Friends, in this photo collection of ideas for summer cottages, I would like to introduce you to 35 economy options for their design. Budgetary does not mean bad, because even without a large amount on hand, you can create an ideal site and equally ideal paths and paths at your dacha.
We all know that old paving stones and bricks left over from buildings usually go to landfill. But if you clean them, put them in their proper form, then with such materials you can pave all the paths in the country.
Simple stone pebbles, found in abundance in rivers, can also become the basis of your dacha economy track. Here we add rectangular cement stepping slabs and get a beautiful, gracefully curved path.
Returning to the bricks, I would like to note the red clay pre-revolutionary brick, this is just a treasure! And if you pave your paths with this material, then your path will last more than one century. Previously, bricks were made conscientiously.
Also, crushed stone in a mix with cement rectangular stepping blocks can serve as an excellent option.
A brick fight can also serve as the basis of a budget track, the main thing is to beautifully dock it together, to make some kind of a common canvas.
Round stepping blocks can also look beautiful, which can be positioned both as a passage through a pond and simply on a lawn. The basis is cement and the remains of building materials.
The boundaries of brick paving can be uneven, this will give your economy path a special decorative effect.
Sometimes you can buy a slab of limestone at a fairly attractive price, and from it you can already make a real work of country art on a cement basis.
With a grinder on hand, you can cut the old brick into squares and create a combination of rectangular and square blocks.
An original solution for the design of a path in the country can be a brick border and a central bulk from crushed stone.
I deliberately do not show absolutely dubious options for economy tracks from boards, after all, there must be some kind of rationality. In those areas where stone is found in abundance, even ideas such as in the photo above can be carried out without any investment at all.
It is important to understand that even flagstone can be found at an affordable price, there would be a mood.
Returning to the old red brick, it can be "obtained" from the ruins of the former collective farm farms. Or it is cheap to buy from stalkers - villagers who trade in the dismantling of these buildings.
Well, river pebbles can be washed in any rivulet or stream, not at one time, but there is a lot of such material on the rifts.
And I consider cement stepping paths from squares to be the easiest way to create a design in the country.
Even imitation of flagstone is obtained from simple cement with some artistic taste.
Various dyes mixed into the cement will add completeness and attractiveness to your economy lane.
If you have a large tree on your site, then for a couple of seasons you can make paths from the cuts of this tree. Nice and economical.
By combining fragments of limestone and small rubble, you can get just such a stylish summer cottage path.
You can sow a lawn between the slabs to add artistic appeal to your walkway.
In general, I would recommend sowing a lawn to all unoccupied territories in a summer cottage. Clipped grass is better than dirt, I think!
An interesting idea - the base of the path is made of cement, and the decor is made of flat large pebbles on top.
In some cases, even impregnated boards can be a wonderful option for a dacha economical track. The same applies to timber and old logs, only they will have to be pre-processed.
Etc. For the time being, it is convenient for us to run on them, but the rainy season begins, so what? .. We have to urgently look for old rubber boots somewhere in the attic, or even put on grandmother's galoshes. Disorder!
Let's take a look at ways to create solid garden paths that will last for more than a dozen years, and they will look much more beautiful than the old cozy, but such unsightly paths.
There are a lot of ready-made solutions for the construction of garden paths. What kinds of species you will not find on sale now! It's just that my eyes run up. But for summer residents with not very high incomes, the price of such material is very "biting")) Therefore, let's look at simple and economical ways to make paths in the country with our own hands from improvised material.
What to pave with?
The question immediately arises: what to pave with? A very successful design trick is to build garden paths from the same material from which a country house or summer house is built. Moreover, you probably have the remains of building material:, or. For example, if the basement of a house is faced with white stone, then lay out the paths that "run away" from the house into the garden with a stone, and then the stone can be replaced with paving stones, or something else. If yours is a country house, then in the design of a garden path with your own hands it is good to use a combination of wooden beams with stone, porcelain stoneware slabs or gravel. And a solid brick path will be combined with a brick house, only brick for garden paths you need to use paving clinker, because the usual building one will fall apart in a couple of years. In general, look around and be smart))DIY concrete path
Many summer residents, without further ado, build monolithic concrete paths. Strong, but so dull ... However, concrete paths can also be refined: beautifully decorate them at the time of construction with colored mosaics, pieces of ceramic tiles or. And it is very simple to build such paths with your own hands in the country.
