How to choose paving slabs - how to determine the quality. Useful tips. Mortar for paving slabs: proportions with a plasticizer Drying paving slabs at home

The solution for the proportions of which will be presented in the article can be prepared independently. The need for this kind may arise after you complete the construction of the house and start arranging the surrounding area. You can make it without using expensive equipment, in addition, you will not have to attract additional labor, and not so much of your own labor will be spent.

Preparatory work before mixing the mixture

To prepare a solution for paving slabs, the proportions of which will be described in the article, you need to do some preparatory work, which is to take care of the availability of the entire set of tools and materials. Thus, a concrete mixer is useful, but if necessary, it can be replaced with a container and a shovel. Among other things, it will be useful:

• modifier;
• cement;
• water;
• sand;
• gravel;
• plasticizer;
• coloring pigment of the desired color.

In order to achieve a positive result, it will be necessary to follow the recommendations. It must be remembered that the quality of the mixed concrete largely depends on the correctly selected components, in addition, there is a need to accurately observe the proportions. For this reason, it is necessary to buy Portland cement of the M500 brand, in which there should be no extraneous additives. There are also requirements for crushed stone, expressed in fractionation within 5-10 mm. In addition, crushed stone must be washed. As for the sand, it should be coarse-grained river sand. In order for the tile to have color, it is necessary to prepare a high-quality pigment dye. A plasticizer will also be needed. But mixing should be done using exclusively clean water.

The composition of the concrete mix

The mortar for paving slabs, the proportions for which the master must know before mixing, must correspond to the qualities of frost resistance. You should not replace M500 Portland cement with M400, since the first of them belongs to the group of cements that are characterized by significant strength and early setting when compared with M400 concrete. may contain mineral additives, the volume of which does not exceed 20% of the total amount, but sometimes such an amount is not contained in cement. Thus, PC II / A-Sh 500 has mineral fillers, but PC I-500 has a pure composition, and products made from it are able to withstand a load that reaches 500 kg / cm 2.

A mortar for paving slabs, for which it is important to keep the proportions, must be prepared using crushed stone with abrasion resistance in the minimum range equal to M800, this implies a high or normal level of strength. It is important to pay attention to the frost resistance index, which should be in the range of F300-400, while this material will correspond in terms of characteristics to crushed granite. The sand should not contain more than 3% impurities.

Additional components

The use of plasticizers, as well as superplasticizers, makes it possible to manufacture products that, after pouring into molds, do not need to be subjected to vibration. If you reduce the volume of water in the composition, then you can get a solution that will differ in the qualities of self-sealing, in addition, it will be characterized by high strength. In order to obtain the product of the desired shade, it should be used that perfectly resist the effects of ultraviolet radiation, water and high temperatures. Strengthen concrete can be reinforcing which can replace metal reinforcement.

The proportions of the mixture for the preparation of paving slabs

A mortar for paving slabs, the proportions with a plasticizer for which are presented on the packaging of the last ingredient, can be used during work. So, for mixing, you can apply the following proportion: 1: 2: 2 (the first component is water, the second is cement, the third is crushed stone). Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare the required amount of cement. So, if you take 50 kg of a mixture without additives, then 15-20 liters of water will be needed for it, which is approximately two buckets. The liquid must be poured into the concrete mixer. The plasticizer should be dissolved in a small amount of water, the temperature of which should not exceed 50 °C. After the mixture is to be added to the concrete mixer and mix well.

Paving slabs, the composition of the solution, the proportions for the preparation of which are mentioned above, are made quite simply. At the next stage, it is necessary to fill in the pigments, which should be used at the rate prescribed by the manufacturer. Now crushed stone comes into play, it must be used for the above-mentioned volume of the components of the solution in the amount of three buckets per 12 liters. Crushed stone should be poured into the mixer. Now you can add a bag of cement, the volume of which is 50 kg. It is necessary to add in buckets, mixing thoroughly after each. Then you can add another bucket of rubble and knead. After that, four buckets of sand can be added to the mixer and mixed. In conclusion, one more bucket of crushed stone is to be added, the mass is mixed well and poured into molds.

