How to lay paving slabs with your own hands

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Spend the weekend and make a car park or beautiful garden paths.

1. Prepare tools and materials

To lay paving slabs, you will need the following:

• tiles and borders;
• crushed stone and sand;
• cement and trowel;
• water and a bucket;
• level and rule;
• tape measure and pencil;
• pegs and cord;
• rubber hammer and rammer;
• angle grinder with diamond disc;
• rake and shovel;
• watering can and broom;
• UD profiles for drywall or steel pipes;
• geotextile - optional.

2. Think over the layout

Depending on the shape of the tiles, there are many layouts to obtain different patterns. As a rule, all manufacturers supply their products with such information, so you should not have a problem with choosing a circuit.

Do not forget that the more complex the shape of the paving slabs and the pattern to be obtained, the higher the labor intensity and the more trimming. If you want to simplify your work as much as possible, choose rectangular or square tiles, and make paths and platforms with straight lines. Ideally, generally adjust the paving area to the size of the whole number of tiles in order to do without undercutting.

3. Make the markup

• Calculate the width of the future path by adding the number of tiles in a row. Remember to include the thickness of the borders and add 5-10 cm on both sides.
• Measure the required distance with a tape measure and mark the area for paving slabs with wooden or metal pegs. To keep them out of the way, use two pins at each corner and drive them in at a distance of 20-30 cm.
• Pull a cord between the pegs and outline the perimeter of the working area.
• Check the diagonals of the resulting rectangle and make sure they are the same. If the distances are different, adjust the pegs to the exact size.

4. Prepare the base

• If there is an old covering on the ground, remove it.
• Carefully remove the fertile soil layer with a shovel. Usually it is 30-40 cm.
• Make sure to remove all roots and grass to prevent seeds from sprouting through the tiles.
• Level the soil with a rake and compact it well over the entire trench area with a hand rammer.
• To drain water from the surface of the tile, form a slope along one side of the trench at the rate of 1 cm per linear meter.

5. Install the curbs

Paving slabs are a relatively mobile surface, therefore, curb stones are always installed along the edges of the paving. They do not allow it to creep apart due to the heaving of the soil. To fix the curbs themselves, they are installed on concrete. The height of the curb can be either higher than the tile or flush with its surface.

• Use a shovel to dig small trenches slightly wider than the curb on either side of the site.
• Prepare a mixture from the following calculation: 1 bucket of cement, 3 buckets of sand and 2 buckets of rubble. Add a little water to keep the solution thick and not spread.
• Place the mortar in the trenches and place curbs on top.
• Set stones on the concrete by tapping with a rubber mallet and align with the cord to the desired height.
• Wait 24 hours for the material to harden.

6. Make a pillow

Paving slabs are laid on a well-compacted cushion. There is enough sand for pedestrian garden paths and areas, driveways to the garage and parking lot are additionally reinforced with a layer of rubble. Also, a gravel pad is used at a high level of groundwater, acting as a drainage and preventing heaving. Sometimes, for greater strength and protection from root germination, geotextiles are laid between the soil and the bedding.

How to make a walkway pillow

• Lay geotextiles on compacted soil (optional).
• Pour sand into the trench and dampen it with water.
• Compact well with a rammer to obtain a layer of 15–20 cm.
• With sufficient density, there will be no shoe marks on the sand.

How to make a pillow for a platform under a car

• Lay geotextiles on compacted soil (optional).
• Smooth out the bottom of the trench with a thin layer of sand and compact thoroughly.
• Fill with medium-sized crushed stone and compact to obtain a layer of 20–25 cm.
• Sprinkle with sand on top, moisten and tamp to a layer of about 5 cm.

7. Prepare and level the cement-sand mixture on the lighthouses

• Mix dry cement-sand mixture (DSP) based on the following calculation: 1 bucket of cement for 5-6 buckets of sand.
• Install beacons from UD-profiles for drywall or pipes according to the level. Form a slope of 1 cm by 1 m to drain the water.
• Fill in a layer of DSP 2–4 cm high between the beacons and smooth using a rule.
• If pits are formed, add the missing amount of the mixture and pull along the guides until the surface is level.
• Carefully remove the beacons and fill up the formed voids with the DSP.

8. Install paving slabs

• Start laying paving slabs from the corner that will be most visible and from the lowest point if there is a natural slope around the site.
• Mount the tiles away from you so as not to step on the prepared surface.
• Put the bricks in their place, upsetting and hitting each other tightly with a rubber mallet.
• Check with a level that the horizontal plane is level.
• If a tile gets lower than the rest, remove it and add some DSP.
• If there are undercuts, first lay all the whole paving stones, and then cut out the pieces of the required shape with an angle grinder and assemble them.

9. Fill in the seams

• Carefully sweep away any debris left after stacking.
• Spill a liberal amount of water over the paved surface and allow to dry.
• Sprinkle the tiles with the dry mixture on which they were laid, and hammer in all the joints and the gap between the borders well with a broom or broom. Remove excess.
• Pour the joints with a low pressure of water and, after drying, refill the DSP.
• If necessary, repeat the procedure until the joints are completely filled.

10. Fill in curbs

The final touch is filling the outer sides of the curb stones with soil. Carefully fill the trenches with soil, level with a rake and compact with a rammer. Add grass to restore the lawn if necessary.