How to put paving stones with your own hands and what material to choose? Today, paving stones are becoming increasingly popular because of their strength, durability, modernity and a number of advantages, which include convenience, maintainability, environmental friendliness and durability. This coating is perfect for paving the sidewalk, walkway or country courtyard, thus changing the familiar look of a country house. The owners who decided to decorate the homestead territory with this material, first of all ask the question: "How to lay paving stones?" This procedure is quite time-consuming, requires certain skills and tools. First of all, you need to choose the rock type. Most often it is granite, gabbro or basalt, since it is precisely such rocks that are considered the most durable and high-quality. It is important to choose a stone that will most harmoniously look in a given territory, calculate and draft a site, select a method for preparing the base on which the material will be laid, and determine the level of labor intensity.
Necessary materials
Next, you need to check the availability of the necessary tools or purchase them at any hardware store. Information should also be collected on how to lay paving stones. Before starting work, you need to make sure that there are paving stones, measuring tape, gravel, sand, a source of water, a hammer, a shovel, lumber and tampers. You need to be prepared for the fact that in the process of work you may always need something else. When drawing up the project, it is necessary to understand the operating conditions of the future coating, namely whether it will play the role of a pedestrian zone, parking for cars or will it become a travel zone for freight transport. The choice of the foundation for the stone, the necessary materials and technology depend on this.
Styling methods
How to put paving stones? There are only three ways of laying material: fan-shaped, in-line and arbitrary. An important point in any method is the precise execution of the technology. First, you need to evaluate the scope of what you have planned. If a short path is planned, the novice builder will be able to lay it out on his own, and if it is a larger territory, it is more expedient to attract professionals to this process. Then the territory is marked with pegs and a rope stretched over them. The plan must necessarily provide for water drainage with the indicated gutters and the necessary slope of not more than 5 mm per meter, for unimpeded drainage of liquid. If you do not pay due attention to this issue, later water will begin to collect under the coating, eroding the base and destroying the masonry.
How to lay paving stones? We prepare the place before starting work
In this matter, the estimated load on the stone, on which the thickness of the lining depends, is very important. Before work, the upper soil layer is removed to a depth that can easily accommodate a layer of sand, gravel and the material itself. The type of substrate for the material depends on the expected load. There are three types of it: under the pedestrian paths with moderate movement, a sand cushion is used; for tracks with heavy traffic of pedestrians and cars, a gravel-sand coating is used; for the base for trucks make a pillow of concrete. After selecting the base, the tamping process begins, which can also be done with improvised means.
Styling secrets
The last and most important question is the laying of the stone itself. During this process, you need to do everything as carefully as possible and not rush. You should start working with the main elements, moving on to less significant ones, because the appearance of the masonry directly depends on this stage. An equally significant issue is how to lay paving stones in the rain. In the rainy period, this is strictly forbidden. Just as it is impossible to fill the seams with a sand-cement mixture, in order to prevent the destruction of the coating. After all, when the temperature changes, the stone changes its volume, so the coating should have the ability to depreciate.