Both budgetary and effective: garden paths with minimal investment

How to make practical and aesthetic walkways from wood, stone, concrete and bark. High GWL is not a problem

With the arrival of spring, for some, the time comes to "raise the virgin soil", mastering the site from scratch. For others - to continue landscaping or redo what was once done for a while, but, as usual, remained for years. For everyone who has an acute question of paving garden paths, we offer a selection of interesting, and, most importantly, real ways to transform a site with a small budget.

Cheap and cheerful, but with fantasy

Badi83

FORUMHOUSE member

I made a blind area. My wife forced me to make a path to the cars. I did it a couple of weeks ago, in a day. Cheap and cheerful.

· Cooked two molds.

· Two bags of cement, crushed stone and gratis sand, did not count.

· Length - 10 m; width - 60 cm; height - 6 cm.

Below the ASG (two of these was the path), then the sand. The ground is not heaving, the groundwater is about seven meters deep. I think the heaving is not scary, even if it is, the tiles will not break. To the right of the path I fell asleep with black soil, to the left I did not have time. I want to fill the seams of the earth, and sow the grass, so that it looks like in the ruins of Ancient Rome.

Just a little imagination, and it turned out individually and interesting. And given the thickness, on such a path it is not that easy to walk, you can ride.

Fundamental and not boring

Shula

Participant FORUMHOUSE

We bought a house with a plot two years ago. The backyard was dull. When we decided to make the tracks, we wanted something fundamental so as not to fix it. What can be more fundamental than concrete. But ordinary gray concrete is boring. And we decorated it a little. While it was time in the evenings, mosaic slabs were made.

Yard up.

The technology for making mosaic tiles was found in one of the blogs. In short:

• Forms - any, in the source, round plastic pots, can be replaced with cups, pans, trays, whatever.
• Reinforcement - in the center of the layer with a metal mesh with a fine mesh, cut precisely to the shape of the tile.
• Decor - fragments of ceramic tiles, if there are no residues, it is not a problem to break a whole one. The desired shape is given to the pieces with nippers.
• A stencil is a paper sheet in the shape of the bottom, on which a sketch of the mosaic is drawn.
• Retainer - masking tape.

A mosaic pattern is laid out on a paper base, with the face of the tile up. The finished drawing is carefully glued with masking tape so that nothing moves. A standard solution of DSP (plasticizers can be added) is laid out in a mold (half of the volume), the mesh is laid, the remaining half is laid out. An inverted pattern is laid on top, tape up and gently pressed into the surface of the solution. After setting, the tiles are taken out of the molds and the adhesive tape is removed from the mosaic. Both unusual and affordable.

We marked the paths, installed plywood formwork on long stakes, poured crushed stone, poured half of it with mortar, laid the reinforcement. To the center of every big slab Shula laid mosaic tiles. Then the solution was added to the level, and a layer of yellow pebbles was evenly distributed on top. Naturally, the cement milk rose and covered everything, so after two hours the surface was thoroughly washed off with a stream of water to reveal the texture and mosaic. After setting, the plywood was removed from both the sides and between the slabs, and the few remaining mosaic slabs made an excellent step path.

The yard is after.

Step track made of concrete "boards"

More and more popular lately printed concrete technology, allowing you to give this reliable, durable and practical material a decorative texture. One of the members of the portal, with a nickname Georgy Morozov, offered an unusual version. Not solid filling and molding by impressions, but paving with separate impressions with filling with stone backfill.

Georgy Morozov

FORUMHOUSE member

Large "sleepers" are now a fashionable trend in landscape design. Looks beautiful when there is a significant distance between the boards, which is filled with grass or pebbles. Distance to your liking. In addition, the pebbles are stacked flush with the top of the boards, so you can step as you like. By the way, on such "boards" you can safely walk barefoot without fear of splinters.
I do it myself, incl. and silicone molds, concrete is mass-colored + decorative patina. There are a lot of color combinations. There is a larch texture.

How to make paths in areas with high GWL

If on the site there is a high level of groundwater and the paths get wet, there is a trick - laying "boards" on the foundation.

Full feeling of wood surfaces, stairs too, clearly concrete.

For all paving options in high-heap areas, the universal walkway pie recommends Groundworkturf.

Naturally, as usual, when constructing paths, a slope is made for drainage.

Stone classic

The combination of limestone and wild stone, as practice has shown, the wild stone "fits" better. But a good idea, as usual, is late, therefore, previously purchased flagstone prevails. Seams are filled with rubble to obtain a fine fraction (5-7 mm), bloger82 sifted the rubble through a plastic fruit crate.

Wooden deck and mobile walkway

Eduard_Sagalaev

FORUMHOUSE member

I boast of my tracks. Neighbors and friends loved it. Well, me. Most importantly, with my crooked hands from an incomprehensible place, it worked. Planks are common, terraced only on the terrace.

And planks and a fire hose can make an excellent spreading mobile path. Which will help out when you don't want to spoil the grass at all or the weather is "lousy and thoughtful."

The boards are screwed to the hose with oxidized self-tapping screws through a template.

Nice, cheap, practical - crushed bark filling tracks

Before realizing your unusual bark paths New World asked for advice, but they tried to dissuade him. However, he did not give up on his idea.

New World

FORUMHOUSE member

Walking paths, without much load, for beauty. He dug a trench, laid geotextiles, poured a layer of sand over it to reduce the consumption of bark, tamped it down, covered it with bark, with a layer of about 1 cm, and trampled it down.

The craftsman was predicted disappointment, they say, and the bark will blow away with the wind, and it is unrealistic to remove garbage and foliage from it. But he continued.

Guided by two arguments.

1. The main thing is that the wife likes it.
2. Minimum budget.

The most expensive consumable turned out to be geotextile, sand and crushed stone (I began to add) were already there, pine bark - half an hour in the forest and half an hour at the grinder.

As for the danger of dragging various pests from the forest, they do not live in the bark, they "sew" it through on the way to the "sweets". And in order not to worry about bugs at all, New World advises "two birdhouses for 10 acres relieve 90% of the problems."

The craftsman is absolutely satisfied with the choice.

New World

FORUMHOUSE member

About operation after a year. To begin with, I have never regretted what I did. Interesting, original, watchable, cheap...

Relative cons:
- alluvial seeds germinate, mainly dandelion. I don’t bother: either I twitch lightly once every 3-4 weeks, spending 10 minutes on it, or I spray it with a roundup.
- surface shoots creep from the wild lawn, there are any clover and other creepers. While I'm pulling, in the future I plan a hard buffer zone between the path and the lawn on a level (possibly wooden).
What I feared and did not happen:
- scattering of crushed bark - does not occur.
- Difficulties with harvesting autumn foliage - normally cleaned with a fan rake...

Is it beautiful? Press your finger!

Look another one a selection of country decor, there are a lot of interesting ideas. A dry stream with minimal investment will decorate any site. In the video - a master class on laying larch paths.