Designing and creating a road and path network is an important part of the estate creation process. The road and path network gives you the opportunity to get to each object of your estate in the most convenient and shortest way. It forms certain guiding threads that unite into a single ensemble all the functional areas of the estate and other elements of landscape design located on your site. Beautiful and comfortable paths allow you to achieve completeness of the entire artistic appearance of your estate.
The design of the road and path network is carried out at the design stage of the entire estate. The length of the road network is of great importance. Analyzing various design solutions and examining garden and park areas, we can conclude that the road network and sites occupy 10–15%, and sometimes their length reaches 20% of the total occupied area of the site. The relative length of paths per 1 hectare is approximately 300 - 400 m.
The width of paths and platforms varies in different parts of the site and depends on their purpose. According to their functional purpose, all paths can be divided into two large groups: utilitarian and decorative.
- Utilitarian group of paths.
This group of paths includes all paths that connect all outbuildings and are actively used throughout the year. This group also includes all access roads and paths to vehicle sites.
- Decorative paths.
This type of path is used primarily to decorate the estate. They are laid out for walks, allowing you to enjoy the beauty of the estate.
Classification of tracks by functionality
In landscape gardening design, roads, paths and alleys, depending on their functional purpose, can be divided into 6 classes.
Class I - main roads and alleys. This class includes roads and alleys along which the main flow of visitors to the site passes. They are used as main routes for visitors and therefore must withstand heavy loads. It follows that they must be wide enough and their design must be very durable. The covering of such roads and alleys must be durable and decorative. For these purposes, low-wear materials are used, such as slabs, stones, etc.
II class - secondary roads, paths and alleys. They connect various nodes of the facility and lead visitors to the main routes around the facility, sports and recreation areas, and lead them to various viewing points and other elements of the facility’s layout. The intensity of traffic on such roads, paths and alleys is less than on the main ones. These tracks are narrower than the main ones, so their capacity is also less. The covering of such roads, paths and alleys may be less durable than on the main ones, but no less decorative.
III class - additional roads,paths, paths. Additional roads, paths and paths of this class are used to connect various secondary objects. They play the role of transitions and approaches to various structures and flower beds, and are also “branches” from main and secondary roads and paths. The traffic intensity on roads, paths and paths of this class is lower than on the previous two. In this class, you can use the design and surfaces of the paths in a more simplified manner.
IV class - bicycle walking roads and trails. Class IV roads and trails are usually used in parks and forest parks. They are located on separate strips of main roads and alleys. The main purpose of constructing such roads and alleys is for walking, sightseeing, and sometimes used for sports competitions. The structure for bicycle roads must be strong and stable.
Class V - roads for horseback riding, in carriages, on sleighs, on horseback. Roads of this class are intended for walking and sightseeing, and for horse riding. They are usually used in large parks, forest parks and sports complexes. Roads of this class must have special types of surfaces.
Class VI - utility roads and driveways. Economic roads and driveways are intended for the movement of specialized vehicles, such as watering machines, vehicles for transporting materials and equipment for various household needs, etc. and so on. The structures and surfaces for such roads are made of durable, solid materials that can withstand heavy loads.
We looked at the classification of roads, paths and paths used in landscape design. But all these classes are not always used. All 6 classes can only be found on large objects. In small squares, in summer cottages, and on estates, roads, paths and paths belonging to the first three classes are usually used. At such sites, occasional passage of vehicles and small-scale mechanization is expected along main and secondary roads.
The main connecting element of the estate are the main paths. Their width must be at least 1.2 meters. When determining the width of the track, it is necessary to take into account its purpose and based on this, we calculate the width of the track. On main paths, it is necessary to consider the possibility that if two people meet, they could freely separate without causing inconvenience to each other.
Secondary tracks can be narrower than the main tracks. Again, to determine the width of the track, we take into account its purpose. The width of the paths must be at least 0.5 - 0.7 meters.
Paths are the narrowest paths in your estate. Their width allows for comfortable movement of one person and is 0.5 - 0.7 meters.
Classification of paths by type of paving
Paths can be classified not only by purpose, but also by type of paving.
Pavement is an important element when designing any driveway. When designing roads, it is necessary to take into account the design, strength and durability of their surfaces. Depending on the purpose of roads and their further use, materials and technologies for laying them are selected. According to the type of paving, all paths are divided into two groups:
1. Hard coating– brick, monolithic concrete, natural stone, paving slabs, etc.;
2. Soft covering– gravel, pebbles, crushed stone, granite screenings (crumbs), etc.
We looked at the classification of roads, paths and paths according to their functional purpose, which directly affects the choice of paving type. Create beautiful and comfortable paths in your estate. May they bring you joy, pleasure and comfort. Good luck to you. If you have any questions or want to discuss something, be sure to leave a comment.
Construction of paths
The attractiveness and convenience of the site largely depend on how the paths are planned and executed, for the manufacture of which various cheap and available local materials are most often used.
Each personal, country or garden plot has a number of functional zones: a front garden, a utility yard (mainly on a personal plot), a place for recreation, an orchard and a vegetable garden.
To drive into a utility yard, drive up to a garage or park a car, you need a road that can withstand significant loads. It can be made of crushed stone or concrete on a sandy base with a width of 2.5–3 m.
Garden-type pavement includes one or more structural layers consisting of various materials, which are laid on a special bed of paths or platforms.
The main purpose of the road surface is to give the paths and areas strength, resistance to precipitation and convenience for both traffic and people's recreation.
The road surface consists of several elements:
The road earthen base (“trough”) is the support for all other pavement elements. It is created either by cutting off the top layer of earth to a depth equal to the thickness of the road pavement, or by pouring soil onto the surface of the earth to the design marks. A prerequisite for constructing a “trough” is to secure its border lines with a curb;
The underlying layer is made of coarse sand or a mixture of elastic and moisture-absorbing materials. It serves to reduce the load on the earthen base from movement, as well as to accumulate and transfer moisture to the base along longitudinal slopes or the top covering;
A base made of inert materials is the main load-bearing structural element that determines the degree of strength and durability of the entire structure;
An insulating layer that is up to 5 cm thick and maintains the durability of the top covering. It consists of elastic and moisture-absorbing materials and is capable of accumulating moisture and transferring it to a gradually drying special top covering, while reducing the formation of dust and eliminating discomfort for pedestrians. In addition, it prevents the special mixture of the topcoat from penetrating the inert base material;
The top covering is a layer that directly absorbs loads from moving pedestrians or vehicles. It can be hard or soft. The hard top covering is made from asphalt concrete, reinforced concrete or ceramic tiles, stone or clinker and brick, wooden end elements, and the soft covering is made from a special mixture of inert binders and elastic materials, which must be durable, decorative and resistant to dust and moisture.
Local building materials should be used as much as possible, with preference given to waste materials from various industries.
The material for simple coatings is soil (local sandy or loamy). Peaty, sandy and clayey soils are unsuitable for the construction of such coatings. After determining the boundaries of the future track, a profile is created using a template.
The transverse profile of the structure is given such a slope so that moisture does not accumulate along the edges of the path after rains or artificial irrigation.
The longitudinal slope of the paths should be at least 5 cm per 10 m in the direction of optimal water flow.
Microrelief changes are leveled out. In this case, accidentally falling parts of reinforced concrete products, cobblestones, brick fragments, etc. are removed from the paths, and their place is filled with homogeneous soil. The surface of the path or area is thoroughly irrigated. Then it is compacted.
The soil surface is considered sufficiently compacted if thin round objects (wire or nail) are pulled out of the soil without disturbing the integrity of the top layer. Along the edge of the path and platforms, edges of turf are arranged with a height above the surface of the path of 5–6 cm and a width of approximately 50 cm.