The mortar for laying paving slabs, the proportions of which make it possible to obtain durable products, must be mixed according to the recommendations presented here. In order to prepare a plasticizer solution, it is necessary to use the composition in dry form in a volume equal to 0.7% by weight of cement. Water for dissolution should be warm. After the plasticizer, a pigment dye can be added to the composition, it should be used in a volume equal to 2-5% of the total mass of cement.

Changing the proportion to increase the strength of concrete

If you wondered what proportion of the solution for paving slabs is necessary, then you will probably be interested in the fact that glass alkali-resistant or polypropylene fibers can be added to the composition, which are necessary to increase the durability of the product, in addition, if you add such ingredients, then the tile will have the qualities of impact resistance and wear resistance, which is very important. It is necessary to choose fibers whose length varies from 10 to 20 mm, while the diameter should be 10-40 microns. They must be used in an amount of 0.8-1 kg per cube of concrete mix. If such reinforcement is applied, then it is possible to achieve an increase in the strength qualities of the finished product.

Finally

If the proportions of the solution for were chosen correctly, then after preparation the solution will be held by a slide on the working surface of the trowel, however, if it is easily shaken, the mixture will immediately blur. In the absence of a concrete mixer, the desired effect may not be achieved, in addition, it will take much more time to mix the composition, but in individual construction it is advisable to use this approach.

These requirements are best met by natural stone, concrete slabs and paving blocks, flagstone, gravel, asphalt, concrete and wood (saw cuts, logs and boards). In our region, paving slabs and paving stones are considered the optimal material for paving.

A bit of history

Roads have been paved with stone since time immemorial. Initially, the stone was laid in its raw form, then they began to give it a cubic shape. This is how the paving stones appeared. However, the industrial boom that began in the 20th century made new demands on the timing and cost of road works. As a result, it became unprofitable to use natural stone for paving roads, and paving stones were gradually replaced by asphalt. With all its merits asphalt pavement The road has a lot of shortcomings: this was the prerequisite for the emergence of materials such as concrete paving stone or paving slabs.

Advantages of paving slabs over other coatings

First of all, paving slabs give suburban area civilized look.

1. High aesthetic qualities

A wide range of colors and a variety of shapes will allow you to embody any architectural or design ideas, as well as create a harmonious ensemble with the surrounding objects. The paved areas are reminiscent of old cobbled pavements.

The color saturation of the tiles is not lost over time - this makes paving slabs an essential element of landscape design.

2. Easy to install

Laying paving slabs does not require the involvement of heavy construction equipment. It is possible to carry out partial or fragmentary repairs, since if damaged, a broken plate can be easily replaced with a new one. When conducting repair work(for example, laying underground utilities) paving slabs can also be easily removed, carried out necessary work and lay down again.

3. Comfort

On the surface, lined with paving slabs, there are practically no puddles. The presence of gaps filled with sand allows moisture to freely penetrate into the soil and eliminates the formation of water mirrors.

4. Eco-friendly

When heated above +25˚С, asphalt pavement begins to release carcinogens into the atmosphere. Unlike asphalt, concrete does not soften when heated in summer time and does not emit harmful substances.

5. Durability

Properly laid paving slabs will serve for many years without requiring repair, without wearing out, without fading and without requiring special care. The service life of paving stones is at least 15 years (because the frost resistance of paving stones is 200–300 cycles). Therefore, in the long run, the economic effect will be very noticeable.

Production and types of paving slabs

The basis of the production components of paving slabs are cement and ordinary sand. Of course, there are a number of special additives that increase the durability of tiles, resistance to difficult weather conditions. In the manufacture of colored tiles (colors - "anthracite", olive, brown, blue, sand, etc.), natural, both dry and liquid pigments are used, the latter allow obtaining any color and shade as desired.

To date, two methods are mainly used for the production of paving slabs: vibrocasting and vibrocompression. The first involves the use of rigid mixtures with a low water content, while the second uses plastic compositions poured into molds.

