How to improve the paths in the country. Where to lay paths in the country and in the garden - photo. Concrete garden paths

2014-10-11 113

Content

I am glad to welcome constant friends of our design portal! Today, analyzing the statistics of visits, we came to the conclusion that you are actively interested in articles on the improvement of suburban areas. This means that there are a lot of happy owners of hacienda among us. Especially for you, active summer residents, I decided to write this article. Remember, we already discussed the question of how to choose the right one? I hope you learned this landscape design lesson well. And now it's time to talk directly about the paths, or, if you like, the garden alleys.

Main functions

Every self-respecting summer resident does not disregard garden paths. They give the site some kind of, you know, elegance, or something. Well-groomed, nobleness. According to the design fashion, a plot without tracks is bad manners. The trodden paths among the thickets of grass do not look very aesthetically pleasing. This courtyard reminds me of an unkempt person, with greasy curls and dirty hands. Whether it is a dacha with neat winding alleys or geometrically straight and even tile sidewalks. Sightseeing!

So, the paths in the country perform, first of all, an aesthetic function. How pleasant it is to walk along the carefully paved avenue, enjoying the results of your own labor! And guests are not ashamed to invite. They will certainly appreciate your efforts. By the way, in this case it does not matter at all whether it will be a simple alley made of small squares of concrete or a solid path made of paving slabs.

The paths help not only to tie together all the buildings, but also unite the individual elements into a harmonious ensemble. Strictly following the chosen style of decoration of a suburban area, you can use them to create a unique piece of landscape design, the name of which is your dacha.

Variety of species

It is easy to guess that the tracks are classified depending on the type of material that is used for their construction. Modern building materials provide a wide choice; for arranging alleys, wood, plastic, rubber, and paving slabs are used.

The noblest material is natural stone. Garden paths made of stone look expensive and high-status. Of course, consumables can scare you at the cost, but such an alley will last a very long time. This option will suit you if you have planned capital construction. By the way, it is not necessary to buy a stone specifically for this purpose. You can get long-lasting paths for summer cottages cheaply if you use the remains of natural stone, for example, from the cladding of buildings or the construction of a fence.

Country style is in fashion today. It is excellent for the overall design of the suburban area. Wooden garden paths will help to complete the organic ensemble. This material conveys an extraordinary atmosphere of warmth. Different types of wood differ in textured pattern on the cut - this fact must be taken into account. To extend the service life of the wood alley, use a special impregnation or varnish after installation.

The owners of capital brick houses should not think for a second about how to lay out the paths in the country. The solution to this question lies literally on the surface. Use a brick! Such a design move will bring the desired harmony into the overall atmosphere. Just keep in mind that it is recommended to take a special sidewalk brick. It is more resistant to moisture and temperature extremes than its "regular" white or red congeners.

Paving slabs or paving stones are material for those who want to make paths in the country with their own hands. This option makes it possible to show your imagination in full. The material can be folded like a mosaic, forming patterns and designs on the alleys. If you draw a styling scheme in advance, marking the multi-colored fragments, you will get an absolutely unique ornament. Your summer cottage will become unique!

In my opinion, the most economical material is gravel. An idea for those who are concerned about the problem: what to make paths in the garden from. Everything is very simple! You only need an impressive amount of consumables, since it shrinks. The gravel layer should be thick and well packed. I want to emphasize that this option will not work for the central alley. A homemade gravel path fits into the wild, so its place is along the beds, between flower beds, near an artificial reservoir.

This path evokes nostalgic associations for me. Consider a childhood analogy. Of course, the health path in kindergarten! The alley, paved with gravel, is somewhat similar to this invention especially for hardening babies. By the way, right on the go, the thought was born - why not build just such a path near the children's corner at the hacienda? You can use it, I give the idea.

Another long-lived material is concrete. To make concrete paths with their own hands, summer residents use either ready-made solid slabs or special blanks. In building markets, molds are sold for making pieces of concrete of the required configuration. Triangles, squares or asymmetrical shapes - you can pour concrete tiles yourself.

Concrete paths are great for weed control. If annoying knotweed gives you troubles or you want to "thin out" the green carpet of the lawn a little, put blocks of large-sized concrete. In rainy weather, there will be no dirt in your yard, and the lush grass will be a beautiful live edging for the alley.

Forms for garden paths

I would like to talk in more detail about the forms for construction. As I said, they are sold in hardware stores. Quality tiles for garden paths can be made at home. But this is, perhaps, a task for real masters! Quite a painstaking and lengthy process, but the result is worth it.

How to fill the tracks in the country? This is perhaps a topic for a separate article. If we talk briefly about the advantages, then, first of all, it is uniqueness. You can use any type of solution, use dyes, add decorative elements: pebbles, small pebbles, even lay out patterns from them on the surface of the resulting blanks.

You know, it's like cooking. You can buy a ready-made cake in the store, or you can bake a homemade one. With nuts, raisins, fresh fruit, cream - many variations and every time an unusual taste. Similarly, in the question of how to make a concrete track using a special shape. Experiment and get interesting results every time.

How to make a track with your own hands

Garden paths are built in two stages. Foundation preparation is a very responsible process. It's like laying the foundation. For a house to be reliable, you need to take care of a solid foundation. The constructed path will last a long time if you pay attention to the careful grounding of the base.

Around the entire perimeter of the future alley, it is necessary to dig a continuous trench - the so-called earthen trough. Its depth should be at least 10 cm, regardless of what type of coating will be used in the future.

The bottom of the "trough" is covered with rubble. The height of the flooring is up to 3 cm. And then the crushed stone must be tamped well. Next is a layer of fine gravel and a sand cushion.

The next step is laying the road surface. Its individual elements (bricks, fragments of tiles, bowls of natural stone) must be tamped with a rubber mallet.