Supporting edges are arranged along a cord or in accordance with the shape of the path along the boundaries with a backfill of plant soil, which is evenly spread and leveled by hand, after which it is compacted with several tampers at one edge location. The finished earthen edge is either sodded with a strip of turf 10–15 cm wide and 5–10 cm thick with wooden reinforcing knitting needles driven into it (two in each turf), or sown with a double rate of lawn grass seeds, followed by embedding them with a rake to a depth of 3–5 mm. Instead of earthen supporting edges, it is recommended to install concrete or granite lightweight edge stone (curb).
Along the edges of the path, before profiling the base, grooves are dug 10 cm deep and 12 cm wide, into which a curb of the selected material is installed along a cord that determines the height position. After this, the sinuses of the groove are filled with soil, watered and thoroughly compacted. The seams between side stones or slabs are filled with mortar. The reference line should be straight in horizontal and vertical positions. Road fastenings are smoothly outlined with a rectangular curb, filling the resulting large corners with concrete mortar, or profile parts of curbs, specially curved at the desired angle, are used for this. All mortar-filled seams must be carefully marked. Such a support line, installed on the ground, can be easily disassembled during major repairs of the facility and can be moved to another location.
When installing curb stones permanently, cement mortar is placed in the prepared groove, on which the curb is installed strictly in accordance with the breakdown. The curb is sunk into the concrete solution and leveled manually using wooden tampers. The seams between the curbs are filled with mortar, and concrete mixture is laid and compacted at the sides of the base.
On sandy or clayey soils, when constructing ground coverings, after profiling, it is necessary to add 15–20% of clay particles to the sand, and sandy particles to the clay, mixing them with the soil.
For the soil foundation, soil can be brought in from the side (if it is insufficient) in accordance with the vertical planning project. Cement, concrete and wood-resin sand can also be used as improving additives. Cement additives stabilize the soil of paths.
The soil-cement mixture, prepared in advance, is transported to the installation site, leveled with the required layer over the base, watered and compacted. Granite chips, slag, cinders, coal dump ash, etc. are used as inert materials. Cement grade 300 is used - from 5 to 15% (a lower percentage of the additive for sandy soils, a higher percentage for loamy soils).
Often the components are mixed with the soil directly on the road surface. The canvas is loosened, cement is scattered and mixed, leveled according to the template and compacted, maintaining the surface slopes and achieving the necessary compaction and elasticity of the top layer.
Sand and gravel coatings are used for road surfaces (pedestrian and driveway paths, parking lots) and as temporary coatings for little-travelled paths.
The sand and gravel mixture can be prepared in natural quarries or artificially using mixers and concrete mixers, observing the above proportions of inert components with the addition of fluff clay (15–20%) and pyrite cinders (1–2% of the total volume).
Paths that people walk on every day can be paved using various slabs, natural stone, cobblestones, and broken bricks. Such paths are convenient and durable.
Sand and gravel paths are made on a soil base (trough or embankment) in two ways: by laying a ready-made sand and gravel mixture or by mixing three components (sand, clay, gravel) directly on the road surface. The first method is preferable, as it allows you to immediately begin leveling the finished mixture with a layer of the required thickness, watering it and then rolling the path from the edge to the middle with rollers weighing 5 tons, passing at least 5 times in one place. In the second method, sand and clay are gradually scattered onto the finished track surface in even layers, which are evenly mixed with a rotary cutter or disc harrow coupled with a motorized robot (further work technology is the same as in the first case). Components of the mixture: medium-grained sand - 60%, fluff clay - 15-20, mountain gravel with a grain fraction of up to 2-3 cm - 20-25%.
The thickness of the coating layer for pedestrian paths is 12 cm, for roadways – 25–30 cm.
For a two-layer sand-gravel covering of forest park transport roads, the bottom layer of the base (15–20 cm thick) should use an optimal gravel mixture with a grain fraction of 40–120 mm. A sand-gravel mixture for wedging with a thickness of 10–15 cm is applied to the treated surface of the lower layer.
Experience in operating paths coated with a sand-gravel mixture in Scandinavian countries shows that the homogeneity of the composition of such coatings throughout the entire thickness of the layer allows for a long time to do without major repairs of the road pavement, even with intensive use.
Crushed stone pavements are intended for roads in the transport network of heavily visited public gardens and parks and residential areas, but can also be used on other objects. The materials used and the laying method are more complex than those of the simplest coatings, since such coatings are multilayer, consisting of a lower underlying crushed stone layer of the designed thickness (crushed stone density grade from 500 to 1000 kg) and an upper covering layer of granite rocks with a grain fraction of 0 ,1 to 10 mm.
On a clayey base, a sandy underlying layer is provided, which is also a drainage layer, consisting of sands with a high filtration coefficient.
The compaction thickness of the layer must correspond to the design, taking into account the sand compaction coefficient, which is equal to 1.1. To give the sand optimal humidity (80–90%), it is watered before rolling. If necessary, before laying the top covering layer of crushed stone paths, create an insulating layer of elastic-moisture-absorbing materials no more than 5 cm thick.
Crushed stone or slag with a particle fraction of 35 to 50 mm is suitable for constructing underlying layers of coating. Inert materials included in special mixtures must contain particles or grains from 0.1 to 10 mm.
The final profiling of the surface is carried out manually. The profiled surface is moistened and then rolled with a roller, passing it along one strip 5–7 times.
The first rolling achieves crimping of the placer and ensures a stable position of the crushed stone. During the second rolling, the rigidity of the base is created due to the interlocking of crushed stone particles. During the third rolling, a dense crust of the upper surface of the base is formed by wedging the remaining pores with crushed stone of small fractions.
When constructing bases from slag, the thickness of the compacted layer should not exceed 15 cm. The slag in an uncompacted state is watered with water before spreading it over the subgrade.
The road surface rolled over the seedings is kept in a wet state for 4–5 days, then individual places are rolled with a roller weighing 1 ton. The readiness of the top layer of crushed stone coverings is determined in the same way as for ground ones.
Pedestrian paths can be made straight or curved, taking into account the terrain and plantings.
Paths made of crushed stone, brick chips, gravel, and sand have many disadvantages. They gather dust, quickly break down and leave dirt on your shoes. Paved paths made from various materials are ideal for a summer cottage or small estate. Coverings can be made of natural materials, such as wood, stone, as well as artificial materials, made in factories or by hand.
The construction of paths of any kind begins with the construction of a trough in the ground. First remove the fertile layer of soil along the entire length and width of the path. The bottom of the trough is compacted with hand tampers or rollers before laying the base. Sand is then spread over the surface of the trough and compacted while wet. A larger backfill material is placed at the bottom in a layer of 15–20 cm and compacted thoroughly, pouring plenty of water. Fine crushed stone, slag and sand are placed on top and compacted by pouring water.
A base of sand is made for the paths. The sand is compacted well, pouring plenty of water. The thickness of the base is chosen so that the base material protrudes 3–5 cm above the ground.
Paths made of bricks and flat stone slabs should have a small border. Paths from end cuts are made with a border made of boards, which are secured.
Wooden paths. They are comfortable, durable, and beautiful. To build a path from sections of logs, you need to select several even logs (of different diameters) and saw them into dies 45–50 mm thick. Mark the paths, dig grooves under the formwork of such a depth that the boards protrude 2.5–3 cm above the ground surface.
Wood does not last long in the ground, so the boards, stakes with which they will be attached, and saw cuts must be treated with an antiseptic before laying. Water-insoluble oily antiseptics include coal anthracene and shale oil. Various pastes are also used for antiseptic treatment of wood: extract, bitumen, silicate and clay.
If you don’t have an antiseptic, you can prepare it yourself. Fill a large container (for example, a trough) with a 20% solution of copper sulfate and put saw cuts and stakes in it for two days, then dry the workpieces.
Antiseptic-treated boards are secured with stakes (two stakes for each board). Then the soil is removed from the formwork and the path is drained. To ensure that the saw cuts get wet as little as possible, they need to be laid on a sand cushion, and a layer of fine gravel or crushed stone should be poured on top of the sand.
