The first thing that, as a rule, is paid attention to those who crossed the gate of a suburban area or private territory, is a garden path.
The need for arrangement
It provides not only an aesthetic appearance of the landscape, but also allows you to conveniently use the territory. It is not always pleasant to walk on grass moist from rain or on clay soil. Do-it-yourself garden paths at a low cost can be done with ease. However, first you need to decide on the design features of this element.
Varieties
At different sites you can find all kinds of varieties of tracks, which are based on different materials. If we talk about garden paths, then they are a natural element of the territory. They are not specifically planned — they are usually simply stamped with their feet or compacted using garden equipment. If you decide not to make garden paths with your own hands, the forms of which can be very diverse, but just leave the trampled path, then you should consider all its disadvantages. Among them, one can distinguish the formation of dirt after heavy rain, overgrowing with weeds, as well as constant puddles. Therefore, such an element can be used only temporarily. If there is a desire, the path can be ennobled, for this, cobblestones, curbs or paving slabs that remain from the laying of the parking place are laid at the edges.
Base tracks
If you will equip garden paths with your own hands, at low cost there is the opportunity to carry out these works. To do this, it is necessary to slightly modernize the above kind of path. At the initial stage, a ditch breaks out, the depth of which is 100 millimeters. At its bottom should be laid geotextiles, whose density is 150 grams per square meter. The sides of the canvas can be strengthened with a border tape. Now pebbles, screenings, marble chips or gravel will be used, depending on what you have left after building the house. One of these materials must be filled to the bottom. If this option seems unnecessarily simple, then on the surface you can lay slabs made of natural stone or concrete, which can be arranged in an orderly or chaotic manner. In order to ensure ease of movement, slabs must be recessed in the backfill. Thus, these materials should end up on the same level with the surface of the earth.
Filling tracks
If you want to lay out garden paths with your own hands at low cost, then you should definitely think about what kind of loads the surface will undergo during operation. If they turn out to be impressive, then it is important to make the coating as durable as possible. In this case, the base must be concrete, while decorative elements in the form of natural stone, tile or paving stones will be laid on the surface . Well, if you have all these materials in stock, this will exclude the acquisition of a new coating and give free rein to imagination. As a result, the site will take on a natural look. When arranging an object, it is best to manipulate so that the surface rises above the ground by 70 millimeters. This eliminates the erosion of sediment soil sediment.
Making a path from wood saw cuts
If you want to equip garden paths with your own hands made of wood cuts, it will turn out to make the path the most budgetary and attractive in appearance. Today, this approach is considered very popular. In addition to saw cuts, you can use wooden blocks. If you have to work in a dry climate, then it is permissible to use not only wooden blocks, but also thick boards, which can be purchased at a low cost in a building materials store. It is best to choose hard rock. For work, it is necessary to prepare segments of the same length, this indicator should be equal to 100 centimeters. Width and thickness should be equivalent to 30 and 20 cm, respectively. Further, the workpieces are laid on sand or gravel.
Features of the work
If you will make garden paths with your own hands using this technology, reviews should be considered in advance. Home masters emphasize that when using the bars they must be treated with fuel oil or a special substance that can protect the material from decay and moisture. To do this, liquid asphalt can be applied to the underground surface of the bar, in some cases, traditional sand preparation is arranged instead. If you decide to use such a combined coating in your work, then it is recommended to start and carry out the process in the fall, this is due to the fact that in winter the soil settles, due to this you will be able to achieve a natural ramming.
If there are fallen old trees on the territory, then you can make an excellent path out of them. DIY garden paths with low cost can be formed. To do this, the trunks need to be cut into separate parts, and the resulting elements, which will be saw cuts, should be used during the manipulation. Equally good, such an exterior element will look near flower beds or near a lawn. In the work not only thick trunks, but also massive branches can be used. With the saws formed from them, it will be possible to fill large elements. If you decide to make garden paths with your own hands at low cost, the dimensions of such elements should be thought out in advance. However, it is important to comply with the technology of work. In order to extend the shelf life of wooden products, they are treated with hot linseed oil from all sides. Such a procedure should be carried out in two approaches. Between the cut and the ground, it is necessary to lay a geotextile cloth, which is sometimes replaced by polyethylene.
Arrangement of paving slabs
Quite often, owners of private and country houses have paving slabs after arranging a parking space for a car. In order to use any materials on the farm, excluding their settlement in the barn, these products can be used to equip a functional garden path. For work, you should prepare a wooden mallet, pegs, construction level, rake, watering hose, hand rammer, rubber mallet, trowel, rope, broom, and also a channel.
The example uses paving slabs with a thickness of 50 or 60 millimeters. You can apply for these purposes a curb stone, which will further ennoble the appearance of the path. Prepare crushed stone, the fraction of which can vary from 20 to 50 millimeters. He also quite often remains after construction work.
Do-it-yourself garden paths from improvised materials, photos of which are presented in the article, are made using dry building mix for plaster, which can be replaced with cement grade M400 or M500. You will need geotextiles and sand.
Technology of work
The first step is planning. It involves the creation of a scheme, the definition of the styling method and the shape of curly products. The next step is to do the markup. If you want to ensure the correct installation, then it will be important for you to carry out these actions with the highest accuracy. To do this, use a rope, tape measure and pegs.
DIY garden paths from improvised materials, photos of which are presented in the article, are made using marking tools, this will correctly determine the boundaries of the future path. After the marking is completed, the foundation should be prepared. To do this, the soil is cut to a depth of 20 cm. If the soil is clay, then drainage may be required.
In the next step, a gravel or sand cushion is created. You will need to pour in concrete screed. Between rubble and sand, geotextiles are laid, which allows you to make the structure more durable. When garden paths are equipped with your own hands from improvised materials, then using paving slabs, you need to lay the top layer, which will consist of a dry building mixture. It can be prepared independently using cement and sand. The layer of the mixture should have a thickness within 4 cm. The surface is well leveled with a channel and a rake.
Laying tiles
When installing sidewalk products, it is necessary to move away from yourself, which will eliminate the damage to the laid foundation. Products should be mounted most tightly, the gap between them should be equal to 2 millimeters. Each product must be rammed with a wooden mallet. When garden paths are made with their own hands, the shapes of such elements of a landscape plot can be very diverse. However, the surface must be aligned with the building level. A rubber mallet should be used to fit individual elements. Whole products should be used first, only then the missing items must be laid.
Concrete track
If you want to lay out garden paths with your own hands at low cost from concrete, then the preparation of the base should be carried out according to the above technology. However, after laying the pillow, it is necessary to install the formwork, as well as lay the fittings. Next, concrete mortar is poured, as well as its surface leveling. In the process of drying the monolith, it is necessary to cover it with wet burlap and water it every day. This is especially true for those tracks that were built in hot weather.
Plastic Bottle Path
Do-it-yourself garden paths made of plastic bottles can be made. To do this, use the technology that was described above. It is about wooden saw cuts. The process remains unchanged, but instead of wood, plastic containers will be used, which are installed upside down. As a result, it is possible to get a track with a very unique appearance.