A sealant is poured on top - sand to fill the gaps. Making paths in the country is not difficult. Women can also cope with this task, because, as you have seen, strength techniques are not needed here. The main thing is imagination, diligence and a desire to transform your dacha.

1. The so-called walking paths look cute. They consist of individual elements such as concrete squares or large diameter saw cuts. You can arrange them in a row - you get a kind of chain, or in a checkerboard pattern. To me this will remind me of a game of classics.

2. Don't be afraid to mix and match! Feel free to combine materials of different textures. Garden paths made of wood perfectly "make friends" with white pebbles or large stones like sea stones. This method will visually brighten thematic transitions in the design.

I mean the case when a stone path leading to the gazebo adjoins the central alley, lined with tiles.

3. When starting construction work, ask about the weather forecast. Do not start building if weather forecasters promise it will rain. It is especially not desirable for moisture to enter the earthen trough. But at the stage of completion of work, rain is even useful - it will perfectly compact the top layer, wash away excess sand, and polish the stone.

4. Natural stone is an ideal material for curved garden paths. The individual elements are arranged in random order, which allows you to make even tight turns and smooth bends. For the alleys that wind through the site, choose this noble tool of natural beauty.

Perhaps this is all that I wanted to tell you about. I invite readers to discuss the topic: what material do you think is most suitable for garden paths. Share thoughts, ideas, experiences. Let's inspire each other for new design achievements!

Those who have their own summer cottage or garden know how important it is to equip them well so that rest or stay in a suburban area after a dusty and bustling city is as pleasant as possible. Beautifying landscaping has become more important than simply growing vegetables in a vegetable garden.

Now each owner seeks to give his garden or cottage a special personality and style. One of the main details of this style is garden paths, because the whole appearance of your site can depend on their design and appearance.

How to make paths in the country, but such that all the neighbors gasped with surprise and delight? Of course, you can invite a designer or hire specialists who will professionally design your site, but this will cost you quite a lot. There is another option - to design and make paths in the country with your own hands. Moreover, absolutely any materials can be suitable for this.

What to choose and how to translate the idea into reality?

First you need to figure out what country paths are in general and from what they can be made. You will have a very wide choice, because there are a huge number of options for their manufacture and design, in addition, they are all very diverse and in their own way original and beautiful, so if you wish, you can find an idea to your taste and to your wallet.

What are the paths for the summer cottage or garden area? Many will answer that their main function is to provide the ability to move around this very site. Indeed, paths or paths should provide a comfortable movement, connecting all the main objects or buildings of your summer cottage with each other. However, in addition to this, ideally, they need to perform other tasks as well:

provide comfortable walking (especially if there is clay soil or lowland around, where water accumulates all the time);
divide the site into peculiar zones or sectors (flower beds, garden, vegetable garden, resting places, etc.);
decorate and create a certain style, combining everything around into a single harmonious ensemble.

So, we figured out the purpose of the garden alleys, now you need to understand what paths you can make in the country with your own hands. The main classification is based on the choice of material that you use to make the paths and on the way they are constructed (there are still differences in size and location - straight, winding, etc.).

The most spectacular and expensive paths, of course, will be made of natural stone. A big and undoubted advantage of this option is the durability of your product. However, even here you can save money without buying a stone on purpose, but using, for example, the remnants of the facing of buildings. However, you need to be able to handle such material. This also includes paving slabs or paving stones and bricks. If you chose the latter as the material, then find a special sidewalk brick, since ordinary white and red bricks may not be resistant to moisture and temperature extremes. With the help of bricks, you can lay out any drawings and patterns on your alleys, folding it like a mosaic. Just indicate in advance the ornament that you want to get as a result.

The second most popular material after stone is wood. Wooden alleys look no less beautiful and stylish, especially since a do-it-yourself garden path made of wood can be made with much less cost and effort. You can use wooden blocks, and wood cuts, and boards, and chocks - in short, any derivatives that are easy to get. The main thing is to show a little imagination and try to do something special. However, wood will require some maintenance, so learn how to take proper care of your wood paths to keep them looking good and durable.

You can pave paths in the country with your own hands from gravel, pebbles, rubble or marble chips, pouring them into a specially prepared base and reinforcing them on the sides with a curb tape made of bricks or tiles. Gravel can be multi-colored - then you will be able to make original patterns. The soil in the dug trench will need to be pretreated before backfilling (herbicides are usually used), and then covered with agrofibre or polyethylene. This will protect the alley from weeds. At the end, you need to compact the gravel (you can use a portable roller or other device).

The easiest way is to pour concrete paths. Moreover, on top you can lay at least a tile, even a stone, even a paving stone. And now you can find plastic molds on sale in hardware stores, with which you can easily make various concrete elements and create unique and beautiful paths.

In addition to the basic materials, you can use any available means for arranging the tracks: pieces of old tiles, glass bottles, caps, corks, old tires, etc.

As you can see, you can easily and quickly equip garden paths with your own hands at low cost. Materials can be combined with each other, the main thing is that they fit the general style of the site and the house, fit into their ensemble and complement it.

Be sure to think over in advance and draw up a plan diagram of how the alleys will be located on the site, because their network should be built so that they unite all the main zones and buildings. Do not be afraid to combine different forms and directions - let you have straight and curved paths side by side, wide and narrow, etc.

Getting Started: A Brief Overview of the Main Methods of Making Tracks

The preparatory phase will be an important part of creating routes for movement around the site. First of all, you need to make the markup correctly. If a straight path is planned, then a rope stretched on pegs will do. And to mark the winding alley, you can drive long nails along the edges of a regular rake and drag them where you want to see the path.

If the climate in your area is rainy, then you need to take care of the drainage system, as well as provide for drains along the edges of the paths so that stagnant water does not form. Keep in mind that large trees should not grow near the alleys themselves, because their roots will spoil the integrity and appearance of any roads.