1. Vibrocasting is that concrete mix placed in a plastic mold. The form is placed on a vibrating table (a table with a vibrating surface) and kept on it for some time. After the concrete mixture has been compacted in the form, the form is removed from the table and left in a warm place for about 48 hours, after which the finished product is taken out of it.

2. Vibrocompression is that the concrete mixture is placed in a mold (matrix), which stands on the frame. The machine is constantly vibrating. The punch (a part opposite to the matrix, ideally precisely entering into it, like a piston into a cylinder) begins to press on the mixture from above and presses until the mixture is completely compacted. The punch also vibrates continuously. After that, the die and punch are lifted, and the finished product remains on the pallet.

Properties different types paving slabs

Thanks to original technical solutions and new ideas, a technology for the production of polymer-sand paving slabs was developed some time ago. It consists of three main components: sand, polymer (PVD) and coloring pigment. All these components are thoroughly mixed, heated and pressed under high pressure, while the coloring occurs throughout the mass of the tile.

Polymer sand tiles are durable and strong. Unlike concrete tiles, polymer sand tiles are almost impossible to split. High heat resistance does not allow ice and snow to stay on its surface. The tile provides good grip on shoes. Comparative characteristics polymer-sand paving slabs are not only not inferior, but also 6-7 times superior to the characteristics of vibro-cast and vibro-pressed slabs.

Pros and cons of different types of paving slabs

So what is the best type of paving slabs? Experts, as a rule, answer this question in the following way - there is no bad paving slab, there is poor quality and improperly laid. The service life of paving slabs is very long, so the question of how long the track will last depends largely on the technology of the device and the quality of the work. You can save on tiles, but you should not do this on laying.

With high requirements for strength and durability (gas stations, driveways), 80 mm thick tiles are used, when paving sidewalks - 60 mm thick tiles. However, it must be taken into account that the strength of 60 and 80 mm tiles is approximately the same, and the durability of the coating depends primarily on the quality of the base preparation before laying. Therefore, experts, as a rule, recommend the most reasonable price / quality ratio - tiles with a thickness of 70 mm.

Tips for choosing paving slabs and paving stones

1. It should be remembered that good paving slabs cannot be cheap. One pigment for its production costs up to dollars per 1 kg, and square meter tiles used about 0.5 kg. Other components of the concrete mix also have their cost, in addition, modern equipment requires certain costs.

Too much low prices they say that, most likely, the products were made without observing specifications, and perhaps the materials used, among other things, were not of the best quality.

2. The smooth surface of a tile does not necessarily indicate its quality. If the gloss was obtained due to the introduction of special additives into the concrete mixture, then this can only please. But practically the same external effect can be achieved by increasing the amount of water in the solution, which in turn adversely affects the strength of the products.

3. You can check the quality of tiles or paving stones by lightly hitting the products against each other: a ringing sound indicates that they were made in accordance with all the rules and meet the standard, a deaf one signals an excess of water.

Finally

General impression of design solutions largely depends on the materials that are used in construction and repair. Therefore, the use of paving slabs allows not only to derive direct economic benefits due to its strength and other characteristics, but also to make investments in the image.

The material was prepared by Vera Yakovleva

Recently, in Russia, it is gaining more and more popularity. landscape design, after all cozy house with a well-maintained, well-groomed plot - the dream of any owner. Paving stones will help create comfortable paths and parking spaces. It is a coating of blocks of the same shape and size. The composition of concrete for paving slabs determines its performance. An important factor, affecting the strength, are the conditions of drying. Manufacturing can be profitable business- it does not require large production capacities and significant financial investments.

How to make paving slabs with your own hands

Special skills and knowledge are not required, it is only necessary to strictly observe the proportions of all components and ensure uniform mixing of the mixture using a concrete mixer.

1. Vibrocasting.

The basis of the technology for the production of tiles at home is the compaction of a cement-sand mortar in plastic molds under the action of high-frequency vibration. Oscillations are created by an electric motor, on the shaft of which an eccentric is fixed. A form with a concrete solution poured into it is placed on a vibrating surface and kept on it for a certain amount of time. After tamping, it is removed from the vibrating table and placed in a warm place for 2 days. Next, the finished product is removed, which is best done in a thermal bath with a water temperature of about 70-80 ° C.