The sand poured into the formwork is well leveled and compacted, gravel is poured on top and leveled with a rake. After this, it is advisable to water the path - the sand and gravel will be even better compacted. When the base is saturated and dry, you can lay the log cuts, fitting the dies to each other as tightly as possible. The dies can be of different diameters, this will allow you to lay a track of any configuration and fill the voids as much as possible. Use a long bar or board to check whether they are on the same level. Having laid two rows of dies, fill them with gravel or sand on top and level them with a brush or broom so that the space between the cuts is filled. You can moisten the path in several steps so that the gravel and sand are better compacted, then add more, and so on until the gaps are completely filled.
Paths made of slag, crushed stone and construction waste. Broken bricks, remains of concrete and mortar, pebbles from sifted sand are construction waste. Such paths are made as follows. Having marked the place for the path, dig a ditch 15 cm deep and a width corresponding to the purpose of the path (for example, for a cart it should be 20–30 cm longer than the axle length). The bottom of the ditch is compacted and covered with a 10–12 cm layer of base material, then watered and compacted again. Fine scrap slag 4-5 cm is poured on top and compacted again, pouring water.
Brick paths. They are durable and practical. Red burnt brick, the so-called “polovnyak” (brick production waste), is laid flat or on its edge. The technology for preparatory work is the same as the technology for constructing slag paths, with the difference that coarse sand is used as a base, poured into a 10 cm layer and leveled so that a bulge is formed in the middle, and then moistened with water and bricks are laid (Fig. .6). Halves and corners of bricks can be used.
Rice. 6. Brick paths: a – ditch profile for the path: 1 – removed fertile soil layer; 2 – compacted soil; b – slag path: 1 - base (large slag); 2 – coating (fine slag with coarse sand); c – path made of crushed stone and construction waste: 1 – base (dolomite, broken brick, large pebbles, etc.); 2 – coating (crushed stone, fine dolomite, slag with coarse sand); 3 – sublayer (oily clay with a layer of 1-2 cm); d – brick paths: 1 - coarse sand; 2 – curb (brick laid on edge); 3 – red brick (flat); d – types of paving brick paths: 1 – alternating rows; 2 – “herringbone” with border; 3 – laying flat; 4 – laying on edge.
Along the edges of the path, a border is made of bricks laid on an edge or at a corner. Brick coverings laid on sand are carefully compacted with a wooden block and watered with plenty of water before use.
Paths made from scrap materials. Old car tires can be used to create garden paths. The old tire must be cut off from the sides, leaving only the “treadmill”. To make it easier to straighten, cuts should be made along the edges every 20–25 cm to a depth of approximately 2/3 of the cord thickness.
Decorative path under natural stone. It is easy to make, durable and original. Wide metal hoops from old wooden barrels are used as permanent formwork. After removing the top layer of soil, hoops bent in any shape are installed at the site of the future path and strengthened by slightly burying them in the ground using a hammer or tamper. Then the soil is removed from the middle of each hoop, the edges are sprinkled on the outside to the level of the top edge and compacted. The prepared formwork is moistened with water and filled with concrete. You can decorate the slabs by embedding shards, pebbles, and various fillers into the concrete, which will make the concrete decorative. You can sow grass and lay turf between the slabs.
Paths made of natural stone. It is convenient to make such paths in places rich in natural materials - crushed cobblestones, rubble or flat cut stones. By selecting and correctly arranging natural materials, a high decorative and artistic effect can be achieved. These paths are laid out on a sandy base. The depth should be calculated on the largest stones. For flat ashlars of small or medium size, flat masonry is used. The base should be 5–10 cm thick, but if the stones are very large, the masonry is carried out at intervals of 5–8 cm, which are then covered with earth and sown with grass.
Rubble and small ashlar stones are laid on the path at intervals and subsequent jointing. To the level of the upper surface of the stones or a little more, they are filled with a solution for better drainage of water from the path. On paths with a different coating, it is not recommended to use deep jointing at the seams, as is sometimes done when laying vertical walls. In winter, at low temperatures, moisture entering such recesses leads to the formation of cracks and destruction of the coating.
When constructing paths from flat natural stone, it is advisable to make concrete bases with mortar joints. First, the necessary markings are made and a trench 20–30 cm deep is dug, then the bottom is compacted, a layer of rubble stone (pebbles, crushed stone, dolomite) is poured, moistened with water and compacted again. Less concrete will be required if the base is prepared from small rubble stone with a layer of 15–20 cm.
Paths made of monolithic concrete. They are practical and durable. You can decorate them with natural stone jointing, in which case they become decorative.
The concrete path can be pedestrian or double-track for a car. The depth of laying the base of the pedestrian path is 8–10 cm, the road path is 40–50 cm. After marking the edges of the dug ditch, wooden formwork is installed from edged boards 20–40 mm thick so that their upper edge protrudes above the ground level by 3– 6 cm, since over the years the grass on the site, growing, helps to increase the horizon of the surface layer of soil and the path ends up on the same level with it, which worsens the drainage and makes it difficult to maintain the path. The formwork is leveled using a level or a cord, and the boards are secured at the joints with pegs. To strengthen it, crushed stone is poured evenly inside the formwork, and soil is poured outside. After laying, the base is leveled, compacted, moistened with water and poured with concrete. If you are building a concrete covering for a car entrance, you can significantly reduce labor costs by reducing the foundation depth by 20–25 cm. In such cases, the covering is reinforced with reinforcement using old pipes, strip iron, wire, metal beds, etc. All paths, especially for cars, must have a natural border of at least 40 cm wide with a grass covering.
Asphalt concrete coverings. Roads with such a surface are created for the passage of vehicles. They differ from crushed stone pavements in that the top covering layer is asphalt. Depending on the purpose, these coatings can be single-layer or two-layer.
Asphalt concrete mixtures are laid only in dry, warm weather (air temperature above 0°C) on a base that has been cleared of dirt, foreign inclusions and debris, which must be pre-treated with liquid bitumen or bitumen emulsion at the rate of 0.5 liters of emulsion per 1 m 2 of base .
The coating is considered rolled if a wave does not form on the coating in front of the roller and a roller mark is not printed. The evenness of the coating is checked with a strip or template. In places inaccessible to the roller or when laying asphalt over a small area, the mixture is compacted with hot metal tampers and smoothed.
Colored asphalt mixture for garden paths is prepared and laid in a cold state, and its final compaction is carried out on the second day after laying.
Tile coverings. The most decorative type of garden and park road structures are tiled coverings. The choice of size, shape, and texture of the tile depends on the design solution.
Tile coverings are divided into artificial concrete and natural stone tiles. The cheapest material for decorative coatings is concrete tiles. They are strong, durable, hygienic, and aesthetically attractive if various dyes are added to the concrete. Paths covered with concrete slabs measuring 20 ? 20 cm, 40 ? 40 cm, 50 ? 50 cm and 4–10 cm thick. The base for them is made of sand. The slabs are laid in a continuous row or with small intervals 4–6 cm wide, covered with soil and sown with grass.
You can make concrete slabs yourself. For this you need formwork - a form made of wooden blocks with a cross-section of 50? 50 mm, grooves 10 mm deep are cut out in the longitudinal bars to fix the transverse ones. Staples are bent from strip iron 2–3 mm thick and secured to the bars with screws. The wedged formwork must have a strictly rectangular shape. The base of the mold can be any hard coating (for example, sheet metal) that does not allow moisture to pass through.
The texture of the front surface of the slabs can be made decorative by including pebbles, fragments of multi-colored tiles or thick (mirror) glass, painted on one side with brightly colored paint. This is done using a simple technological technique: the fragments are glued face down with glue dissolved in water, for example wallpaper, onto a sheet of paper, a form (frame) is placed on top, moistened with water and filled with concrete. After hardening, the paper is washed off with warm water, and the front surface of the slab is treated with dry cement - ironclad, which significantly increases its strength and durability. It is better to lay such decorative slabs not in continuous rows, especially when covering areas, but separately or in two or three slabs together with the expectation of any composition.