- Having noted the width and length of the track, its bed is deepened by 8-10 cm.
- Then sprinkle it with sand to a height of 5-6 cm, compact the sand well and spill it with water.
- After that, along the entire length of the bed of the track, frames are mounted, knocked down from wood or plywood, leaving a distance of 5-7 cm between them. The width of the frame should correspond to the width of the track. The most optimal and easy-to-use size of a wooden frame for concreting: 60x60 cm.
- Then the frames are poured, and when it dries slightly, decorative elements are beautifully laid out on top (you can even use an ordinary shell rock).
- After the paths are completely dry (2-3 days), the ground between the slabs is planted with unpretentious lawn plants. That's all)) - the concrete path is ready with your own hands.
DIY garden paths from boards
The best material for creating a wooden walkway is non-decaying wood.
- Wooden paths are usually lifted off the ground, strengthening them on solid massive beams, treated with a special composition against decay.
- And the beams, in turn, are installed on a layer of gravel (5-6 cm).
- Gravel pre carefully align all over the garden path bed.
- The flooring is not done end-to-end, but with an interval of 1-2 cm between the boards to provide a kind of "ventilation")) Thus, the boardwalk will last much longer.
DIY garden paths from wooden chocks
You can also create a garden path from wood blocks or cross-sections of thick trees that have been pretreated to prevent decay.
For this:
- On a pre-planned bed, the paths are dug with a trench 5-6 cm deep more than the height of the chocks or wooden "round".
- The bed is covered with gravel (2-3 cm), then with sand (2-3 cm), carefully tamped, watered abundantly and the chocks are set as tightly as possible in the bed.
- After that, gravel is poured into the gaps in half with sand and again watered abundantly.
1. In the bed of the track, chocks are tightly installed:
We install chocks in the box. Photo from the siteinvestrussia-2012.com
2. Align the chocks in height using a sledgehammer: 
Align in height. Photo from the siteinvestrussia-2012.com
3. Finished garden path, where the chocks are already covered with compacted gravel and sand: 
Result. Photo from the siteinvestrussia-2012.com
Garden paths based on curly shapes: master class
This pretty do-it-yourself garden path was built using durable pre-made polystyrene molds that are readily available everywhere.
The forms themselves for the garden path may look like this:
Their cost varies from 160 to 900 rubles. You and I will need at least 4 identical shapes.
You can choose the appropriate forms using our market, where products from different online stores are presented. ...
Form for paving slabs Flower
249 rbl
WATCH
Russian Vegetable Garden
Form for paving slabs Wave
189 rbl
WATCH
Russian Vegetable Garden
Form hormusend clinker stone lv-kk-005
878 rbl
WATCH
All instruments are new
No brand Form for garden paths 60x60 cm
799 rbl
WATCH
OBI
Operating procedure:
1. First, determine the location and width of the garden paths using pegs and rope. Here I want to note: such shapes, like puzzles, easily adjoin each other, and the size is, as a rule, 60x60 cm, which is quite enough for a narrow garden path. If you want to build a track wider - 1.2 m, then fold the two forms not along, but across the bed.2. Now arm yourself with a shovel and dig a trench 8-10 cm deep along the intended bed. Tamp the earth well. For this, it is better to use an electric vibrator; you can also tamp the earth by hand, but it will take a lot of effort. Pour a layer of rubble or pebbles (3-4 cm) into a well-rammed trench, and pour river sand (5-6 cm) on top. Before placing the mold, sprinkle the sand with plenty of water using a spray hose. Then grease the molds with machine oil (in the absence of, you can use ordinary vegetable oil) and set them on wet sand.