It is not recommended to remove the coating before the specified period, since there is a high risk of chipping the edges and the formation of microcracks, which will subsequently affect the quality. The proportions of concrete for the production of paving slabs by vibrocasting are 1: 2, that is, for one bucket of M-500 cement, there should be 2 buckets of filler, which can be sand, slag or granite screenings. These components are poured into the concrete mixer in a dry form, after which 0.5 buckets of water are added to them. The ratio of crushed stone to sand in the mixture is 1:1.

To give a certain shade, coloring pigments are added to the solution, their amount should not be more than 3-5%. You can increase plasticity and uniformity by adding polypropylene fiber to it - a soft reinforcing material. The quality of the manufactured paving slabs depends on the composition of the concrete, therefore, to improve its performance, a plasticizer is added to it, which increases the mobility of the mixture.

Vibration molding products have an attractive appearance and a smooth surface. Due to the high water content, the frost resistance of products decreases. It can be increased by including various modifiers in the solution, which as a result will negatively affect the cost of the tile. Tiles often have a curved surface or different thicknesses, which makes installation much more difficult. The advantages of using the vibrocasting method include the possibility of obtaining a large range of products without any special monetary costs.

2. Vibrocompression.

It is based on the use of a special mold (matrix) located on a constantly vibrating bed. From above, a punch presses on the solution in the form - an integral part of the vibropress, tightly entering into it, like a piston into a cylinder. After lifting the mold on the pallet remains finished block. The method is characterized by high productivity and can be fully automated, which eliminates the influence of the human factor on the quality.

The concrete recipe and the proportions of ingredients for the manufacture of tiles by vibrocompression are 1: 3, that is, for one part of M-500 cement, there should be 3 parts of sand or other filler. dilute the mixture big amount water is not worth it - it will significantly reduce the strength of the future coating. By adding a plasticizer and fiberglass, performance can be significantly increased. The amount of coloring pigment (granite or marble chips) placed in the mixture directly depends on the desired intensity of the shade of the front layer.

The composition of the mortar for paving slabs without crushed stone is 1: 3, that is, 3 parts of sand are added to one part of cement. For effective work must contain a plasticizer. Durability is increased by adding a dispersant - a mineral additive that protects against moisture penetration.

Products made by vibrocompression are rough, which makes it easier to move on the surface after rain or in ice, have a strict geometric shape and are distinguished by parallel surfaces. Concrete for the production of paving slabs at home is characterized by a low water-cement ratio, which reduces the consumption of binder, while providing high level frost resistance and product strength. Unlike blocks obtained by vibrocasting, vibropressed products are able to maintain color saturation throughout the entire service life, which is 25 years on average. The surface of the elements can be easily sanded, polished and bush hammered. The percentage of rejects in manufacturing is much lower than when using the injection method.

In order for a garden path or a platform for a car to look attractive, you need to buy paving slabs. This material is very popular lately: manufacturers have launched the production of paving stones of various shapes, thicknesses, colors. But how to choose paving slabs of proper quality? What should you pay attention to? To answer the question, you need to understand the technology of making pavers, with the rules for laying it and other nuances.

Paving stones, subject to the laying technology, have certain advantages over a monolithic concrete and asphalt pavement:

• due to the presence of gaps between adjacent tiles, the formation of puddles is excluded;
• in summer, the surface made of tiles does not heat up and does not become softer, and there are no unpleasant odors;
• no greenhouse effect is created under the cover, which is important for growing ornamental plantings nearby;
• if it is necessary to lay or repair underground utilities, it is enough to disassemble and, upon completion of work, re-lay the tiles in a certain area;
• using stones of various colors and shapes, you can create a patterned coating.

Paving slabs (a photo of laying examples is presented in the article) can be used to create a unique landscape.

