If, after building a house, you started ennoblement of the local area, then you may have a question about how to cover the path, recreation area, back or front yard. For these purposes paving slabs are excellent.
This coverage is unmatched in functionality. The cost can not be called fabulous, and the installation is quite simple in execution. Therefore, when designing sites and paths on the site, you can use such technology that will provide a decent frame for the garden.
Preparation of materials and tools
If you want to know how to lay paving slabs, first you need to prepare everything you need. When buying material from the seller, you should ask whether the tile will be able to withstand a lot of heavy structures or can it be used only for pedestrian areas.
For work, you should take care of the availability of the following tools and materials:
- trowel;
- manual tamper;
- cord ordering;
- I-beam;
- rake;
- cement;
- mallet;
- pegs;
- building level;
- watering cans;
- sand.
As for cement, it is better to use one whose brand is not lower than M-500. In order to determine the amount of raw materials and tiles, you should consider the layout taking into account the location and size of the sites and tracks. As one of the basic rules is to create a small bias. For each meter, it will be 5 mm. In this case, the water will freely flow into the well or on the lawns.
Base work
Before laying paving slabs, you should be engaged in arrangement of the basis. The success of the work will depend on how reliable the base surface is. At the edges of the location of the track, it is necessary to drive in pegs at a height of 7 cm. A cord is stretched between them. It is necessary to remove debris, stones and the top layer of turf from the territory. To level the surface of the site in elevated places, the soil layer is removed, and on the hollows and in pits, the soil must be sprinkled.
The rake-lined base is well compacted. When working with soft soil, it is advisable to wet the surface and compact it. Careful tamping will eliminate the uneven shrinkage of the material. With a margin of 2 cm, the depth of the base is determined. This requirement is justified by shrinkage during compaction.
To lay a layer of sand and tile, you need to delve 30 cm. Before laying the paving slabs, the surface will need to be given a longitudinal, transverse or combined slope. At this stage, work is being done on laying communications. Before filling sand, it is necessary to lay geotextiles, which will prevent the growth of grass between the tiles.
If you want to know how to lay the paving tiles yourself, you should familiarize yourself with the technology. At the next stage, it provides for laying a pillow of crushed stone and sand on the base soil layer. Sand will increase the stability of the sidewalk and fulfill the function of a drainage system. Preparation is well leveled and moistened. Humidification must be continued until the water stagnates.
After a few hours of preparation in sunny weather, you can begin to give a flat surface using the profile. It is usually a beam or pipe. Such a pipe must be arranged according to the type of rails in increments of 2 to 3 m. Sand is poured into the gaps at the same height at intervals.
In order to make the coating more durable, the tile can be laid on the base of crushed stone or mortar. For this, a mixture of sand and cement is prepared in a ratio of 3 to 1. It is laid out with an even layer on the base and the channel is screed. If the plot has difficult soil, then it is better to use the combined method. It provides for the installation of a layer of cement-sand mixture and concrete.
Installation of pavers
Quite often, beginner home craftsmen want to know how to lay concrete paving slabs. If you are among them, then technology must follow. At the next stage, the cord-order is pulled along the chamfer. Installation is best to start from the curb. The first row is formed along the cord. Products are laid out in the direction from themselves, this will eliminate the expansion of the seams.
If you use crosses during operation, this will allow you to set the same spaces between the tiles to 2 mm. If the tile does not fit evenly, then using the trowel you can report or remove a layer of sand. Then the material is compacted again. Alignment of the material is carried out using a mallet. After completing all the manipulations, it is necessary to pour cement-sand mixture into the seams and pour water on the surface.
If you are solving the problem of how to lay the paving tiles yourself, you should know that in the process of work you may encounter poor joining of the material with landscape design elements or buildings. In this case, the edges should be trimmed with a grinder. After completion of work, the sand and debris are cleaned off the finished track. Next, you can do the installation of the curb. It is mounted on a liquid solution brand M-100. This will eliminate the loosening of the tiles and the spread of the coating. From time to time you will need to renew the sand in the seams, which will gradually be washed with water.
Concrete mortar laying
Now you know how to lay paving slabs on the sand. However, you can combine this technology with another, which involves the use of a solution. First, the surface is prepared. For this, a layer of earth is removed from the territory where the track will be located, and the soil is well compacted.