Form in the trench. Photo from the site sameto.com.ua
3. Prepare the mortar: cement - 1 part, sand - 3 parts and crushed stone - 4 parts. Add a special binding mixture for the foundation and, adding water, begin to stir the solution, bringing it to the consistency of thick sour cream. And so that your garden path with your own hands shines with multi-colored paints, add the dye of the desired color to the solution.
Preparing the solution. Photo from the site sameto.com.ua
4. Then fill the molds with a trowel to the brim, avoiding air bubbles, and then remove the excess solution with a previously prepared plastic rail (for this purpose, you can make an iron one).
Fill in the solution. Photo from the site sameto.com.ua
The solution "grabs" in 30-40 minutes, the forms can be carefully removed, transferred further along the path of the future path and repeat the procedure. Molds are removed from semi-baked cement quite easily (unless, of course, you forgot to lubricate them))
We remove the form. Photo from the site sameto.com.ua
5. Until the solution is completely dry, you can decorate the path with pieces of colored tiles, porcelain stoneware, beautiful stones or other material. You just need to press the decorations a little into the cement, and after the mortar has completely dried, they will stick very tightly.
Now the most difficult phase of the work remains)) - to protect your newly created masterpiece from the encroachments of pets or the pampering of children, because the cement mortar will completely dry out only after 2-3 days, and even then - subject to sunny weather. Therefore, think over "defensive measures", put up signs with the inscription or temporary fences.
As you can see, building a beautiful garden path with your own hands is not at all difficult. True, you will have to work wonderfully)) But after all, you create convenience and beauty for yourself, and not for one year, so you should show diligence and imagination in order to ultimately enjoy the fruits of your work. Good luck to you!
You may also find the following publications useful:
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 water bottles into cylinders, place them as needed and fill them with a 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 keep the wet surface 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
There 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 self-made wood paths can be classified as low-cost. For example, they came up with the idea of using 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.
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. This is 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 option for 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, into 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 longer. 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.
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 from wooden hemp and gravel: video
Old logs or trees can be turned into a beautiful path. From sawn into blocks of the required length, the face cut is polished, 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 strips 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. It can be left 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.
Neat paths, gracefully winding between green spaces and landscaping, are an essential attribute of any garden. So, if you want your site to be truly well-groomed and complete, in no case should you neglect the paths. Fortunately, for their arrangement, you do not need to spend fabulous sums and attract professional designers - you can make beautiful paths with your own hands, seriously saving both on materials and at work. How? There are many answers to this question, because there are a huge number of types of garden paths that can be laid at low cost. Next, we offer you instructions for the most popular options with accompanying photos and videos - having familiarized yourself with them, you will definitely be able to effectively ennoble your site.
Original path from wood cuts
Wooden round timber is a very simple but original material for garden paths. Raw materials for them can be found at every site - for sure there will be old trees everywhere, which it would be time to replace with new seedlings. It is advisable to use larch or oak - they are the most resistant to external influences, which means they can boast of a long service life. The cuts path is made according to the following scheme:
Advice. In order to protect the track from moisture and increase its durability, equip the simplest drainage - pour a layer of fine gravel between the sand cushion and the cuts.
Sturdy stone paths
One of the most durable garden paths is natural stone. Here you can use cobblestone or rubble - they are equally durable. The path is laid as follows:
- Mark the garden path.
- Remove the top layer of the drain from the area where the path is planned to be laid. The depth of this layer should be 7-10 cm deeper than the height of the largest stone prepared for the path.
- Fill the resulting trench with a 10 cm layer of sand, carefully level it and tamp it.
- Lay the stones alternately on the sand cushion, pressing them firmly into the base. The distance between small stones should be no more than 2-3 cm, and between large ones - up to 8-10 cm.
- Carefully fill the remaining gaps with cement mortar. When the walkway grabs, backfill the seams with earth or fine sand to make them look more natural.
Classic concrete paths in the country
Concrete is a traditional material for laying paths, which is always popular due to its cheapness and ease of use. Everyone can definitely make a cast track:
- Mark the boundaries of the path - drive in the pegs along its contour and pull the wire between them.
- Within the indicated contours, dig a small trench - up to 30 cm deep.