Regulatory Requirements

You should know that the main requirements for the quality of paving stones are set out in GOST 17608-91. The regulatory documentation states that it must withstand at least 200 freeze and thaw cycles, a compressive load of at least 30 MPa, moisture permeability of no more than 5%, abrasion resistance of no more than 0.7 g / cm². GOST also defines the maximum allowable deviations from the specified geometric parameters and other characteristics.

For the manufacture of the working mixture, Portland cement M500, fine crushed stone (5 - 10 mm) and sand with a grain size of up to 2 mm are used. In order for the hardened mixture to be strong enough, a plasticizer is introduced when mixing the working mixture, the best manufacturers which was recommended by the Czech company "Usov i Prokhese" and the German company "Bayer".

The buyer has the right to demand from the manufacturer or seller for review the Quality Confirmation Certificate issued by the authorized regional Certification Body. This document is issued based on positive results laboratory testing of products. In addition, there must be documents confirming the radiation safety of the tile or raw materials used for its production.

Basic information about the production of paving stones

Currently, manufacturers use one of two technologies: the first is based on pressing a rigid mixture with the help of vibration, the second is based on vibration casting with the addition of plasticizers. Both methods make it possible to obtain high-quality low-porosity concrete products, but paving stones obtained by vibrocasting are superior in strength to pressed ones due to the use of plasticizers.

Paving slabs are also made in a handicraft way: a plastic form is filled with concrete and placed on a vibrating table. Without vibrocompression, the product will be fragile and will not last long: moisture, penetrating into the pores and freezing in them, will destroy the tile.

For production in industrial volumes, a concrete mixer, a vibrating table, a sufficient number of molds and other equipment are required. The process is carried out with the following sequence of actions.

1. Plastic molds are lubricated with grease or other similar lubricant: this will facilitate the removal of the finished product after the mixture has dried.
2. Forms are filled with a solution and placed on a vibrating table.
3. At the end of the process, the molds are stored on racks and covered with plastic wrap for uniform drying. In this state, the product is within a day. The air temperature must be at least +15°С.
4. The dried tile is removed from the molds, preheated in hot water at temperatures up to +50 °C: this reduces the amount of scrap, increases the service life of paving stones.
5. Finished products are stacked on pallets, pallets are tied with tape and covered with a film. Paving stones made in the summer can be used for their intended purpose in 7 days. In winter, it gains strength longer - 28 days. This period must be clarified before purchasing tiles.

To your attention a video about the process of production of tiles.

How to determine the quality of paving stones without accompanying documents

It is not always possible to verify the quality of paving stones by looking at the Certificate of Conformity. How to proceed in such a case? First of all, it must be taken into account that to create pedestrian zones, a paving stone thickness of 25-30 mm is sufficient. For the roadway and parking area, thicker (from 40 to 60 mm) paving slabs are needed: its price is different and also depends on the shape and color. Otherwise, you need to pay attention to the following.

1. To make the surface of products glossy, some unscrupulous manufacturers, instead of using special expensive additives, introduce excess water into the solution. This leads to a decrease in the strength of the pavement. To identify such a flaw is simple: just lightly tap one tile on another. The sound that will make quality tiles, will be loud. A dull sound is a sign of a violation of production technology.
2. The color of concrete paving stones should not be overly saturated: an excess of pigment also worsens the strength characteristics of the material.
3. The presence of clay in the working mixture adversely affects the quality. Reacting with cement, it destroys the tile when it gets wet. Clay can be detected by examining the back of the product: yellow color inclusions and spots are signs of the presence of clay.
4. If paving slabs are outwardly attractive, this does not guarantee its compliance with the requirements of regulatory documents. You should examine the material in the middle, for which you need to break one stone. Pores, voids and foreign inclusions should not be. The pigment that sets the color of the product must be evenly distributed throughout the material. Painting only the front part leads to delamination, reduces the service life.
5. It is worth avoiding the purchase of tiles that are too cheap: they are most likely made from low-quality raw materials or in violation of technology.
6. It is important to consider how long the manufacturer has been in the market for the production of this type. building materials. It is advisable to enlist the recommendations of those who have already used this tile and inspect the pavement laid out by it: if the paving stone has served for several years and has not lost appearance- its quality is up to the mark.
7. It is necessary to correctly determine and purchase the required amount of material (with a small margin): the color and texture of products from different batches can differ significantly from each other.