Crushed stone is poured at the bottom of the pit. About 20 cm will be enough for standard pavement coverings. If we are talking about creating a parking zone or access road, then about 30 cm of rubble will be needed. Top 10 cm of sand is poured. It is well distributed to fill the voids between the particles of gravel. If necessary, bulk material is added. As a result, you should get a perfectly flat surface on which the sidewalk will be laid.
Edging
The installation of borders can be foreseen in advance. For these works, recesses are excavated in the ground, where gravel and sand are poured. Then a layer of cement mortar is poured. It must be set by level. When backfilling the pillow, it is necessary to provide a slight slope to drain the liquid. An additional gutter is installed along the curb from the inside.
Installation of tiles on concrete mortar
If you are interested in how to lay paving slabs in the country, you can familiarize yourself with several technologies, one of which is definitely suitable for you. The most critical step in the described technique is the laying of the material. It is important to use a latch, as it will be almost impossible to fix installation errors. You can use one of two main methods. The first involves mounting on a solution, while the second on a dry mix.
The first technology is more reliable. This option is optimal for facing the parking lot. To prepare the solution should use:
Methodology of work
Dry components are mixed in a ratio of 1 to 4. Working with such a solution must be quick. Many home masters think about how to properly lay paving slabs. If you are also interested, then you should arrange the material on the site in the planned order.
After that, several elements are removed, a thin layer of solution is applied to the surface, and then the products are returned to their place. To remove even seams, pegs are used. They are installed temporarily and removed even before the solution solidifies. It should be foreseen in advance that the tile will rise 4 cm above the ground.
Another technology for laying tiles on sand
Before laying paving slabs, you should familiarize yourself with all the technologies. Perhaps one of them will be easier than the rest. To date, the known method of laying on sand, when preparing a dry mixture, laid on the sand. The ratio of cement to sand will look like this: 1 to 4.
The components are mixed and poured onto the prepared zone with a thin layer. After you can start laying tiles. Sand flatness should not be broken. Each element goes a little deeper to the desired mark. The surface must be checked with a level and the presence of seams.
Adjustment and fixation
In order for the position of the products to be adjusted, a wooden pickaxe should be used. After laying the paving slabs with their own hands in the country, it was possible, you can proceed to fixation. To do this, a layer of dry mixture is poured on top. It is distributed at the seams with a brush. After that, as in the technology described above, the sidewalk must be sprayed with water, and then the compaction procedure is repeated. The layer of sand-cement mixture in the joints should be updated annually, because part of the material will be washed out.
Recommendations of a specialist
The most economical, quick and easy way to lay paving slabs is to mount them on a sand cushion. If machines will move along the surface, it is important to correctly determine the thickness of the material. When you make an entrance to a garage or a path for a car, you should purchase tiles with a minimum thickness of 6 cm. Concrete as preparation is laid in a thickness of 10 cm.
Before laying the yard with paving slabs, you must outline the boundaries of the site. If this is a track, then its width should not be less than 90 cm, so that it is convenient to move along it. For laying material with a decorative pattern, reference points should be drawn on the surface of the soil to determine their future location. For the symmetry of the final figure, markup is carried out. This will eliminate unnecessary cuts.
Earthwork Features
Before laying paving tiles with your own hands, you must carry out earthwork. It’s easier to work with a bayonet shovel or spade. Using one of these tools, you will need to go deeper by 10 cm. To compact the soil, it is better to use a rammer or a manual rammer to stabilize the base.
If the soil on the surface is mobile, dig the soil to an additional depth to place the stabilizing layer there. It can become:
- broken brick;
- gravel;
- stones
- construction garbage.
The use of geotextiles allows you to create a protective filter, as well as to exclude mixing of materials and root sprouting. In order to avoid uneven compaction of the soil, which leads to a difference in tile level, the technology recommends adding a bag of cement to five packs of sand. In this case, you will have to start installing the tiles immediately.
If you want to know how to properly lay paving slabs, then you should be aware that during installation you should not step on the sand. Use a board to move around the surface. You need to move on your knees. When working, you should try to be as far away as possible from the last laid row so that the tile does not turn out to be displaced.
Conclusion
It is necessary to complete the laying of the tile by cutting the material for the borders. On sale there are types of tiles designed for this. It is recommended to use a concrete screed as a base if you purchased tiles with non-standard sizes, which requires the leveling of levels. This applies, for example, to granite tiles. The existing concrete foundation that you plan to use for installation can be cleaned with a high pressure washer. The concrete is moistened, and then a layer of cement mortar is applied to it, the thickness of which is 2 cm.