Secrets of durability: how to properly lay paving slabs

How to prepare for installation work

At the beginning, you need to carefully consider the layout of the brick tiles - that is, plan the pattern of the ornament in advance. It will depend on the shape and size of the individual elements and may have several variations. Many manufacturers offer their own samples of paving stones that can be used in planning. The simplest is to work with square or rectangular products.

It is also important to assemble an arsenal of tools necessary for use in advance, the list of which includes:

• tape measure, ruler, level, cord, pencil, pegs;
• rammer, diamond-bladed concrete hammer, rubber hammer;
• steel pipes or profiles for drywall;
• shovel, rake, broom, watering can.

If desired, you can stock up on geotextiles. You also need to purchase curbstone tiles and sand and gravel for laying.

The next preparatory stage is marking the future site or path. To do this, you need to calculate the width of the area, taking into account the number of tiles in the line and the thickness of the border. To the resulting figure, you need to add 5-10 cm on both sides. The boundaries of the site are marked with pegs, between which a rope is stretched.

How to lay paving slabs: an algorithm of actions

The base for the tile is an extremely important point, on which the guarantee for laying will depend. If there is an old coating, it must be dismantled. Then a layer of soil 3-40 cm thick is removed with a shovel, and then it is necessary to level the surface with a rake and compact the coating. On one side of the trench, a slope of 1 cm per linear meter is formed. After that, you need to proceed in the following order:

• Installation of curbs and drainage

They are fixed on concrete and can be level with the tiles or above them. The cement mortar is prepared from the ratio of 1x3x2 buckets of cement, sand and crushed stone, respectively. After installing the curbs, it must harden within 24 hours.

• Drainage layer

At this stage, a so-called "cushion" is formed as a reliable protection against subsidence. This will require crushed stone or sand filling. The latter format is suitable for pedestrian paths. The sand is poured into a trench and moistened, after which it is compacted to a height of 15-20 cm. For a car park, a layer of sand and a layer of crushed stone are used, which are compacted to a depth of 20-25 cm.

• Laying paving slabs

Laying tiles manually starts from a corner that will be visible. During installation, do not step on the prepared surface so as not to damage it. The tiles are laid out carefully, firmly pressing one against the other with a rubber mallet. For accurate tamping of the coating, it is worth using a level and a rule. If any tile turns out to be lower than the others, you need to add sand-cement mixture under it.

• Filling seams and finishing joints

After the tiles are completely laid, they must be thoroughly cleaned of dirt. Then the paved area is abundantly watered with water under low pressure. After drying, the tiles are sprinkled with a sand-cement mixture for processing the joints. This must be done with the help of a broom, hammering the mixture into the seams. Then the surface is spilled with water again and sprinkled again with the mixture after drying. This process must be repeated several times until the joints are completely filled.

The final stage of work on installing paving slabs is filling the outer sides of the curbs with earth. It is poured into the cavities and leveled with a rake and tamped. If necessary, grass can be sown in the soil.

In this way, you can lay any types of material for ordinary and decorative paving - polymer-sand tiles, granite, clinker, rubber or vibro-pressed tiles. The main thing is to follow the technology and perform all actions in the prescribed order.