The slabs are reinforced with steel wire with a diameter of 5–8 mm. The reinforcement is placed in the mold after it is half filled with concrete, then completely filled with concrete. It is left for 3-4 days in the formwork until completely cured, moistening it with water daily. By adding mineral dyes to the concrete mixture - ocher (0.5 parts + 1 part white cement + 1 part sand), umber (in the same ratio) - you can get yellow and brown slabs, and by adding glauconitic green - green.
When constructing paths and platforms, it is important to ensure drainage. To do this, they need to be given slopes in the longitudinal and transverse directions. As a rule, longitudinal slopes should not exceed 8%, and transverse slopes should not exceed 3% (a slope of 1% is a difference in elevations of 1 cm per 1 m of length).
The shape of the tiles can be varied: square, rectangular, trapezoidal, hexagonal, round, triangular, etc.
Natural stone tiles. Such tiles are obtained by special processing of various stones:
Large (from 40–80 cm) slabs of different configurations and colors;
Small stones such as cobblestones of various colors;
Hewn or otherwise processed stones of various shapes, sizes and colors;
Blocks such as paving stones, marble and granite rounds of different sizes, shapes and shades.
All types of artificial products made from natural stone are mainly used in the restoration of old parks and squares of historical significance, as well as for the installation of coverings for ceremonial places. Their production is labor-intensive, but their decorative properties and quality are significantly higher than those of asphalt pavements (Fig. 7).
Rice. 7. Tile covering by the pond
Currently, coatings made from several materials, consisting of elements of various colors, textures and shapes, are widely used. Such materials can be gravel, cobblestones, crushed granite and brick, decorative sand, etc. The use of these coatings reduces the usual cost of paths and platforms by more than 10–20%.
Brick coverings can be used in the form of separate inserts and strips on paths and areas with combined type coverings. The best brick used for covering is clinker.
Wooden coatings are relatively short-lived and fragile when used outdoors, however, with antiseptic treatment and the presence of wood from sanitary fellings, they are quite suitable for auxiliary sections of paths with combined coatings. The material can be transverse and longitudinal elements (boards, slats, bars), end blocks and round timber.
Methods for laying tile coverings can be different (Fig. 8). This entirely depends on what materials you have, what the area is like and how the coating will harmonize with the area as a whole. However, there are only two technologies for laying tile materials.
Rice. 8. Stone slabs with grass in the seams
Laying can be done on the lawn or ground, when the tiles are recessed 2/3 of the thickness into the base. When laid on a sand base, the tiles are recessed into it by 2/3 of the thickness, observing the design gaps, and leveled in accordance with the design vertical marks. Slopes for this coating are not specified, since the release of precipitation is facilitated by the high drainage of the sandy base, the thickness of which must be at least 10 cm, otherwise moisture will accumulate between the slabs and under them. The seams between the tiles should be no more than 15 mm, and the vertical displacement should be up to 2 mm. Compaction of concrete tiles is done either manually, by compacting them through a board, or with vibrating plates.
The tiles are laid on a carefully leveled, level surface with a given slope in accordance with the design drawing, with the joints between them being filled. Natural stone tiles are laid freely. Paving stones, like concrete tiles, cover paths using different patterns - “mesh”, “tied” or “fan”. Tiles made of marble and granite fragments of different sizes, shapes and shades are laid according to the “breccia paving” type, i.e., observing the ratio of multi-colored fragments.
When choosing and subsequently using materials for the construction of paths and platforms, it is necessary to take into account their physical and mechanical properties.
Stone checker - a roughly chopped, truncated stone of the 1st and 2nd classes, truncated into a cone or pyramid, with two processed parallel planes (the upper plane is larger in area than the lower one). In combination with tiles, it is used for paving, fastening slopes, ditches and surface trays.
Paving stones– a crushed stone, close in shape to a parallelepiped. The bevel at the bottom of low paving stones should not exceed 5 cm on each side, for medium and high paving stones - 10 cm. In combination with tiles, it is used for fastening slopes, installing borders, decorative paving, and finishing the surface of open trays.
Side stones (curbs)- these are parallelepiped elongated bars made of strong and stone rocks from 70 cm to several meters in length, with a vertical or inclined front face or two side faces and a processed surface of the visible part (Fig. 9). Although the borders of the paths can be decorated with other materials, for example, pieces of logs (Fig. 10). Let us remind you that the ends of the logs must be coated with an antiseptic.
Rice. 9. Side stones
Rice. 10. Decorating the side of the path with wood
Stone tiles of various sizes and thicknesses, it is made from hard rocks of the 1st and 2nd classes by special machine sawing. Tiles 10–15 cm thick are used for road surfaces; thin tiles up to 5 cm thick are used for cladding various structures, for which their upper surface is polished. It is unlikely that the use of expensive stone tiles is appropriate on a summer cottage, but for decorating the yard of a private house it is a suitable coating.
Rubble stone– these are pieces of rock of the 3rd strength class, up to 50 cm long and weighing 10–20 kg. Used for laying retaining walls, pipes and bridges. It can be processed into tiles with uneven edges and a smooth bottom surface, as well as checker and crushed stone (Fig. 11).
Rice. eleven. Rubble stone: a – torn; b – bedded; c – flaky
Boulder stone - a coarsely rounded sedimentary rock of the 3rd hardness class, measuring more than 100 mm, found in the northwestern and central European parts of the country, in forests and fields, where it was brought during the Ice Age. Large stones are used to decorate lawns, create rocky gardens, and fill the banks of reservoirs. Stones 10–30 cm in size (cobblestones) are used to create road surfaces, fasten slopes and construct open trays.
Pebbles and gravel– rounded rock fragments less than 100 mm in size. They are found naturally in river valleys, along the shores of lakes, and in places where glacial deposits develop. If there are more than 50% sand particles and at least 20% gravel particles, such material is called gravel-sand. According to the size of the fractions, gravel is divided into very large (pebbles) – 70–100 mm; large – 40–70; average – 25–40; small – 15–25; very small – 10–15; fine gravel – 3–10 mm. Gravel and pebbles are most often used to create road bases and surfaces, drainage, and prepare asphalt concrete.
Sand– small rounded rock fragments ranging in size from 0.1 to 5 mm, free of clay and other impurities, varied in grain size. According to the granulometric composition, sand is divided into very coarse (grain size - 2-1 mm), coarse (1-0.5 mm), medium (0.5-0.25 mm), fine (0.25-0.1 mm ), thin – (0.1–0.05 mm).
Clean coarse and medium-grained sands are used for road construction.
Crushed stone- these are angular, acute-angled pieces of rocks of various strength classes, obtained as a result of the natural destruction of rocks or by artificially crushing them in stone crushers. The shape of the crushed stone is cube or tetrahedron.
Based on the size of the granules, crushed stone is divided into:
Large (crushed stone size – 40–70 mm);
Medium (25–40 mm);
Small (15–25 mm);
Crushed stone wedge (10–15 mm);
Stone fines (5–10 mm);
The seedings are small (3–5 mm).
Crushed stone from various rocks is used for construction work. Based on strength, it is divided into seven grades: M-1200; M-1000; M-800; M-600; M-400; M-300; M-200.
Crushed stone of the first four grades is used in the bases of alleys and highways, at sites with heavy traffic and pedestrian traffic, and in the construction of flat sports structures. The last three brands are used only to create bases for hard top coatings (tiles, asphalt, cobblestones).
Artificial inert materials– waste from industrial enterprises (blast furnace and boiler slag, waste heaps, broken bricks, tiles, etc.) or specially manufactured products (road clinker, bricks, reinforced concrete road slabs and curbs, etc.).
