Manufacture of paving slabs with your own hands: highlights

A beautiful paving path made of multi-colored tiles perfectly complements the landscape design of a country house or villa. To date, the choice of materials used for paving yards and pedestrian alleys, is very diverse, so finding suitable samples is not difficult. But there are cases when tiles are required very little, and the delivery of building materials for the city is not cheap, regardless of the quantity of the ordered goods. In this situation, it is very important to manufacture paving slabs with your own hands. Let's consider the basic moments of the problem resolution.

Required materials and tools

Sidewalk tile is a frozen concrete block, the solution of which is prepared from a mixture of cement and sand. The ratio of ingredients depends on the brand of cement. So, for M-400 the ratio 1: 3 is taken, and for M-500 it is necessary to observe the proportion 1: 4. Also, the manufacture of paving slabs with their own hands provides for the use to reinforce the strength of the reinforcing mesh or gravel of coarse fraction.

The following tools are required for the work:

• Dimensional capacitance;
• Batching tank - in case of manual solution preparation, you can take a usual small bath. However, with a large amount of work, it is better to buy a concrete mixer;
• Blade and spatula for leveling;
• Forms for tiles - on sale there are special capacities for pouring or they can be made independently.

Making tiles with their own hands allows you to decorate the samples with a variety of drawings. Be creative, and such a tile will surprise all your friends and acquaintances, because it will be different in originality and freshness of decisions. And it's quite easy to do this, you just need to add special dyes to the solution.

How to make shapes

Homemade forms will save you money, but you only need to make the right geometric configuration. As a rule, this is a square, a diamond, a hexagon, etc. To perform such an article, you can use wooden bars measuring 5 x 5 cm and slats of small thickness. In principle, anyone can make a mold for a tile, as this process does not require certain skills and abilities. First you need to draw a drawing of the model you have conceived, then cut out the beams by drawing and fasten them with usual nails. On the outside of the part you need to additionally secure it with racks (for stiffness). Extract the final product from such containers easily, it is enough just to bend off the nails in one of the fastenings.

Order of work

The manufacture of paving slabs with their own hands provides the following order of work:

1. Prepare a solution of these materials, while the amount of water is added in such a way that a viscous mass is obtained. You can check the correctness of the batch by laying out the solution in a small container and leveling it. If the water plays a little, then the ratio is right.
2. Carry out the mixing of concrete mix - manually or in a concrete mixer.
3. Forms should be lubricated with a special compound so that the finished tiles are quickly removed. For plastic containers, you can use machine oil (applied in a thin layer), and for wooden it is better to use a soap solution.
4. Pour the mixture into molds, put them on a level surface for aging. First poured 1/3 of the volume of the mold, then you need to put the reinforcement and fill the container with the mixture to the top.
5. During the mold hardening, it will be necessary to shake from time to time to remove air from the solution.
6. Cover the forms with polyethylene film and leave to dry for 48 hours.
7. Carefully remove the finished products from the molds and leave to dry for another two weeks in a well-ventilated place.

The manufacture of paving slabs with your own hands will allow you to decorate your suburban area, because neat beautiful paths, framed by picturesque greenery or a hedge - this is the dream of every summer resident. At the same time you can achieve stunning results, it is only necessary to call for help fantasy.