What to make a garden path: a review of materials Part 1

The improvement of the yard directly depends on the presence of paths in it. This is navigation, connecting the house with outbuildings, and decoration of the territory, emphasizing the status of a good owner. There are many materials for laying out tracks - consider the most popular of them. But before that, let's look at the concept itself: the track.

A garden path or pavement is a structure that must meet two requirements:

• comfort of movement of a pedestrian in any footwear, including home shoes;
• durability, namely resistance to weathering and the forces of nature.

Everything else is not considered tracks, but is regarded as a banal addition. You can throw construction waste in the yard, but it will be impossible to walk on it, and after a season it will scatter around the yard and grow with grass.

Crushed stone

Crushed stone is one of the budget options, but it's not as simple as it sounds. To arrange a crushed stone path, you need to install a border along its edges, and put a geotextile under the base. This will prevent gravel and grass from scattering through the pavement. Crushed stone must be tamped after laying! If necessary, rubble can be replaced with gravel or pebbles.

The advantages of this structure are low cost and high installation speed. To make such a track, you do not need to have qualifications or special equipment: the curb can be installed on a concrete solution, and crushed stone can be filled manually. It is recommended to use two crushed stone fractions: 40–70 mm in the bottom layer, and 20–40 mm up.

The disadvantages of crushed stone paths are pollution and the impossibility of cleaning. The crushed stone cover cannot be swept or washed out of dust and debris. And also seeds fall into the top layer, which, after germination, destroy the coating, but this happens in the absence of proper care.

Concrete

The option is also budgetary and popular. A concrete path can be equipped with curbs, or it can do without them. The concrete must be poured onto a prepared base: a cushion made of construction waste or rubble. And also concrete paths must be reinforced so that the structure is strong.

The indisputable advantages of a concrete pavement are durability and practicality: it is not afraid of loads in the form of a heavy trolley, as well as rain and frost. For example, if a puddle forms on the paving slabs and freezes, it will squeeze out the tiles. There are no such problems with concrete.

The disadvantage of concrete is considered an unassuming look. You can give a drop of aesthetics to a concrete surface by squeezing out a pattern on it, but this will not fix the situation much: the edges of such a pattern will begin to crumble after a while, and the grooves will be filled with debris.

Asphalt

This option is also considered durable, but unlike concrete, asphalt looks more presentable. For garden paths, asphalt can be colored - this will increase the price of the material, but also the aesthetic component. A painted border can add color. By the way, the curb is an indispensable element of a strong and durable asphalt track.

The advantages of asphalt are: a smooth, rough surface with good adhesion; resistance to mechanical stress; strength; wear resistance; durability. But looking at the advantages of this material, it is worth understanding the difference in laying: the road is made using special equipment and adherence to technology, and you cannot drive a skating rink into the yard. This factor globally affects the quality of the coating.

The disadvantage of asphalt is the presence of bitumen in the composition, which emits a specific smell and gets dirty. And also bitumen does not tolerate heat, namely, it melts when heated, which makes the coating plastic. In southern regions, the asphalt can deform during the summer months. And also the quality of the asphalt itself and its laying affects the durability of the track. If the structure of the pavement is loose, and the layer is thin, the weed will not keep itself waiting long - sooner or later, foci of grass will appear on the path.

What paths do you have in your yard or dacha? Write in the comments!

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