Some information about the technology of laying paving slabs

Paving stones are laid in different ways depending on how it will be used. For personal plots, the following technology is suitable.

1. Before starting laying, you should decide on the pattern and size of the area to be paved in order to avoid unnecessary cutting of tiles and a large amount of waste.
2. You need to stock up on tools. You will need: shovels (bayonet and shovel), rake, rammer, construction level, geomembrane cloth (geotextile), as a rule, a hammer with a rubber striker.
3. The marked area must be cleared of vegetation (remove the sod) to a depth of 150 mm and tamp the ground. Hard soil can be softened by watering abundantly. This pit must have a slope to drain rainwater.
4. On the sides, you need to prepare ditches for installing a curb, the bottom is compacted in them and a sand cushion is poured with a layer of 50 mm. Borders are installed on a cement-sand mortar.
5. Geotextiles are laid over the entire area of ​​​​the pit. Sand is poured over the canvas with a layer of about 40 mm and evenly distributed with a rake. To avoid surface deformations due to unevenness of the bottom of the pit, cement should be mixed with sand in a ratio of 1: 10.
6. A pillow made of a mixture of sand and cement is wetted with water and carefully leveled with a rule.
7. The tile is laid (starting from the curb) and driven in with a rubber mallet. You can’t move on the sand: for this, a board is used, which is laid on top of the tiles already driven into place.
8. Tile cutting is performed by a grinder with a diamond wheel.
9. Differences in the base level are leveled by adding or sand selection.
10. At the end of laying, the paving stones are abundantly sprinkled with sand, which is then swept away. This is necessary to fill the seams. After that, the sidewalk is watered. You can use it the next day.

To equip the site for the car, an additional layer of crushed stone is required, which is poured and compacted in front of the sand cushion. A reinforcing mesh is also needed: it is placed on top of the sand.

A video on how paving stones are laid will help clarify some important points.

To choose the right paving slabs, you should seek help from specialists of trading enterprises - managers. Tiling is best left to the professionals.

Submit an application

Leave your phone and the manager will contact you

If you are going to pave the yard, sidewalk or garden path, you will have a choice - which paving slabs to use for this.

After reading the article, you will learn how to choose the right paving slabs for the courtyard of a house or cottage, which experts recommend using and what parameters they choose. Learn to determine which varieties and types are preferable in a given situation.

Before proceeding with the choice, ask the question: why tile? Why not asphalt, not concrete, not poured and compacted gravel? Why is it important for you to lay tiles here? This question will help you better understand what expectations are associated with coverage, and help you choose necessary material, shape and other tile settings.

If you need to fit a walkway or sidewalk into exquisite design plot, choose porcelain stoneware or tiles from natural stone. If you need to create a feeling of antiquity and monumentality, choose natural or cast wild stone. To evoke memories of the last decades of the Soviet Union, choose colored vibropressed tiles.

The cost of high-quality tile laying (with appropriate preparatory work and creating the right foundation) will cost 3-5 times more than pouring concrete or laying asphalt. Even when using inexpensive materials. If you choose expensive materials, laying tiles will exceed the cost of creating a concrete or asphalt path by at least 10 times. The reason for this is the high price of the material and the large volume of expensive handmade that require high qualifications.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of the tiles include:

• abrasion resistance;
• frost resistance;
• size and shape;
• price.

Abrasion resistance

Abrasion resistance determines how long the tile will last under the influence of external factors (shoes and car tires). The higher this parameter, the greater the load the tile can withstand and the longer it will not need to be replaced.

The abrasion resistance of concrete paving slabs depends on the materials from which the concrete was made. The use of quartz or river sand, high-quality cement grade not lower than M-500 and hard crushed stone rocks(granite, marble, basalt and others) improve abrasion resistance.