Blast furnace and open-hearth slags They are a by-product of the smelting of iron and steel, have a hard and dense structure, and upon impact break into crushed stone. Roads in areas of spring deformations (heavens) are improved with crushed slag stone. This material has high thermal insulation properties, thereby contributing to less freezing of the roadway. In road construction, acidic slags, which are low in lime and are not subject to lime decay, are used to create road foundations.
Boiler slag (fuge)– waste generated during the combustion of coal in the furnaces of boiler houses and steam locomotives. The best is considered to be the soot obtained from burning fatty coals - it is porous, not hard, and dark in color. It is used as the base of tracks and platforms, the top layer of running tracks and padded football fields. Cinder block products are prepared from the burning fuel.
Brick battle, or crushed stone,– brick industry waste from underburning or overburning of bricks, processed in a stone crusher into crushed stone. Red brick of uniform firing is the best starting material. The presence of burnt brick (“iron ore”) up to 30% is permissible in its composition.
Unburnt brick (“nedokal”) is not too strong and gets wet easily, so the limit of its permissible content in crushed stone is no more than 10–15%. In garden and park construction, brick crushed stone with a fraction of 15–20 mm is used to create the bases of paths and playgrounds, and brick chips with a fraction of 0.1–5 mm are used as the main material for special mixtures of sports fields.
Clinker brick- an artificial stone with high strength, produced from clay by firing it at high temperatures and blowing. It is used to create surfaces for paths and paths. Clinker chips are the main material for covering tennis courts.
Construction brick- an artificial stone with medium strength, obtained from clay by firing. Widely used for the construction of retaining walls, borders, coverings and narrow paths, flower beds.
Tiles and waste from their production They are characterized by frost resistance and durability. They are used in ground form with a grain size of up to 15 mm as a base for printed lawnless fields, with a grain size of up to 5 mm to create the top cover of sports flat structures.
Pyrite cinders– waste from the chemical industry operating on iron or sulfur pyrites of fine-grained structure. They have a dark purple color with a pink tint. They are an antiseptic material that protects wood from rotting.
A mixture of pyrite cinders and sawdust is used to construct the lower elastic layer of planar sports facilities. To prevent grass from growing on paths and areas with soft surfaces, 5–10% of pyrite cinders, screened through a screen with 5 × 5 cells, should be added to the special mixture of the top layer. 5 mm.
Coal ash– a product of combustion of crushed coal in the furnaces of power plants. It is a dark gray powder containing small sandy and dusty particles. In the mixture of the upper soft layers of road pavements it can account for up to 70% of the total volume. This cover filters moisture well and makes the coating soft.
Sludge– waste from alumina production; small porous angular or rounded pebbles with a fraction of up to 10 mm, pinkish or dark red in color. The cheapest material for the top covering of paths and platforms.
Cementing materials give inert materials in special mixtures of road pavements the necessary adhesion into a single mass.
Clay. The best topcoat mixture for gardening is lean kaolin, the content of clay particles in which is from 30 to 40%.
Loam In addition to clay, it contains inclusions of other rocks. The composition of the top road surface includes heavy or medium loam (up to 30%), which can replace clay.
Construction hydrated air lime (fluff) is obtained by burning limestone, dolomite, chalk, etc., without bringing it to sintering, followed by quenching with a limited amount of water. In the form of a powder with particles of 0.5 mm or less, it is used in the upper covering layer of paths and platforms (up to 5% of the volume). By adding fluff lime, swelling is reduced and the stickiness of the mixture is eliminated, and its resistance to mechanical and atmospheric influences is increased.
Oil shale ash Dry extraction from thermal power plants strengthens soil and inert materials.
Portland cement– a product of thorough grinding of clinker, which is formed during firing before sintering of a mixture of limestones, clays and marls of a certain composition. Used in the top coating of roads.
Cement- a binding material that exhibits its properties only when interacting with water (together they constitute the active part of concrete, and sand, crushed stone or gravel are the inert part or its fillers).
Bitumen obtained as a result of oil refining. It is used for the preparation of asphalt concrete, for surface treatment of road surfaces and foundations.
Asphalt concrete- an artificial material consisting of a specially prepared mixture of crushed stone or gravel, sand, mineral powder and bitumen. It is laid either in a hot state (125–180°C), or with mandatory rolling or compaction with vibrators. Depending on the grain size of the inert material, it is divided into coarse-grained (up to 35 mm), medium-grained (up to 25 mm), fine-grained (up to 16 mm) and sandy (up to 5 mm).
Elastic materials give the top cover of planar structures elasticity and elasticity.
Peat. For road construction, fibrous peat with a low degree of decomposition (up to 20–30%) is used in a mixture with pyrite cinders in an intermediate moisture-absorbing layer.
Sawdust– waste from sawmills, freed from bark residues. Mixed with pyrite cinders, they are placed in an intermediate elastic-moisture-absorbing layer of sports facilities.
Lignin– one of the wastes of hydrolysis enterprises, having a dark brown color. Practically not subject to rotting, it consists of small and elastic pieces of treated wood. It is used to create the top cover of paths and an elastic-moisture-absorbing layer of sports facilities: running tracks and football fields.
Cotton husk– waste from cotton production. Suitable for the construction of lower elastic-moisture-absorbing and upper insulating layers of road pavement.
From the book The Big Book of the Summer Resident author Petrovskaya Larisa GeorgievnaIlya Melnikov Construction of paths on a summer cottage The attractiveness and convenience of the site largely depends on how the paths are planned and executed, for the design of which they mainly use various cheap and available local materials.
From the book Protecting the rights of owners of 6 acres and other suburban real estate author Vlasova Marianna ValentinovnaConstruction of a greenhouse Once the location and dimensions of the greenhouses in the project have been determined, you can proceed to selecting the most suitable design and materials. Rice. 4.2. The simplest greenhouse The simplest design is an arched one, formed side by side in parallel
From the book Country Crafts author Onishchenko VladimirArrangement of garden paths If the paths in your garden are laid correctly, they will not only decorate your site, but also convenient paths connecting the country house with all parts of the garden (Fig. 6.7). Rice. 6.7. Garden path Not for every path the best solution is a straight one
From the book Modern outbuildings and site development author Nazarova Valentina IvanovnaConstruction of a gazebo So, first you should analyze your preferences and decide why you need a gazebo. A feast with a large group of friends? A private place to read books or do crafts? Shade and coolness on a hot afternoon? Glazed
From the book Basics of Beekeeping [The most necessary tips for someone who wants to start their own apiary] author Medvedev N.I.Construction of a terrace A terrace is usually called a platform that rises above the level of the surrounding landscape. In its most common form, it is a deck built on supports and one side adjacent to the house. Varieties of terraces are verandas (closed
From the book Greenhouses and Greenhouses. We build and grow author Kalyuzhny S.I.Individual housing construction If the site is provided for individual gardening and is located within the boundaries of a populated area (village or town), and not a gardening partnership, then its registration is carried out according to the rules in force in
From the author's bookMain types of tracks and materials for their manufacture Based on manufacturing technology, tracks are divided into hard, soft, combined and special. Rigid ones are paths with a monolithic concrete covering or with a covering consisting of individual elements.
From the author's bookPaving of platforms and paths with natural natural stone Natural wild stone - flagstone - is an ideal building material for creating decorative coverings of paths or platforms. It is relatively inexpensive and can be easily processed using a cutting machine -
From the author's bookTypes of paths The outlines of the paths, the paving pattern, the texture and color of the material from which the paths are made can be varied and depend on their purpose and the general design style of the site. In addition, path covering materials must be practical, durable and
From the author's bookConstruction of swimming pools Modern technology allows today almost every person to build a swimming pool or pond for various purposes. All necessary building materials are available for sale: concrete, wood, metal fittings, pipes, pumps,
From the author's bookConstruction of honeycombs The bee collects wax scales with the teeth of the pollen comb of the hind legs, transfers them with the front pair of legs to the jaws, kneads and mixes them while simultaneously adding the secretion of the jaw glands. The wax softens and becomes suitable for
From the author's bookConstruction of greenhouses of various designs Depending on the purpose and period of operation, there are two main types of greenhouses - spring and winter. The latter are used throughout the year. They usually grow not only vegetables, but also decorative and floral plants.