The arrangement of all tracks begins with a marking. Then comes the digging of trenches and preparation of the soil for laying out the material. The depth and width of the trench depends on the type and parameters of the selected materials. The next step is to form a sand bed or pillow. Backfilling is especially important for areas with loose soil, as well as for paths on which you provide for a large operational load, for example, for a platform for a car.

To lay out the alley with brick, stone or tiles, fill the dug grooves with gravel or pebbles, tamp them, and then make another layer of sand. It is this top layer that will need to level the surface well. The depth of the trench for the stone is about twenty centimeters (often it will be the same for paving stones or bricks). Rubble or gravel should be covered with a layer of ten centimeters, plus ten centimeters of sand. Then place the material on this pillow, following the direction and shape of the desired path. Tap bricks or tiles with a rubber mallet to push them down to the desired level. Fill the void between the stones with sand, and then thoroughly pour water over everything.

You can make tiles of any shape yourself using a plastic frame. To do this, you only need to fill them with concrete, tamp the mass in the form, and then remove it. From such tiles, when they are dry, you can lay out an alley, and then fill the gaps between them with multi-colored filler or sow them with herbaceous plants.

If you want to make a path from wood cuts, then you will need to saw a lot of stumps of various shapes (the large ones will go for laying the main part of the alley, and the small ones will fill the voids between them). The trench for wood cuts is not needed too deep. Fill the bottom with sand and tamp it, and then put the stumps there. You can align the chocks with a sledgehammer and focusing on the level. You can also fill in gravel, soil or sand between them, and then sow flowers or grass, if you like. If nothing should grow on your path, then lay polyethylene on the bottom of the trench, as is the case with a gravel path. Be sure to prepare the cuts - they must be well dried and treated with hot linseed oil over the entire surface (you can process the cuts with a 10% solution of copper sulfate, and the side that will come into contact with the ground with bitumen).

Gravel and planks combine very well. Planks can be large and small, located next to or at some distance from each other, you can lay them in a crossbar or length, lay them in a parquet way, paint - in a word, do whatever your heart desires. Please note that raising the planks slightly above the ground will help you circulate air underneath, which will extend their lifespan. Like cuts, boards also need to be treated with antiseptic and protective agents.

Garden paths winding elegantly among the trees add to the plot grooming and completeness... And it is not at all necessary to buy paving slabs for their arrangement, to hire a designer and builders. You can ennoble the paths in the garden on your own, putting your soul into their creation, and in return get a durable, well-groomed coating that can delight you for many years. We will tell you more about how to make a garden path from a variety of materials with your own hands.

We fill the stencil with the prepared solution , avoiding voids in its corners. Using a small rammer, which we work as a vibrating plate, we try to compact the concrete as much as possible, and then level its surface with a spatula. After the 30-50 minutes required for the preliminary setting of the concrete, the mold is carefully removed and placed side by side, repeating the process until the finish line.

We begin to gradually fill in the form, do not forget that the concrete should not be very liquid. Pay special attention to the corners, it is necessary to fill them with concrete as much as possible. Since we used a plasticizer and made the mortar thick, after 15-20 minutes you can remove the mold. Here the first plate is ready! We leave to freeze for a day, after which we actively begin to use

To avoid animal prints , self-made garden paths are covered with plastic wrap and wait at least 3-4 days before taking a new path and taking a photo for memory. The full load on the concrete product can be given no earlier than 20 days later.

The last step in the construction of garden paths do it yourself at low cost is painting and backfilling of tile joints with river sand.

There are several ways to paint a new path.

The first is to add a dye at the final stage of concrete preparation. ... After that, you can lightly stir the concrete, achieving an uneven color, or mix the components thoroughly to obtain a uniform color.
The second method requires sprinkling the wet concrete surface with dry paint every time after removing the mold. , however, in this case, only the topmost layer will be stained, which will wear off over time. Garden paths with stains wiped out after such a painting can often be seen in the photo on the net.

DIY tracks video tutorial

Garden paths, painted with their own hands with the help of dye dissolved in deep penetration soil , which allows you to achieve similarity with natural stone at low cost. Stone-effect tiles, painted in different colors, will look especially impressive in your garden. And the last tip: after painting, do not forget to treat the surface of the path with a water repellent - it will not allow moisture to penetrate the pores of the concrete, destroying it from the inside.

Do-it-yourself concrete path

Easy to manufacture, durable and visually attractive are monolithic concrete paths laid along the suburban area. Next, read on how to make concrete garden paths.

We mark the future track by hammering the pegs along its edges and pulling the cord between them at the required height. We take into account that the optimal fill thickness is from 7 to 10 cm.

Preparing the sand pillow ... To do this, we dig a trench up to 20 cm deep, level its bottom, install beacons and lay geotextiles, covering the slopes of the trench with this material as well. After that, fill the hole with 2-3 layers of sand with intermediate pouring and tamping of each layer. It is possible to pour a layer of fine gravel between two adjacent layers of sand. This will enhance the drainage properties of the pillow.

Laying agrofibre Sand cushion construction Sand cushion leveling

Preparing concrete ... You can use the recipe from the instructions for filling forms. If you need a sidewalk of increased strength, for example, for driving or parking a car in the country, then take 1 part of cement (not lower than 400 grade), 1.5 parts of sand and 2.5-3 parts of crushed stone or gravel. The ideal volumetric ratio is 1 part water to 3 parts cement, but a little more is added to increase the plasticity of the liquid. Do not forget that the less water is in the solution, the stronger the concrete will be.

Formwork is used for garden paths from wooden boards with a thickness of at least 20 mm. It is better if the width of the boards is equal to the thickness of the fill, otherwise you will have to dig them into the ground. Boards need to be nailed to the inside of the pegs.