This property is a conditional value, which is determined according to GOST 13087-81. To determine the value of this indicator, a sample of a concrete or reinforced concrete product is abraded using a special machine and abrasive powder.

After a certain exposure time, the sample is cleaned and weighed. The difference between the weight of the original and the resulting sample is the abrasion resistance. It is indicated in grams per square centimeter (g / cm2). The lower the abrasion resistance value, the more difficult it is to destroy a product made of concrete or natural stone.

The best value of resistance to abrasion in porcelain stoneware and paving stones made of natural stone. Somewhat worse is polymer concrete made of granite (marble) chips and clinker bricks (tiles). In third place is a vibropressed paving slab made of concrete, which includes crushed granite or marble. Cast in last place concrete tile and paving slabs made of rubber.

Frost resistance

Frost resistance is indicated either in the number of freeze-thaw cycles (based on GOST 10060-2012), or by concrete grade F100, F200, F300. The higher this value, the more frost the tile can withstand. Concrete grade F300 is used to make products that can withstand temperatures below minus 45 degrees Celsius. Concrete brand F100 is designed for operation at temperatures above minus 5 degrees.

Size and shape

The thickness of the tile depends on the load that it can withstand. Tiles with a thickness of 3-4 cm are used for footpaths and other places where there is no any transport. 4-7 cm thick is used for areas where movement is possible cars, over 7 cm is used for any areas.

The greater the length and width of the tile, the more quality the foundation is needed. This is due to the fact that when the base subsides, the tile with one or two edges tilts towards the failure, the other side, on the contrary, rises above the surface of the bulk of the tiles, forming a kind of "hummock".

The choice of laying pattern and the complexity of joining the extreme tiles and the border depend on the shape of the tile. Tiles of a simple shape - quadrilateral and hexagonal are the easiest to install, but the choice of schemes is limited.

For one size square shape“chess order” and “half-row shift” schemes are available, so the pattern is created using tiles of various colors. For rectangular paving stones, chessboard, circular laying and herringbone patterns are available, and the pattern is also created by a combination of colors.

Square tile with half row offset

For a hexagon, the "mosaic" scheme is applicable. There is no laying scheme for wild stone, because all stones are of different shapes and sizes. Therefore, instead of a diagram, a drawing is laid out. Decorative (artistic) tile itself is a pattern, so there is no laying scheme for it.

If you want to lay out a particular drawing or pattern, make a plan of the site on a convenient scale and create a drawing on it. This will help determine what color and shape tiles are needed.

If the stores do not have the required tiles, contact the manufacturer directly. Most of these firms undertake the manufacture of custom-made tiles, however, at a price 2-5 times more expensive than that which is mass-produced.

Price

In 50 percent of cases, the choice of tile determines the cost. The more expensive the tile, the more expensive the services of the worker in laying it. For the installation of cheap cast tiles, which will last ten years at most, you can hire a team of guest workers, they do it quickly and cheaply. But this approach to laying expensive tiles will lead to the need overhaul blind area after 3-5 years.

Laying tiles is the final stage, before which hard and complicated work is needed to prepare the soil and lay the underlying layers. If one of the operations is performed poorly or with errors, the blind area will not last long.

The cost of a tile depends on the price of raw materials, manufacturing technology, brand popularity, the income of the manufacturer, and various transport and sales costs. Therefore, the price spread for various models one type of tile reaches 100 percent.

Do not rush to buy tiles in the first store. Look at the offers of other outlets, visit several companies that produce tiles. There is a high probability that you will be able to find what you need, and at a lower price than they ask in the store.

Remember, more expensive tiles are not necessarily better quality than cheaper ones. After all, the quality of tiles (within the same type or model) depends on the experience of workers and technologists. If the workers do not violate the technology, check and repair (adjust) the equipment in time, use the right ingredients, then this approach ensures high product quality.

Choice of pavement tiles garden paths or places of rest is not an easy task. Now you know what to look for when choosing a tile, what qualities and parameters are really important, and what exactly can be safely ignored. This will help you choose a tile that suits the price, quality and is ideal for your design.