Many owners of summer cottages lay paths in the yard with natural or decorative stone. An ideal material for this is a plastushka. Or, as the experienced builders call it, the "savage stone". Thanks to him, the site looks natural and harmonious. Not everyone knows how to put the plate correctly. This will be discussed in this article.
Varieties of stone
Outwardly, the stone looks like some raw tile of irregular geometric shape. Usually they have the same thickness, but different sizes. This stone is one of the cheapest in its segment. It is easy to look after him. In addition, everyone will be able to lay out paths in the yard, since putting a plate is very easy.
There are several types of natural stone. The most popular is sandstone. It got its name due to its composition. It is found in different thicknesses. For those who do not know how to put a slab in the yard and what size to use, we will tell you - for paths in the garden and summer cottage it is better to take sandstone from 3 to 5 cm thick.
Plastushka happens in different shades, the most common stones are gray. When moisture gets on the tiles, they can turn dark green. Stones of red or yellow shades come across less often.
How to put the plate? It is possible to use both polished tiles and wild stones. Another advantage of this material is that it is most durable compared to its counterparts. However, the technology of laying the "savage" is a little more complicated than that of paving stones or concrete, but this does not prevent the caster from taking the leadership position.
The advantages of tile tiles
The owners of household plots this finishing material is in great demand. The advantages of this stone include:
- ease of handling (if you use a grinder);
- low cost;
- the naturalness and environmental friendliness of the material;
- practicality;
- resistance to influences (mechanical, chemical, etc.)
- high strength.
How to unload stone without pallets?
When buying sandstone, they are usually interested in whether you have special pallets for unloading. If there are none, don't be discouraged. You need to follow the instructions:
- choose a place for unloading the stone;
- level it out;
- make the boundaries of the future pack;
- begin to lay out the stones strictly around the perimeter of the designated place;
- Large tiles are best laid in the middle, and then fill the voids.
A pack of stone should be no more than 1.5 meters in height.
Tools for self-laying plates
So how to lay down a plate need to be neat and beautiful, it is advisable to use the following tools:
- pickaxe and rubber mallet;
- level and roulette;
- a grinder;
- a shovel;
- pegs for marking and cord;
- spatula and brush for glue.
To prepare the solution, cement and sand, as well as glue for laying natural stone, are useful.
Preparatory work
Before laying a stone plate, you need to decide on the place. It is advisable to draw a scale plan. This is necessary in order to correctly calculate the required amount of consumables. Plus, the drawing will help to evenly distribute the tracks into pieces.
Before laying directly, you need to sort the stones, that is, clean them from dirt, dust and sand. If you need to form a certain shape of the tile - use a grinder. Before laying, the plate must be thoroughly dried.
The next stage of preparatory work is the creation of a trench on the site of the future garden path. It is necessary to dig a hole at least 30 cm deep. After that, mix the mortar from cement and sand and pour it there.
Styling technology
Every specialist knows how to put a plate. However, ordinary summer residents or owners of suburban real estate do not own all the secrets of the technology of working with this stone. You need to start laying tiles from the middle of the track, in this case we are talking about a trench with a concrete mortar. In the center they put the largest stone, along which the rest will go. It is desirable that he was the thickest and most beautiful. Subsequent plates will rise to its level with glue.
Pick up stones with the minimum distance and a gap in relation to the main. For convenience, tiles can be signed in chalk so as not to get confused. Some advise to indicate the number of the neighboring stone in order to understand which one it borders with, for example, 1/5, 2/3, etc. In the process, you can trim tiles to the desired size.
Specialists call this installation method "dry." First, the tile is simply laid out on the dried mortar, and if necessary, glued.
To do this, you need a special mixture for working with natural stone, which is not cheap. But experienced builders learned to save. First, the glue is kneaded to the consistency of liquid sour cream, then sand and cement are added there. Then the solution is thoroughly mixed and laid on the prepared surface. The installation site must be thoroughly cleaned, you can even vacuum the working foundation.
In order for the plastochka to look beautiful and even, the mixture must be applied evenly, without lumps and airbags. The presence of the latter is unacceptable, since the frozen water that gets there can easily split the stone.
When the glue is applied, you can lay the tile. You need to press hard on it so that all excess glue comes out. They can be removed with a spatula. First you need to press on the edge of the tile, which is closer to the neighboring one. Using the glue mixture, adjust the height of the stones so that the path is smooth. Since the tiles are numbered, the laying process does not take so much time.
Final stage
After the tracks are done, let them dry. Before you start walking on them, it should take 1-2 days. The next day, the finished track can be washed. Do not worry that the glue will not dry out due to water. It will not happen. After a couple of days, a hollow forms between the stones, and the tiles of the sandbox darken. You can achieve a "wet" effect by covering the road surface with polyurethane varnish. In conclusion, the resulting sidewalk is drawn up with curbs and curbs from the remaining material. Do not make them very tall, the optimal size is 4 cm.
Tips & Warnings
After reading the instructions above, you learned how to put the stone-plate correctly. However, the advice of experienced builders will not be superfluous:
- Correctly calculate the amount of material so as not to spend extra money.
- The thickness of the stone depends on the nature and intensity of operation, it is better to use 5-6 centimeter plates for the road, for pedestrians - 2-3 cm.
- Pay particular attention to the preparation of the foundation. If the soil is too soft, it is better to replace it with a layer of crushed stone. From above everything is sprinkled with sand and leveled.
- Spread the plate as close as possible to the installation site.
- For contrast use white cement.
- Be sure to fill the voids with cement mortar.
- Be careful when buying: the seller must add you a certain amount of stone, the so-called "void ratio". Usually it is equal to 0.9-1% of the total number of plates.
Having made garden paths from the plastik with your own hands, you will definitely be satisfied with the result.