Install dividers at regular intervals in order to create expansion joints. When making a track in the country, dividers can be used from scrap material. For these purposes, even, narrow strips of drywall, glass, thin boards, laminate trim, siding, etc. are suitable. In order to remove the spacers after the concrete has set, lubricate them with any suitable lubricant.

We carry out reinforcement of the structure to increase its strength. As a reinforcing mesh, a mesh netting, trimming of reinforcement, pipes, etc. are used. Of course, it is best to use a welded reinforcing belt made of rods with a diameter of up to 8 mm, with a cell of 100x100 mm. The reinforcement is set at half the height of the track, using fragments of bricks or clamps from the same rods.

Garden paths are poured up to the upper edge of the formwork ... Next, using a rammer, we compact the surface until the cement laitance appears on the surface of the path, and then level it using the rule. Next, cover the path with plastic wrap and wait at least 5 days before removing the formwork. The full load on concrete can be given no earlier than 3 weeks later.

Decorate the path can be done in several ways.

First, the surface can be painted or tiled with marble or ceramic tiles.
Secondly, you can apply a pattern to it using a curly spatula, screwdriver or coarse brush.
Thirdly, you can paint the concrete itself at the preparation stage.
Fourthly, gravel or pebbles can be pressed into the wet layer, laying out intricate patterns.

In a word, a concrete garden path can be original and attractive, as in numerous videos of popular Internet resources.

DIY garden path from paving slabs

If you plan to equip garden paths with your own hands at low cost, then this method will not work for you. Paving slabs cannot be called cheap material. On the other hand, such tracks have a lot of advantages and are practically devoid of disadvantages. Watch a video in which such a garden path is laid with your own hands. Not that hard, is it? At first glance, this is how it is. In fact, in order for the sidewalk path laid in the country to please the eye for a long time, careful preparation of the base and maximum accuracy and precision in work are necessary. So, how to make a paving slab track with your own hands:

Choosing a tile ... At the same time, we focus not only on design, but also on its operational features. For example, for a tile on which you plan to drive a car, the ability to withstand increased loads is important.
Stocking up with a tool ... For work we need: a trowel, a rubber hammer, a tamper, a level, a cord, pegs, a pipe or I-beam, sand and cement.

Marking future tracks ... To do this, we hammer in the pegs and pull the cord at the required height.

Preparing the base ... The successful operation of the track throughout its entire service life will depend on this work, so we approach this stage most responsibly. To do this, we align the base as accurately as possible, removing part of the soil on the hills and pouring it in the lowlands. In the process of work, we constantly compact the soil, wetting its surface with water.

We calculate the depth of the base based on the height of the tile plus the height of the sand layer. Add a couple of centimeters to the resulting value for shrinkage. As a rule, the depth is 20-30cm. Do not forget to create the necessary slopes for water flow from the surface.

After leveling the base, we lay geotextiles ... It will prevent weeds from growing into the tile joints.

Pouring a sand pillow , spill it with water and ram. After that, we level its surface with a profile, leaning on pipes or beams installed at the required distance from each other.

Preparing the mixture from 1 part of cement and 3 parts of sand, which we spread on the base and screed with an I-beam or channel.
We start laying the tiles from the curb in the direction "away from you" ... We lay out the initial row clearly along the cord installed along the chamfer. In this case, you can use 1-2mm crosses to form seams of the same thickness. To ensure the required height, sand is poured or removed with a trowel, tamping it in the process. At the same time, do not forget to constantly monitor the quality of laying with a level and a mallet. If you need to dock the tile to other buildings, then if necessary, you can cut it with a grinder with an installed circle for working on stone.

After the last row is laid, fill the seams with a sand-cement mixture and fill them with water.

A curb installed along the edges of the sidewalk will prevent tiles from shifting and preserve the integrity of the structure. During operation, the sand from the seams can be washed out with water, so it will be necessary to add it periodically.

Garden path made of wood

Many summer residents are thinking about how to make garden paths out of wood, because this inexpensive and affordable material is always at hand. In addition, you can use not only the classic version in the form of installed cuts, but also install beautiful and functional paths in the country, for example, from such an improvised material as euro pallets.

The material for the cuts can be either a purchased log house or fallen trees from the grove, which is located next to the site. Making wooden garden paths at a low cost will help a chainsaw, which you do not have to buy if you can ask a friend for help.

To arrange the track, follow the instructions below:

We mark a place for the path and dig a trench 10-20 cm deep.
We lay the waterproofing, taking into account the overlap of not only the bottom, but also the slopes.
As a drainage, fill the bottom of the trench with rubble.
Pour a 10 cm layer of sand as a pillow under the cuts.
We install cuts, alternating thick logs with thin branches to fill the space as much as possible.
We fill up the gaps between the cuts with sand.

You can set the cuts in such a way that their upper part will rise 3-5 cm above the surface. A track of this type will be much less polluted by slush and rain.

In the video, you can often see how great a garden path made of wooden planks looks. But such material as Euro pallets is excellent for our purposes, and the cost of such material only includes its delivery to the site. At the same time, pallets are made of durable wood, which, when treated with antiseptics, can last for a long time.

To prepare the boards, they are cut into 50 cm pieces, polished, treated with a protective agent and painted or varnished. The flooring itself is performed according to the following algorithm:

Logs are made of wooden bars, which are fastened together with the same bars, using "half-tree" knitting.
Cover the structure with bitumen mastic, which will protect the frame from decay. The lower part of the boards is covered with the same mastic.
Plank the boards, leaving a gap of 10-20 mm between them for water drainage.
Additionally cover the track with varnish or paint.

When hammering in nails, try to sink their heads into the wood as deeply as possible. This will allow you to walk barefoot along the path without fear of injury.

Prices for forms and materials

Everything you need for arranging garden paths can be found in the corresponding sections of the Leroy Merlin store. Garden paths and other sections of the catalog contain hundreds of positions of the necessary tools and materials. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the rather democratic prices.