From the author's bookConstruction of greenhouses On any site it is necessary to have at least a simple greenhouse as an addition to a greenhouse or as an independent element of household or country house equipment. If the area of the garden plot allows, then it is best to make a greenhouse
Asphalt concrete is most often used to cover sidewalks and garden paths in cities. Asphalt concrete coverings on sidewalks and pedestrian paths are installed on various bases: brick and crushed limestone; metallurgical slag; soil treated with cement; from ordinary cement concrete and lean concrete.
In table 80 shows various types of bases for sidewalks covered with sandy (3-5 cm thick) and cast (2.5-3 cm thick) asphalt concrete and their thickness.
The thickness of the sandy underlying layer for sidewalks with asphalt concrete pavement is taken depending on the group of underlying soils in accordance with Table. 81.
The technological process of constructing sidewalks and pedestrian paths includes the following operations: leveling and rolling the subgrade; delivery of sand for the construction of the underlying layer; distribution and compaction of sand; delivery of materials for foundation construction; distribution of base materials; base compaction; delivery and laying of asphalt concrete mixture in the top layer of the pavement.
The leveling of the subgrade on sidewalks is usually done using motor graders using shuttle passes. The roadbed is rolled using motor rollers with smooth rollers weighing 6 tons.
During the process of leveling and rolling, the levelness of the subgrade is checked using wooden slats, and the required slopes are checked using geodetic tools.
Sand and other materials are delivered to the finished subgrade by dump trucks. Sand and other bulk materials are usually distributed by motor graders, and in cramped conditions, sometimes by hand. The sandy underlying layer and bases of crushed stone, slag and other bulk materials are compacted with light motor rollers with smooth rollers.
Cement-concrete bases on sidewalks and paths are installed using small equipment. The concrete mixture is leveled using special equipment mounted on the boom of the Belarus tractor. The concrete base is compacted with special vibratory screeds or platform vibrators. Concrete maintenance is carried out according to the general rules for conducting concrete work.
Asphalt concrete pavement is laid on wide sidewalks using a DS-1 (D-150B) asphalt paver or a lightweight D-464 paver, and compaction is performed with rollers weighing 1.5-6 tons. On narrow sidewalks and paths, as well as in cramped conditions, asphalt concrete the coating (mainly from cast mixtures) is arranged by laying out the mixture manually and rolling it with hand rollers.
For covering sidewalks and pedestrian paths, colored plastic concrete is also used, which is prepared in mixing plants at asphalt concrete plants. It consists of crushed stone, sand, mineral powder, pigment and binder. The quality requirements for sand, crushed stone and mineral powder are the same as for asphalt concrete mixtures. Iron oxide pigments are used, which have sufficient light, weather and heat resistance. Coumarone-indene resins with a softening point of 80-90° C are used as a binder. Table. 82 shows the approximate composition of colored plastic concrete.
A coating of colored plastic concrete 3 cm thick is laid on various bases using a DS-1 asphalt paver. The length of the laying strip when installing a covering made of cold plastic concrete is not limited. The mixture is compacted with two motor rollers weighing up to 6 tons each. If there are longitudinal mating strips, rolling begins along the mating line in such a way that the freshly laid strip is also rolled to a width of 15-20 cm. To compact the layer of plastic concrete, the number of passes of the roller along one track should be 20-25. The evenness of the coating is checked with a three-layer strip, the clearance under which should not exceed 3 mm. In Moscow, sidewalks made of blue colored plastic concrete were built near the choreographic school on 2nd Frunzenskaya Street, red sidewalks were built near the monument to Karl Marx, in parks on Sverdlov Square, etc.
For the construction of sidewalks and pedestrian paths, monolithic cement concrete can be used, which is indispensable for the construction of curved platforms and free-form paths, which have become widespread abroad in landscape architecture in recent years. Such coverings are made of concrete no lower than M300. The concrete mixture is prepared at cement-concrete plants. Hydrophobic Portland cement of at least M400 with the addition of granulated blast furnace slag up to 7% is used as a binder. When using non-hydrophobic cement, to improve the basic properties of concrete, surface-active additives are introduced into the mixture: plasticizing additives - concentrates of sulfite-yeast mash and its derivatives, hydrophobizing additives - various technical soaps: abietates (vinsol soaps), soap naft, etc.
Sand is used natural (mountain, river) in its pure form or with additives. Artificial sands, stone fines and seedings are used as additives. The sand fineness modulus must be at least 2. Crushed stone for concrete pavements is used only clean, obtained by crushing durable frost-resistant rocks. The compressive strength in a water-saturated state of igneous rocks must be not lower than 1000 kgf/cm2 (100 MPa), of sedimentary rocks - 800 kgf/cm2 (80 MPa). The loss in mass during abrasion in the shelf drum of igneous rocks is 25%, of sedimentary rocks - 30%. Crushed stone is used in two fractions: 3-10 and 10-20 mm. Approximate composition of the concrete mixture: cement M400 - 430 kg, crushed stone - 1380; sand - 500 kg; water - 160 l. The mixture is delivered to the site by ZIL-555, MAE-503 dump trucks or concrete mixer trucks.
For the construction of sidewalks and walkways, colored concrete is becoming increasingly common. It is obtained by using special colored cement as a binder or by introducing coloring pigments into a dry concrete mixture during the preparation of the concrete mixture. White and colored cements must be hydrophobic and comply with GOST 10178-62. The grade of cement must be at least 400 in terms of compression when tested in compacted solutions, tensile strength - not less than 55 kgf/cm2 (5.5 MPa). The beginning of setting is no earlier than after 2 hours.
Pigments produced by the domestic industry are of two types: mineral, including synthetic and. natural, obtained by fine grinding of paint ores, and organic. Pigments are fine powders, insoluble in water, oil and other solvents, capable of imparting color to materials when mixed with them. The higher the dispersion of pigments, the higher the coloring ability of pigments.
For the production of colored concrete, pigments are suitable that have a specific gravity close to the specific gravity of cement to ensure high homogeneity of the mixture; great coloring power; resistance to alkalis; sunlight and atmospheric influences; the absence of harmful impurities soluble in water, which, when mixing cement with water, negatively affect the setting time, the hardening process and the strength of the cement stone; the absence of easily soluble salts that can form efflorescence; clean, bright color and low cost.
When laying pavements and walkways, colored concrete can be laid to the full thickness or in the top layer of the coating with a thickness of 4-6 cm. The installation of a two-layer coating with colored concrete in the top layer is carried out in two ways: 1) the installation of the bottom (from ordinary concrete) and the top ( decorative) layers of coating are carried out without a break in time, which allows compaction of two layers at the same time; 2) the installation of the lower and upper layers is carried out separately and is divided into two stages - laying concrete in the lower layer, compacting and maintaining it; laying colored concrete in the top layer no earlier than 7 days after installing the bottom layer.
To ensure good adhesion of the layers, the surface of the concrete of the lower layer is treated with a 30% solution of hydrochloric acid with immediate rinsing with water, and then a 3-5 mm thick layer of activated cement-sand mortar of a 1:1 composition is applied, after which the top layer of concrete is laid. Caring for colored concrete, like regular concrete, is carried out by covering it with plastic film, glassine, kraft paper, etc., followed by filling it with sand, which is periodically moistened.
Expansion joints are installed using the same type and method as for conventional cement-concrete pavements. When laying concrete in two layers, the seams made in the bottom layer must also be in the top layer.