- Place a 5 cm layer of gravel and an equal layer of sand on the bottom of the base. Tighten the resulting pillow.
- Cover the base with a chain-link or any other thin metal mesh.
- Install lumber formwork along the perimeter of the future walkway.
- Prepare a grout: 1 part dry cement, 1.5 parts sand, 2 parts gravel and 1 part water.
- Pour in a cent and evenly, with vibrating movements, use a spatula to spread the composition over the entire area of the track. During installation, pierce the mixture with a twig to eliminate voids.
- Using the rule, complete the final leveling of the path and cover it with plastic.
In 3-4 days the track will be ready. All the while, do not forget to gently wet it with water to protect the concrete from cracking and give it maximum strength.
Advice. To make the path more interesting, even before the concrete mix finally sets, "drown" various decorative stones, glass or shells in it.
Budget garden paths made of tires
Transport tires have long been widely used in the dacha economy: they make flower beds, ponds, swings, and now also garden paths. This trend is not surprising, given the operational characteristics of the material: tires are resistant to moisture and temperature extremes, easy to clean, slip-resistant and durable. You can equip a garden path from them as follows:
- Use a knife to divide the tires into two parts: rolling tracks and sidewalls. To make the knife easier to enter the rubber, lubricate it regularly with oil or soap.
- Cut ribbons from the resulting rings. Adjust them to length and trim the edges.
- Take wide wooden boards and carefully nail the rubber bands on them so that they completely cover the wood - there should be no empty gaps between the elements.
- Remove the top layer of soil no more than 5 cm deep along the entire length of the future path and press wooden planks into the base. If desired, the rubber can be painted.
Country paths made of brick
Another traditional material for garden paths is brick. It is recommended to use clinker products, as they are characterized by high resistance to all kinds of chemical and mechanical influences. It is important that the bricks are intact and without chips, otherwise the path will turn out to be not only unaesthetic, but also unsafe.
The track is laid in this way:
- Mark the path: drive a peg around the perimeter and pull a rope between them.
- Dig a trench along the marked contour - up to 25-35 cm deep.
- Place block or plank restraints along the trench.
- Cover the space between the restraints, that is, the "body" of the path, with a 10 cm layer of gravel and compact it carefully. Lay a layer of sand no more than 5 cm high on top.
- Remove the restraints and make curbs in their place: on both sides of the path, lay one row of bricks in the "on the edges" position.
- Form the inner space of the walkway out of bricks: lay them in their usual position, gently tapping them with a wooden spatula or rubber mallet so that they sit down.
Advice. The bricks do not need to be stacked close to each other - to give the track a more original look, leave small gaps and fill them with pebbles. In addition, you do not even need to close the gaps - after a while, grass will sprout in them and decorate the path.
Multi-format wooden paths
Wood is one of the most fertile materials for making garden paths, as it can be used in completely different forms. Consider two common options: plank tracks and bark tracks.
Site preparation in both cases looks the same:
- mark the path and remove the top soil - about 20 cm;
- lay geotextiles on the resulting trench;
- sprinkle a 10 cm layer of gravel on top.
Further, the technologies diverge. So, if you are making a path from boards, prepare the constituent elements: adjust them in length and width and treat with an antiseptic. If you want, you can give them a sinuous shape. Further along the edges and in the center of the trench along its entire length, install plank supports and fix them with cement mortar. The final stage is to nail the already prepared planks to the props.
If you want to build a path from bark, make sure that the material is strong - it should not crumble. Be sure to treat the bark with an antiseptic. Before fixing the material in the trench, lay a sand cushion on its base, and then drown the bark in it.
Garden paths from tiles
Although the tile cannot be called a very cheap material, it is still used very often for the manufacture of garden paths. There are several reasons for this: aesthetic appearance, good performance and ease of working with the material. In the latter, you will be convinced by the technology of laying a track from a tile:
Now you know many interesting ways to make a garden path with your own hands at low cost. By following simple instructions, you can implement any of the above options on your site, so feel free to get to work and discover new possibilities for improving your garden area.