So, the cost of a mold for a garden path in Leroy is 507 rubles, which, you see, is quite inexpensive, given its reusable use. A concrete mixer, of course, will cost you more - a 120 liter unit has a price of 5690 rubles, but it will greatly facilitate concrete work.

Dyes for concrete

Dyes for concrete start at 603 rubles. for a 700 g can, while plasticizers can be bought for a minimum price of 149 rubles. for a container weighing 600 g. Shop consultants will be able to answer questions about how to make paths in the country with their own hands or tell about the peculiarities of using certain materials. A garden path form purchased from Leroy Merlin will save you quite a significant amount when arranging paths in your garden.

If you have not yet decided how to make a path in the country, look at the photo gallery located on our website. Interesting solutions using various methods of arranging garden paths will help you choose the best option, make the necessary edits to it and create your own unique design. And maybe soon a photo of your site will appear in the first lines of search results.

It is not properly decorated. The appearance of the entire territory, as well as the organization of economic affairs, will depend on how well they are made and how well they are located. You can make a path in the country house with your own hands from various materials. This article will consider different options for making such tracks. We hope the information provided in it will help you master one of the technologies and implement it on your site.

Before you start arranging the paths, you should draw a plan of the site, put all the buildings on it. Then it is necessary to depict the directions of the paths, taking into account the landings and buildings that are located on the territory of the dacha.

When designing trails, it is important to consider the amount of rainfall in your area. Sometimes, in order to avoid stagnation of water on the territory of the dacha, it is necessary to equip the drainage system. This should be taken into account, since excess water on paths made of wood, concrete and brick will render them unusable in a fairly short period of time.

In order for the paths in the garden to serve you as long as possible, it is important that there are no large trees near them. Therefore, so that the result of the work is presented to you more clearly at the planning stage, draw up a detailed plan-diagram of the dacha landscape. This will help you determine not only the directions of the paths / paths, but also the building material for their arrangement.

Almost all suburban paths are laid using the same technology. All work can be divided into several stages:

Site marking. It is performed using pegs and a cord. Garden paths will be laid along these lines.
Then the sod is removed along the entire length and width of the marked contours of the paths. The soil should be removed to the thickness of the sand cushion, which will serve as the basis for subsequent paving. In this case, the minimum thickness of the sand cushion, and, therefore, the depth of sod removal, should be 10 cm.
Sand is poured into the trench, and then well compacted and leveled.
Then the paving of the paths is performed. In this case, it is important that a flat plane is obtained. This parameter should be monitored using a building level.

The bulk type of path is the simplest and cheapest. Small chips from building stone / brick can be used as backfill. Before filling the path, you need to remove a small layer of turf along the width and length of the future path. Then the bottom must be tamped down and a pebble stone must be poured into it, which in this case serves as a pillow.

Then you should fill in small chips from building stone / brick. But if you want your path to have a more attractive appearance, then fill it with white or colored rubble. Lay out curbs along the contour of the path, for example, of larger stones.

Filled paths help to maintain stability in ice, and also dry quickly after rain. However, many fractions of the material with which the path was covered will quickly appear in the garden. In this, the fill paths are inferior to their concrete counterparts.

If you do not want to part with a short-cut lawn and do not imagine it is possible to cross this green carpet with paths and paths, then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with one tricky option. Before making this miracle track, you should purchase cement mortar and stock up on burdock leaves.

Knead the cement mortar M500 in a small container according to the manufacturer's instructions. So that the finished elements of the path do not soon crumble, add special plasticizers to the solution, as for paving slabs. Spread the thick mixture onto a burdock leaf, which in this case will serve as a pouring mold. Once the solution has set, you can remove the sheet.

Now you need to prepare a place for laying such an original decorative tile. Carefully peel off the sod layer so that a small indentation is formed for laying one tile. The rest of the tiles are laid in a similar way. This path is airy, light and harmonious along with the lawn. The attractive decorative leaf tiles are comfortable and safe to walk on, even in the rain.

Brick is a versatile material. If you have a sufficient amount of paving bricks on your site, then you can make a reliable path in a short time. Construction work in this case can be divided into 4 main stages:

Determination of boundaries, marking of paths, soil extraction.
Preparation of sand and gravel cushion.
Laying paving bricks.
Filling voids with sand.

The width of the trench for the track depends on the size of the brick and the pattern laid out from it. In this case, the minimum width of the path will be 0.9 m. Determine the boundaries of the path and mark them with pegs with a cord. Remove the sod and dig a shallow trench. In order for the curb to have an additional emphasis in the next 2 years, reinforce the edges of the trench with boards. After two years, you can pick them up, and fill the grooves with pebbles or gravel chips.

Prepare the base for laying bricks. Fill the bottom with coarse sand, distribute it along the length of the track and tamp it. Then fill in the gravel and follow the same steps. Then comes another layer of sand, which also needs to be distributed along the length of the track and tamped.

Now you can start laying bricks. Laying should start along the boards. In this case, the bricks should be slightly sunk in the sand, as shown in the photo. Correct the position of the brick with a wooden mallet. In this case, the bricks laid on the end will serve as a curb. Lay the bricks according to the intended pattern, slightly hammering them into the sand. Check the levelness of the plane of the track.

The gaps between the bricks must be filled with sand. To do this, carefully pour sand on the summer cottage paths until it is level with the bricks. Then water the path and sand the bricks again. In the next few days, you will be able to correct the position of the bricks.

Natural stone is one of the noble, expensive materials. The garden paths covered with it testify to the financial position and status of the owners of summer cottages. To create a sense of unity with nature, lay out stones of different sizes and shapes in the form of slabs. To do this, you will need a stone leveling and trimming pick and a grinder / grinder.