When putting it into operation, a number of requirements are imposed on the finished concrete pavement. The coating must be carried out in accordance with the project and current regulatory and technical documents. Upon acceptance, you should check the thickness of the base according to the acts for hidden work, the grade of laid concrete according to laboratory tests, the evenness of the surface of the coating with a double lath at least 20 m later. Permissible deviations from the design in terms of thickness are no more than ±5 mm, in terms of evenness - clearance under the double lath should be no more than 3 mm, there should be no holes or cracks on the coating; covering width - no more than 5 cm; along the transverse slope - no more than 5%; according to the difference in the level of seams - no more than 3 mm; in terms of concrete strength at 28 days of age when tested in bending - no more than 5%, when tested in compression - no more than 10%.
Coverings of sidewalks and pedestrian paths are also made from small stone blocks (mosaics), clinker bricks, asphalt concrete, silicate, ceramic, cement-concrete and stone slabs. Coverings of a wide variety of patterns are made from stone blocks - in transverse and diagonal rows, along arcs of a circle, etc. Clinker bricks are laid in transverse and diagonal rows, as well as in a longitudinal and transverse pattern. Stone slabs are made mainly in a square shape with a side size of up to 75 cm or a rectangular shape with a larger side size of up to 1 m with an aspect ratio of 1:1.5. Such slabs are laid without bandaging or with bandaging of the seams. Asphalt concrete slabs are made in size 20X20X3; 25X25X4; 30X30X4 cm.
One of the promising types of prefabricated pavements and walkways are coatings made of small-sized concrete slabs. The production of slabs using the industrial method makes it possible to make this type of coating cheaper and more widespread. In turn, mass production will contribute to further reduction in cost and progress in the development of prefabricated coverings. With this manufacturing method, concrete slabs are more durable and hygienic and can replace natural stone. The front surface of the slabs, in addition to its coloring, can be treated with various special matrices. Concrete slabs are extremely varied in shape: square, rectangular, hexagonal, round, and trapezoidal, triangular and all sorts of irregular shapes. Prefabricated pavement and walkway slabs are laid on various bases, the thickness of which (in cm) is given below.
Sand is used as the underlying layer, the layer thickness of which is assumed to be up to 25 cm. The slabs, depending on the accepted width of the sidewalk, garden or park path, are laid with or without bandaging the seams, as well as diagonally.
Laying the slabs should be done using the “pull” method. To maintain the slope and evenness of the surface when laying the slabs, it is recommended to begin work with the installation of a milestone course, laid along the side stone or edge of the lawn or across the sidewalk; laying should be done in one or both directions of the milestone course and towards the slope.
For the installation of coverings from slabs measuring 50X50 cm, a vacuum gripper of a round shape d = 400 mm, weighing 7 kg, is used, which can lift a load of up to 100 kg. To ensure complete adherence of the slabs to the base, the final landing of the slabs to the design mark is carried out using a special vibrator weighing 44 kg.
The width of the seam between the plates must be at least 5 mm. The width of the seams is controlled using templates. The excess of the edges of adjacent slabs should not be more than 2 mm. The seams between the slabs are filled with various materials according to the design. The evenness of the coating is checked with a three-point lath at least every 20 m; The clearance under the rail should not exceed 3 mm.
To mechanize the work of laying small-sized paving slabs, we can recommend a replaceable vacuum gripping device mounted on an E-153 forklift or excavator. The traverse is a frame on which 1-4 vacuum grippers are attached. The distance between the centers of the vacuum grippers on the traverse should vary depending on the size of the plates used. Using this device, up to 400 slabs can be laid per shift.
Laying of paving slabs with a side size of more than 75 cm is carried out using truck cranes using the technology used in the construction of road surfaces from prefabricated reinforced concrete slabs.
NIImosstroy has developed a machine for laying paving slabs. The layer forms the base of a given profile, compacts it and at the same time lays the slabs. This ensures the combination of three operations, which significantly increases labor productivity. In Fig. 114 shows a diagram of a machine for laying paving slabs. The equipment of the machine consists of an inclined guide 6 with calibrating ribs 15 and a support plate 5 and a vibrating plate 3 connected to the guide by rods 4. In the upper part of the guide there is a receiving device 9, which serves to place a container 10 with a package of slabs 11. Feeding slabs from the receiving device the guide is carried out by a device consisting of pushers 12 with a hydraulic cylinder 13, which is controlled automatically using a lever with a roller 8 and a hydraulic distributor 7. Vibrators 1 of the paver working element are installed on the vibrating plate 3. The vibrators are driven from a hydraulic motor through a V-belt drive 2. The equipment is installed on the base machine using a hinged coupling device 16, which ensures the adaptability of the base plate to the surface of the foundation being laid due to the longitudinal and transverse hinges of the coupling device. The guide is installed in the transport position using a hydraulic cylinder 14 and ties connecting the guide to the screed plate.
The vibrating plate is transported in a trailer to the stacker using a trolley. In this case, the working body of the paver is suspended through the walls to a guide, which in turn rests on the vibrating plate. This reduces the cantilever load on the drive wheels of the tractor. The container is a welded structure consisting of a beam with ribs and side panels. Shoes are attached to the ribs, ensuring the inclined position of the slabs in the container. In the center of the beam, eyes are welded for the hook of the lifting mechanism, which feeds the container with slabs into the receiving device.
The equipment works as follows. While moving, the paver uses its working body to form a base from the required material, for example a cement-sand mixture. At the same time, slabs are supplied to the base formed by the stacker with a guide in a continuous flow, which move under the influence of gravity and the mass of the overlying slabs. The vibrating plate makes the slabs settle. The slabs are fed onto the guide from the receiving device by pushers controlled by an automatic device. This device is acted upon by plates located on the guide.
The equipment ensures the laying of paving slabs measuring 25X25-50X50 cm, for which the calibrating ribs have the ability to move along a guide with their fixation in a given position. The drive of the working parts of the equipment is carried out from the operator’s cabin of the base machine. The proposed machines and devices make it possible to reduce labor costs when installing sidewalk surfaces. However, to further increase labor productivity when constructing prefabricated pavements, work should be carried out to create light, high-speed machines.
Almost every major city in Russia has bicycle paths, but I have never seen them done correctly.
First, let’s determine why we need a bicycle in the city. A bicycle has two main purposes: sports and entertainment and transport. The first one is clear. People ride bicycles in parks and on embankments. Almost all the bike paths that we build serve the sports and entertainment function of the bicycle. This is the reason for many stereotypes that are firmly driven into the heads of officials and ordinary people. For example, you can often hear: “Why make bike paths if we can only ride for 3 months a year?” That is, it doesn’t even occur to a person that you can ride a bicycle in any weather. We practically do not pay attention to the transport function of the bicycle. But in vain. In Moscow, according to various sources, there are from 2 to 5 million bicycles (there are no exact statistics), and many people could use a bicycle as an alternative to public transport or a personal car. But the main problem is infrastructure.
With the rapid development of technology, bicycles and other vehicles will receive a new life in the coming years. Already, electric bicycles make it possible to easily move around the city, even with difficult terrain. Electric scooters are compact and maneuverable. Every year they come up with new personal means of transportation around the city, so it’s hard for me to imagine who we will meet on bike paths in a few years. Perhaps they will soon lose the name “cycle paths” and become lanes for individual low-speed (up to 25 km/h) transport.
But let's return to the present. Most people cannot use a bicycle for everyday commuting because it is unsafe. Currently, traffic rules require a cyclist to ride on the road. Given the general poor driving culture, cyclists on the road are at risk. Some cyclists try to ride on sidewalks; this is allowed by the rules, but it is wrong. Since on the sidewalk a pedestrian is already at risk, especially children, who may be bumped into by a cyclist.
That is why it is very important to create a separate infrastructure for cyclists so that they do not interfere with either cars or pedestrians. And safety is the first thing to consider when we talk about designing bike paths.
