will have to draw a drawing. Moreover, the sketch should be done on paper in a cage. Randomly scattered lids on the track will look awful. Therefore, draw some kind of ornament. The easiest way is to draw rectangles or circles.
When the sketch is ready, you can begin to implement the project. Prepare a trench and fill it with gravel and sand. On such a soil, lay out plugs in accordance with your drawing. It is imperative to make a substrate for the track 3-4 cm above the ground level, so that subsequently the track can settle without loss in aesthetic terms.
Pebbles
One of the most reliable and beautiful options for a path in the country is paving it with small round pebbles. Pebbles are best suited for this purpose. But such a project can be successfully implemented only by people who live by the sea. In the middle lane of our country, it will be difficult to find smooth stones of the same size.
Of course, if you really want something, then the obstacles in the form of transportation of stones are unlikely to stop you. If you go to the Black Sea by car, you can collect two or three large boxes of large multi-colored pebbles. When you get home, you can sit down to create a sketch.
Such a project needs a beautiful drawing. You can invent it yourself or use the options on the Internet. If your path is quite long, then you can fill up some of the stripes with gravel or fill it with concrete. This will allow you to significantly save on stones.
But how to lay pebbles? You can use the standard option and ram the round stones into a sand-gravel substrate. And also you can create decorative layers from concrete. To do this, you will need to fill the square with concrete, and when the material begins to set, insert pebbles into it and firmly strengthen it. From such details it will be quite simple to make a track.
Concrete castings
There are no construction residues at your disposal, pebbles are inaccessible to you and even boards were not lying around anywhere? Do not worry. Do-it-yourself economy paths in the country house can be made of concrete. And in order not to create something trivial, you can dream a little. For example, make an interesting track in the form of sheets of burdock.
To do this, you need large leaves of plants and concrete mortar. We mix a mixture of cement and sand with water. You can add crushed stone. It will help increase the volume of the solution, and can also make the tile stronger. If you want your castings to be not gray but blue, for example, you should add color to the mixed substance.
Now you should put a sheet of burdock on a flat surface, smooth wrinkles and apply concrete on top with a spatula. The material layer should be at least 4-5 cm. Of course, you will be able to create a tile 3-4 cm thick, but believe me, it will very quickly lose its presentable appearance. After the product dries out, and this will take about an hour, you should tear off a sheet of burdock, and wrap the workpiece in a bag. What for? So that the concrete does not crack during drying. You can remove the tiles from the bag after 48 hours.
Stack such blanks in exactly the same way as a stepping path. We cut a hole in the ground, make a substrate of sand and gravel, and then ram the concrete casting.
In a similar homemade tile as decorative elements, you can add anything you want. Shards of utensils, Christmas toys, broken glass from bottles or unnecessary buttons are suitable.
Paving slabs
Are you building a country cottage and are not limited in funds? Then you can make sidewalk paths in the country. Yes, this is a rather time-consuming and expensive undertaking, but the game is worth the candle. Such paths can lie for decades, and at the same time they will not even lose their original appearance. Of course, this is provided that you do not decide to save on material and buy high-quality paving slabs.
For paths in the country, you need to choose a small tile. Rarely in areas laid tracks wider than a meter. And you can lay out a neat and beautiful path from large squares, but it will be difficult. Tile is laid out according to the standard scheme: a trench is dug, crushed stone is compacted with sand, and then tile is laid flush with the ground.
To make it easier for you to pave the track, you can build yourself something like a formwork. Then you will not go abroad. To make the track more interesting, you can draw a sketch of your creation. For example, a geometric ornament or zigzags. In order for the picture to be pronounced, material of contrasting colors should be purchased.
Rubber tracks
Do not want to bother for a long time with digging trenches and further ramming the foundation? Then rubber paths for a summer residence are an ideal option for you. They are strong, durable, do not deform, and if necessary, one of the segments can be replaced.
You can lay such a path both on the dug up soil and on lawn grass. Moreover, in the second option, you don’t even have to worry about removing grass from the track. Over time, the rubber segments will drown slightly in the ground, and the grass will very naturally grow in crevices. It will look beautiful, and taking care of the track will be very simple. You should only walk through it with a lawn mower once a week.
How to put such a track? No need to make substrates. You simply put the rubber segments in the position in which they should be, and then ram them with a hammer. Care should be taken to ensure that there are no joints between the parts. In this case, water will not accumulate on the rubber, which means that it will not crack and deform in the cold.
If you want to give the track a modern look, you can lay it not on the grass, but on white gravel. Then, of course, you will have to work hard with a rammer, but then you will not need to trim the weed on the track weekly.