The construction of a stone path can be divided into several stages:

Carry out preparatory work, namely, determine the size of the path, remove the sod layer, make a sand cushion (cover the bottom with sand and tamp it).
Fit, trim, and sand the stone.
Place the stone on top of the sand cover, but do not secure it. Free cavities between stone tiles should be approximately the same - 15–25 mm.
Remove excess sand from under unevenly laid stone tiles, and then tap them every 60–70 cm with a rubber mallet.

In some cases, the stone is laid on a cement-sand mixture. It hardens in a short time, which only increases the strength of the path, which will serve you an order of magnitude longer. The voids between the stones are filled with soil or sand.

In the garden, paths made of paving slabs with a thickness of more than 60 mm look very good. This material meets the practical and aesthetic requirements of gardeners. The natural background of the cottage is best supported by a path of blue, red and yellow-sand tiles.

Materials and tools

From the materials you should purchase:

Edged board / saw cuts / garden parquet made of the most resistant to atmospheric precipitation and temperature changes.
Curbs made of wood, metal or concrete.
Materials for filling the pillow and the gaps between the elements of the path - sand, pebbles, gravel.
Roll and coating waterproofing.

From the tools you will need:

Roulette.
Hammer, mallet.
Chainsaw.
Hacksaw.
Shovel.
Electric planer.

First of all, as in previous cases, you need to mark the paths, remove the sod layer. The depth of the trench for laying the track should not exceed 40 cm, but it all depends on the material you choose for its device.

The bottom needs to be covered with roll-up waterproofing. This will eliminate the growth of weeds and grass and the ingress of moisture from the ground into the track elements. Fill the top of the waterproofing with a layer of sand / gravel, which will act as a drainage system and a base for installation.

The next step is to install the curbs. If the sides are provided at the basis of the structure, then they should be laid along the edge of the trench. After that, you can lay the finishing material - boards / timber / saw cut or garden parquet. Before that, however, you should cut the lumber to the desired length, and also carry out its processing, namely, the surface should be sharpened with an electric plane.

Then the workpieces must be coated with linseed oil, treated with an antiseptic specially designed for wood, as well as bitumen or coated waterproofing.

You can lay out lumber at intervals or without them. The distance between the lumber can be within 5–8 cm. Then the path must be leveled with a mallet. In this case, it is better not to use a hammer. The rubber base of the mallet eliminates the possibility of damage to the lumber in the form of cracks or dents.

The gaps between the wooden elements of the path should be covered with gravel, pebbles, sand or other loose elements.

The technology of laying a track from a saw cut

The paths from the saw cut look quite original. However, before deciding to lay such a path, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with some of its advantages and disadvantages.

Among the advantages of saw cut tracks, the following deserve attention:

Simplicity of arrangement.
The cheapness of the source material.
Possibility of self-styling.
They have a natural attractive appearance.
Environmentally friendly material is used.
It is possible, if necessary, to repair the track.
Puddles do not accumulate on them.
The ability to create a unique pattern, because all cuts are different.

Of the shortcomings, you should pay attention to the following:

Rotting susceptibility.
Any wood reacts to temperature changes, even one that is highly durable.
The need for care if you want your saw cut tracks to be attractive at all times.
The cuts become slippery after rain falls. However, this disadvantage can be leveled if the track is treated with a special compound.

To work you will need:

Cuts of a tree.
Sand, gravel, pebbles and water.
Mallet.
Shovel, brushes and buckets.
Geotextile or roll waterproofing.
Level.
Manual chainsaw.

In order for the cuts to be ready at the time of laying, they must be prepared in advance. When choosing wood, it is important to take into account the expected life of the finished track and the loads that will fall on it.

If you want your paths / paths to last you as long as possible, then give preference to hard types of wood. These include oak and pine. But the most durable is larch wood, which can last you more than 25 years.

When it comes to choosing wood, a lot depends on the budget that you have. Often, the materials that are available on the site are used as cuts for arranging paths.

Saw the log into cuts 15–20 cm high. The height of all workpieces must be the same. If you make cuts with a height of less than 10 cm, then there is a very high probability that the material will not be fixed in the ground and will shift when pressed.

The lifespan of the material will increase if you remove the bark that exfoliates in the first place. It is also not recommended to use cracked cuts, as the cracks will increase under load and soon the track will simply become unusable.

Treat the cuts with preheated linseed oil. Due to the temperature of the drying oil, at which it must be applied when performing these works, there is a high probability of injury. You can replace drying oil with antiseptic agents that provide moisture protection and biosecurity. In such a solution, the cuts should be kept from 2 to 48 hours.

Treat the bottom of the saw cut with bitumen. If you want to age wood, then treat it with a solution of copper sulfate. Then the material should be dried.

The marking and preparation of the base is carried out in the same way as when arranging paths made of wood. The only thing is that the depth of the trench should be determined based on the height of the cuts + 5–10 cm for laying crushed stone-sand cushion.

The curbs should be installed before starting the installation of the cuts. Curbs can be stones, bricks, long logs, bars, or sheet metal.

Now you need to fill in the second layer of sand. To compact the sand, you need to pour it with water, and then tamp it.

The order of installation of cuts is not of fundamental importance. You can form a pattern depending on the size of the saw cut and the preferences of the owner. Alternatively, you can lay the cuts so that there is a minimum space between them, or, conversely, leave a space between them, which is then filled with bulk material.

The only thing that is important to observe is to tamp the cuts, leveling them.

You can fill up the cuts with sand. Another option for backfilling is soil with seeds of ground cover plants. In addition, after laying the track, you can paint the cuts in bright colors or leave them as they are. You can also open them with a transparent, rain-resistant varnish.

Wood is quite whimsical and in order for it to serve as long as possible, it needs regular maintenance. To do this, clean the path with a metal scraper once a year. Then it must be treated with an antiseptic and covered with linseed oil or paint.