Garden paths in the country: video
DIY garden paths: photo
Gone are the era of labor exploits on their six hundred square meters, received from the state. People go to the dacha to rest, well-groomed beds have become a hobby, dacha houses made of block containers are less and less common, and even those that exist are already being done professionally. But the arrangement of paths in the country remains relevant to this day, regardless of the size of the house or estate.
Factors on which styling depends
The choice of this or that type of structure largely depends on the composition and moisture level of the soil, and the climatic zone in which the site is located also plays an important role. With high humidity or severe winters, the pillow under the road flooring will have to be made more solid and dense. Otherwise, the entire structure may warp from frost heaving or subsidence of wet soil.
As for the material for the road surface itself, then everything is not simple here either. On unstable soils, it is advisable to use heavy materials such as concrete blocks, paving slabs or concrete screed. In a warm climate or on dry soils of the Non-Black Earth Region, concreting of paths at the dacha is no longer necessary, here the range of materials is much wider.
Preparing a project
It is better to think over the general plan of laying the coating in advance, of course, you can dismantle and shift it, but why do so much unnecessary work. It would be wise to draw a general site plan with a breakdown by sector and functional area. After that, depending on the workload of a particular sector, you can determine the width of the paths.
When choosing a material, it will be useful to think about the functional purpose of the sector. For example, it is advisable to make the paths connecting the barbecue area and the summer kitchen monolithic, since your guests will gather here, and high female heels do not like gravel paths in the country.
Tip: parallel-perpendicular lines visually reduce the area.
Therefore, if you want to achieve volume, it will be wise to equip the winding paths.
The only place where a straight line will be appropriate is the path from the gate to the threshold of the house.
Path width
As for the width, this is the most sore spot for household summer residents. In an effort to save usable space, people try to make the paths as narrow as possible, without thinking about usability. As a result, in order to walk along such paths, you need to have the skills of a circus tightrope walker, not to mention how convenient it is to miss them.
The most suitable option for frequently used paths would be a width of 1 - 1.2m. Do not be alarmed - not much, most often it is a connection with a summer kitchen or a playground. The rest of the paths are considered auxiliary and on them a width of about 50 cm is enough.
Important: if the toilet is taken out into the street in the country, then, as a rule, it is located at a distance from the house and the path leading to it must be wide enough and reliable.
As mentioned earlier, the choice of material and, accordingly, do-it-yourself installation instructions depend on many factors, we will focus on the most popular and practical options.
Paving slabs
Recently, this is the most popular coating not only for narrow paths, but also for the local area.
Paving slabs are good for everyone, but if you compare them with other materials, then the price for them, as a rule, will be higher.
- The laying technology will be standard here.... Initially, the soil is removed for arranging the pillow. The depth of the filling is determined depending on the soil. For a dry base, 100 - 150 mm of sand filling is sufficient. Wet and heaving soils will require deepening up to 300 - 350 mm. The base must be tamped.
- After that, the so-called beacons are installed at the edges.... This is the cord that will determine the height of the topcoat. It is convenient to use metal pins, between which a fishing line or a nylon cord is pulled tightly.
Important: any surface should be several centimeters above the soil level, if this advice is neglected, then after a few rains your path will be covered with mud.
- Paving slabs come complete with curbs... The curbs play the role of formwork and are laid in such a way that the upper cut of the curb is 10 - 15 mm lower than the sidewalk. This is necessary so that the water flows freely from the path.
- Further, it is recommended to lay a layer of geotextile or technical polyethylene, it will protect the coating from germination of grass... For wet areas, the filling is done in two layers. The first drainage layer is filled with gravel or crushed stone by 150-200 mm and well compacted. Sand is poured onto it to a level of 50 - 70 mm, which is also compacted and leveled.
- The tiles are laid with a rubber mallet... In the process of laying, you need to carefully monitor the slope. It can be done from the center to the sides or only in one direction, and for 1m of laying width, a 10 - 20 mm slope is enough. After finishing the installation, the surface is sprinkled with sand to fill the gaps between the tiles.
Use of concrete
The concrete path in the country is considered one of the most durable and reliable. There are several ways to arrange it. On difficult soils, it is advisable to pour a reinforced concrete screed.