If necessary, replace the cuts that have become unusable, having previously treated the new elements of the path with antiseptics and bitumen from the lower side. Do not polish the ends of the logs, otherwise the path will be very slippery after rain.

Video

In the provided video material, you can visually familiarize yourself with the technique of making garden paths:

Schemes

The diagrams show the subtleties of making a garden path:

Arrangement and layout of the site provides for the creation of tracks. Moreover, the requirements for them are quite serious: they must be reliable, comfortable, functional, beautiful and, very desirable, inexpensive. We will talk about how to make garden paths with your own hands at low cost in this article.

What to make tracks from

Track coverage can be hard or loose. The following materials are used to create a hard coating:

Concrete... Concrete walkways are more than just plain gray tape. In addition to the fact that there are dyes and, if desired, you can decorate it. There are also molds for pouring in place. It turns out homemade paving slabs. Another option is to pour small concrete slabs of the required size on your own, then put them on a bedding. For examples of design, see the photo.
And everyone on the farm has molds for such a path - cut the water bottles into cylinders, place them as needed and fill them with solution: nice and cheap

Large pebbles as backfill and colored concrete slabs

Another option for laying homemade concrete slabs in a garden path

And this is a concrete track with expansion joints. If you look closely, you can see that stripes are applied across. This is to ensure that the wet surface is non-slip.

Another of the ready-made forms for homemade paving slabs

It looks attractive due to the border and non-linear shape

Simple concrete tape can be decorated to your liking

This is how they pave the path in the country or near the house using ready-made forms into which concrete mortar is poured
Flagstone. This is a natural stone that has been cut into plates. It is laid on a prepared base (more on this later), the gaps are filled with backfill. It turns out beautifully, reliably, non-slip. It is not for nothing that it is stone paths made of limestone that landscape designers love so much.

Backfill is one of the important elements that shape the appearance

In this form, the limestone path does not break the lawn, and it is convenient to walk

The color of the stone can be any

Quite nice paths made of old brick. And if the filling is done on the sides and in the seams, there will be beauty in general

These are two types of bricks - ceramic and chipped from granite.

Clinker brick path - beautiful, you can't say anything ... but maybe too beautiful for a garden?
Wood... Such a seemingly unsuitable material, but with proper processing, it can serve for a long time. Moreover, many do-it-yourself wood paths can be classified as low-cost. For example, they came up with the idea of \u200b\u200busing hemp and tree cuts as curbs or coverings. They also make a flooring from well-processed boards - better terraced, but if not, it will work from the old floor as well.

A structured tree can be a great path

This version of a wooden pavement for a summer residence

A properly treated tree can last for several years.

Combination with pebbles - comfortable to walk

Luxurious path for a site near the house

And this is how to make a path from boards
Plastic.There are tiles for garden paths made of plastic - polyethylene or polypropylene. It has a square shape and a system of locks that is attached to one another. It can be laid directly on top of the lawn or previously trodden in the country or on a section of paths. This option is fast and cheap. It can definitely be called "Low Cost". It is better, of course, to make a dump of rubble and sand according to the rules, and put plastic elements on top. It's already a little longer and more expensive. There is also an immodest, but very beautiful version of plastic tiles for paths. There is also "garden parquet". These are slabs or boards made of wood-polymer composite - WPC (they are in the photo, they look exactly like parquet). This material has appeared relatively recently. It looks and feels like wood, but in fact it is a mixture of wood flour and polymer. These are very beautiful coatings, but their cost is by no means modest. Although not fabulous.

A plastic path in the country or on a site is good because it can be done in a few minutes

Another type of plastic tile for paths

This is garden parquet. Gorgeous, but immodest

And another version of polymer tiles for garden droshky

And this is a bunch of plastic tiles for the garden
Pebbles. These are rounded natural stones that can be found on the banks of rivers or lakes. Flatter stones are more suitable for making paths. There are different shades of gray, black, white, sometimes you can find burgundy. From these stones, laid close to one another, mosaic paths of amazing beauty are obtained. But this is an occupation for the diligent and persistent. Those who lack patience can find large flat boulders or large pebbles and place them in the sand. It is not that luxurious, but no less reliable. You can do the same with granite or other similar stones. It is important that at least one face is relatively flat. Put this flat part up, bury the rest. The work is not easy, but it will be possible not only to walk, but also to ride along the path.

Different types of pebble paths

Large pebbles do not take so long to lay

Beautiful pebble paths in the garden.

Nice corners can be paved from large natural stone
Materials at hand. Country paths are made from old tires and bottles.

There are also paths with a poured surface: gravel or crushed stone. Their peculiarity is that with a small layer of 2-3 cm and with sufficient compaction, it is convenient to walk on them. If the layer is slightly larger, bumps are formed when walking, and such walking is tiring. Therefore, as you have seen in many photographs, gravel and crushed stone are used as backfill, in which rigid elements from other materials are laid. If done correctly, it is convenient: gravel conducts water well and puddles do not form. Those who do not like gray can be advised to paint it: many designers do this when organizing rockeries.

An example of a gravel track

Read about the secrets of site planning here.

How to make garden paths with your own hands

It is not enough to know what you can make garden paths with your own hands. You also need to know how to make them right so that she will serve more than one season or two. Laying different materials may differ slightly, but there are several rules and actions that are repeated in any technology.

First rule: when laying or shaping the pavement of the track, it is done with a slight slope. If the material allows, a slope of a few centimeters is made on both sides of the center. If, for example, a concrete path is poured, then the slope is formed in one direction - from the house, if it is nearby. The slope is made towards the lower part of the site if the track is located on a slope.

Section of a garden or country path

Second rule: any coating requires preparation of the base. If you put stones (for example) directly into clay or loam, it will be useful, of course - it will be definitely more convenient to walk, but the stones will "silt" after a while. They will simply be trampled into the clay. With a bedding device, this will take much more time. And if you also make a drainage pillow and a side, water drainage will be even more efficient, and everything will look even more beautiful.