You can put plastic paths to the cottage on it. Also, any blocky material, or leave it as it is, will not be very attractive aesthetically, but it will last for decades.
Another option for concreting paths in the country is to lay factory-made or do-it-yourself concrete blocks. Homemade concrete blocks are very popular now. For production, you will need a cement-sand mortar, steel wire for reinforcement with a cross section of 3 - 6 mm and a plastic mold, which can be bought at any garden store.
The mortar is made on the basis of M400 or M500 cement. The proportions of the filling correspond to the concrete of the M300 brand. 1 part cement, 2 parts sand and 3 parts crushed stone or gravel. But if you want to make a perfectly flat and at the same time strong and durable slab, then it is better to use a ready-made mixture, sand concrete of the M300 brand.
The form lies on a smooth surface, reinforcement is laid and poured with mortar. You can take off the form in 1 - 2 days. The concrete should be wetted regularly for 2 weeks. Although the fortress builds up within a month, the blocks can be laid and operated in a week.
Before cementing the track in the country, you need to lay a sand and gravel cushion and mount a light reinforcement cage. The pit and the pillow are arranged according to the same rules as the base for paving slabs. Excessively powerful reinforcement is not required, a rod with a cross section of 6 - 8 mm is enough.
Natural stone covering
For paths in the garden, slate is usually taken. It is the easiest to handle, plus in the economy version you will not need a thick bedding cushion. The most difficult thing is to do it yourself with paving stones or other solid stone covering.
For the installation of paving stones, soil up to 350 mm is selected. The bottom layer is necessarily gravel filling, on which, after tamping, a layer of clean sand is poured. The last is a layer of dry cement-sand mixture, about 20 mm thick.
Stone blocks should be tightly laid according to the same principle as paving slabs, but after installation, the surface is watered. Due to this, the cement-sandy composition is set, forming a solid, monolithic layer.
Important: any material that, according to the technology, must be laid on a sandy or sandy-gravel base, is mounted with the obligatory use of any curbs or formwork. Otherwise, there is a danger of erosion of the free-flowing base and destruction of the coating.
Natural wood
If in the design of the landscape there is an emphasis on the ecological style, then it would be appropriate to make paths in the country from wood. Of course, wooden paths in the country are not very durable, they often last no more than 10 years, but for the sake of such beauty, you can make certain sacrifices.
As is known in the past, the streets of Russian cities were lined with wood. At the dacha, it is expensive and not practical to mount platforms from edged boards. Cross sections of tree trunks of different sizes will look more impressive.
Naturally, it is better to take wood of strong varieties. The height of the block can range from 50 to 250 mm. The wood must be preliminarily treated with a strengthening compound that will prevent decay and protect it from pests. The cheapest way is to soak for a while in engine oil.
A small pit is also made under the wooden cuts, in which a gravel pad is poured to improve drainage. A 50 mm dump is enough. If the path is made with clear boundaries, then curbs are installed, and the space between the blocks is covered with gravel or chips.
Lightweight options
The most economical and at the same time durable option is considered to be gravel filling. But before filling the road in the country, you need, as in most previous options, to make a small pit, 50 - 70 mm is enough.
Note!
In this case, formwork or curb is also required.
Brick works well.
Both the soil and the backfill should be well compacted.
Another lightweight option is considered to be plastic paths to the country. These are thick corrugated shields made of special plastic.
For their installation, soil is selected along the width of the shield and a brick is laid on the edge along the edges of the pit. Gravel is poured into the middle and rammed. The shields themselves are fixed from above with special metal brackets.
Advice: A modern construction site is unthinkable without power supply, and if the stationary network has not yet been connected, renting a diesel generator for a summer residence can greatly help out.
You don't have to stir the mortar or file the path stones by hand.
The video in this article shows interesting moments of editing tracks.
Output
As a conclusion, I would like to note that the arrangement of paths in the country, only at first glance, is not a vital necessity. Seasoned summer residents will understand me, and those who doubt can wait until the first heavy downpour.
Excellent article 0