A prepared base is required for the coating

Third rule: The pavement level should be a couple of centimeters higher than the adjacent area. Then the water will quickly drain, it will be more convenient to clean, and cleaning will be required less often: the washed out earth will not flow either during rains or during watering of flower beds, which are often done along the paths.

Read about how to make beautiful beds here.

Step-by-step instruction

When making garden paths with your own hands, start with the markings. In theory, the dimensions and shape should be plotted on the site plan, and the markup should take place according to the project. But more often than not, everything is done in place. To make the future track more clearly visible, its contours can first be covered with white sand or something similar. If the shape suits you, you can drive in the pegs and pull the twine between them, but you can also work on dumping.

A flower garden or flower bed can be placed along a beautiful path. Read how to do them here.

Do-it-yourself beautiful pebble path

If with flagstone, paving stones, bricks, everything is more or less clear - everyone has already seen and more than once how this is done, then it is not clear how to lay pebbles with patterns.

Photo instructions for making a limestone walkway

Below is a photo report on the process of making a pebble track. The main techniques are visible on it: lines are applied to the leveled sand, along which pebbles will be laid out. If these are arcs, they are made with a thread and two sticks / nails.

Paint on the sand

Picking up stones, they are laid out on the edge close to each other, slightly sinking them into the sand.

Place stones close to each other

A board is laid on the folded pattern, a rubber mallet is taken and knocked on the board, hammering pebbles into the sand. So the whole drawing is deepened, making sure that the edges of the pebbles are at the same height.

The stones "sink" into the sand

Take a mixture of sand and cement (sand 2 parts, cement 1 part) and fill in the gaps, leveling the layer with a brush.

Cover the finished pattern with a mixture of sand and cement

A fragment of a pebble path is carefully poured with water so that the backfill does not blur. Wait several hours for the cement to set a little, then remove the excess with a soft brush.

Excess concrete grout is removed with a brush

It is important not to miss the moment: the solution should not get dirty, but also become a stone. If you pick it up with your finger, it should crumble. It's time to clean off the excess.

Read about how to grow a green hedge in the article "Fence hedge: how to grow and shape"

A path of wooden hemp and gravel: video

Old logs or trees can be turned into a beautiful path. They are sawn into blocks of the required length, the face cut is ground, all the wood is first treated with a bio-protection composition (you can soak it with used oil). After drying, it is dipped in Kuzbass lacquer and dried again. Then the front parts of the hemp are covered with paint of the desired color - which will protrude outward. They dry it again and only then put it in the sand.

The process is described in detail in the video. It explains step by step how to make garden paths from hemp or logs with your own hands.

We make a concrete path on our own

The process is generally similar to the one described at the beginning. There are some differences, which we will talk about.

After the trench has been dug and the bottom is leveled, formwork is installed along it on both sides. These are boards from 25 mm thick (thicker is possible, thinner is undesirable, you can use plywood with a thickness of 16-18 mm, chipboard). Their height is the height of the track. If you are molding a slope, the boards should be aligned with it - one side a little higher, the other a little lower.

The formwork is set to a level - concrete will be leveled along it

To make the formwork, pegs are driven into the ground with a step of no more than 60 cm. Boards are nailed to them. It is better to smear the inner surface of the formwork with working off or other oil: so that they can be removed easily. Further, crushed stone is poured onto the bottom and rammed. But it is necessary to tamp thoroughly: if you walk along the bottom, there should be no traces.

Further, in order to prevent the path from cracking, a metal reinforcing mesh is laid on the crushed stone. Bar thickness - 4-6 mm, step 5-10 cm. It is sold in pieces, they must be tied together with steel wire.

Reinforcing mesh (note that the formwork is made of slate, it will not be removed)

Then, to compensate for the expansion in winter, you need to put wooden planks 1.5-2 cm thick. They are placed across the path, set so that the height of the planks is level with the formwork boards. Compensation bars are set at least every 2 meters. More often it is possible, less often it is not. Why do it more often? For beauty. Squares look better than long rectangles.

A concrete solution of a grade not lower than M-250 is poured into the finished frame (read about concrete grades and its preparation here). For him, take 1 part of cement, 3 parts of sand, 4 - crushed stone. Everything is mixed into a solution of medium fluidity (thick sour cream) and poured into the formwork. When pouring, make sure that no air bubbles remain. To remove them, the solution is pierced with a pin, shaking it slightly - bayonet. Ideal if there is a surface concrete vibrator - it quickly compacts the mortar, creating a perfectly flat surface. If it is not there, you will have to level it with the rule, using the edges of the formwork as beacons.

The approximate consistency of concrete

After a few hours, after the concrete has set, the surface can be processed. You can leave it as it is, you can brush it over it with a stiff brush, making transverse strips, you can finally put pebbles, stones, flagstone, etc. in a not completely hardened solution. It is not very economical, but reliable. After a couple of days, the formwork can be removed, and you can already walk along the path.

About what fences are and how to make them is written here.

Budget tire track

What is not done from car tires: flower beds, swings, ponds and ... paths. It's simple: you need to cut off the sidewalls of an old tire, leaving only the tread. How can you cut it off? Grinder. Someone contrives with a knife, but this is only if the cord is not metal.

Leave only the protector

The projector is cut across to form a path. Then cuts are made on the sides of 15 centimeters, depending on the diameter of the tire. They will make it possible to unfold the rubber.

Make cuts on the folded edges - the surface is still non-linear

In this form, it can already be laid on the beds. Will serve for many years. This one is like a low-cost garden path.

Such a coating will withstand many years of active use.

As you understand, there are a lot of options for how to make garden paths with your own hands. It is impossible to tell and describe about all of them, but we are trying ...

You can read about making a playground with your own hands here.