Surprisingly, the main opponents of the development of cycling are motorists. It would seem that they should be the first to demand good cycling infrastructure. After all, many who currently use a car will switch to a bicycle if it is safe and convenient. If I were an avid car enthusiast, I would have long ago held rallies under the windows of the Department of Transport demanding the creation of bicycle paths and convenient parking for cyclists. Everyone goes by bike, and I’ll drive a car without traffic jams;)
Russia currently has no experience in developing cycling infrastructure. Our cities are just faced with this. There is a lot to learn in the coming years. It will be good if we turn to the experience of different countries and take it into account.
In Helsinki, the capital of Finland, people started thinking about the problem of transport 30 years ago. Then a bicycle department was created under the city administration. Our own department for bikes! And in Moscow, for example, the first bicycle path appeared only in 2011 on Vernadsky Avenue. A The first bicycle lane appeared quite recently. However, so far everything is not working perfectly.
Drivers still won’t get used to the fact that a bike path is not a parking lane.
By the way, according to amendments to the traffic rules, driving cars on a bicycle path and lane is subject to a fine of 2,000 rubles. The only question is how carefully the traffic police will control this. Perhaps they should be reminded that the state budget can be replenished with the help of a new fine.
One of the worst bike paths in the world is located in Moscow on Pyatnitskaya Street. What idiot came up with it, history is silent. I hope he's already been fed to the crocodiles. To make a path in the middle of a narrow sidewalk - you have to think of something like that... 
There are no identifying signs for drivers at the intersection of the path and the street. There are no signs, color codes or even a speed bump. 
Besides everything else, the path starts from nowhere and goes to nowhere. 
There are plenty of fools in other countries too. Some people think that in order to make a bike path, it is enough to draw lines on the sidewalk with paint. They did this in Vilnius. How do you like it? 
There are many bad examples I can give, but I don’t want to waste your time on them. Let's figure out what the right bike paths should be.
Recently “City Projects were translated” and a whole book was published "Designing Urban Bike Paths". In the book There are many examples, diagrams, illustrations of how to make bike paths. If suddenly the mayor of your city decides to develop cycling, be sure to give him such a book.
The most important thing to remember is that a cyclist is an individual road user. It is no worse than cars or pedestrians. And a separate infrastructure for cyclists is needed. In our country, a cyclist is often treated either as a pedestrian on a bicycle or as a small car, offering to use the existing infrastructure. This is impossible. Most people avoid cycling for safety reasons. And only competent infrastructure will allow people to use bicycles as an alternative to public transport or a personal car.
There are several types of bike paths.
Type one – one-way protected bike paths. They are located at the level of the roadway and are separated from it by a barrier, like this cycle path in Dublin. The barrier can be posts, flower beds or deliminators. 
And this path in Prague is separated from the roadway by a parking lot 
IN New York- bollards, parking and flower beds. 
Border separation 
In Russia there are big problems with physical barriers, as they interfere with snow removal in winter. Here we need to look for some other solution.
A proper bike path has markings; it should be clear to all road users that this is a cyclist zone. If there is no money for bollards, the path is separated from the road by markings. It must be clearly clear to the motorist that this is a bicycle path and entry is prohibited.
One of the main guarantors of safety and comfort is the width of the bike path, which will determine whether you can pass an oncoming bike or whether you can overtake the one in front. The minimum recommended width of a bicycle path is 1.5 m. But in areas of intense cycling it should be increased to 2 meters. The parking buffer zone should be one meter wide. Excellent bike roads in Beijing;) But this is a separate case, since previously in China the bicycle was generally the main mode of transport. 
Potentially dangerous points should be correctly highlighted with color, markings and “Give way to bicycle” signs. 
Manholes and sewer grates must not impede the movement of the bicycle. For example, storm drain grates must be such that bicycle wheels do not fall through them. 
A very important and dangerous point is the intersection of a bicycle path with bus stops. Here, it is recommended to lay the path behind public transport stops so that cyclists do not interfere with the access of vehicles and the boarding of passengers. 
Type two – elevated bike paths.
They are laid above the level of the roadway and can be one-way or two-way. 
As I already said, such a bicycle path should run above the level of the roadway - for example, at sidewalk level or at an intermediate level. The path must be separated from the roadway by a curb, green spaces or street furniture. To make it clear to pedestrians that this is a bicycle path, it is necessary to use a different surface.
Separately for Russia, it should be noted that the sidewalk surface should not be inferior in quality to the path surface. I often encounter situations where the bike path has perfect asphalt, but the sidewalk has crooked tiles. Then everyone is surprised - why are pedestrians walking along the path?
The path must be barrier-free, no curbs!
If the bicycle path runs along a parking lane, then the recommended width of the buffer zone for passengers to exit is 0.9 m. This width will prevent collisions of cyclists with car doors 
Type three – two-way bike paths.
These are separate zones for cycling in both directions, but located on the same side of the road. The advantage of such bike lanes is that they prevent cyclists from moving against the flow of traffic on the roadway. The marking, as in previous cases, must be applied along the entire length. 
The recommended width of a two-way cycle track is 3.7 m. 
To make a turn from the bike path, it is necessary to provide a waiting area for the turn in two steps. Again, the path should be separated with posts and other dividers.
When designing bicycle paths, it is necessary to take into account intersections and delimit zones intended for different modes of transport. A well-thought-out scheme will reduce waiting times for cyclists. 
There must be stop zones at traffic lights. According to an American study, 77% of cyclists feel safer if there is such a zone at intersections.
The length of the zone is usually from 3 to 5 meters. The stop line indicates where cars should stop. 
By the way, the traffic light for cyclists usually lights up a few seconds earlier than the traffic light for cars. This allows cyclists to gain speed and safely occupy their lane beyond the intersection.
Stop zones should be marked with colored coverings, for example, as in London. 
Markings indicate a safe route at intersections for cyclists. The markings must be made of white anti-slip and reflective material. Here is an intersection in New York: 
Crossroads in the Netherlands. 
You can use arrows, cyclist symbols, and colored road surfaces at intersections. 
The correct way to design bicycle paths would be to provide waiting areas for turning in two steps. Waiting areas are marked with a bicycle symbol and an arrow to indicate the required direction of travel and the location of bicycles. 
This area is located in a protected part of the road, usually in a parking lane or between a bicycle lane and a pedestrian crossing.
But the waiting area can also be located at the edge of a transverse road in a parking lot, rather than in a car lane or in a pocket separated from the sidewalk. Road signs and a bicycle traffic light would be useful.
At the approach to intersections, bicycle paths are organized in such a way as to avoid collisions between cyclists and turning vehicles. 
This typically involves completing a protected bike lane or parking lane before the intersection, and then moving the bike lane closer to or merging with the car lane.
If the cycle path ends shortly before an intersection, it should be provided with a traditional cycle lane, a stop area at a traffic light, or a combined cycle and turn lane.
If the bicycle path turns into a bicycle lane, then its recommended width is 1.8 m. 9–15 m before the end of the buffer zone of the bicycle path, parking of cars must be prohibited. 
Bicycle traffic lights make it easier for cyclists to cross the roadway. This is a regular red-yellow-green traffic light, equipped with a bicycle pictogram.
Traffic light in Amsterdam
Parking that obstructs visibility must be prohibited no less than 30 m before the crossing and no less than 6 m after it.
What makes a bike lane most visible? Of course, color. According to surveys, a car parked on a green lane becomes too visible, so drivers prefer not to park in these places.
A standard white stripe is applied along the edges of the colored track to improve visibility at night. 
The colored coating must be made of anti-slip and reflective material. In addition, it is necessary to install “Give way to cyclists” signs. Change zones can be highlighted with intermittent color coating.
If it is not possible to make the bike path entirely colored, we should at least make it so in problem areas and intersections, as in Copenhagen. 
Another important question: what to make the markings from? The most common method of marking is applying paint, to which microbeads and reflectors can be added. This is the cheapest and most short-lived material, and when wet, the paint becomes slippery. 
Epoxy resin and methyl methacrylate are more durable. But the resin is sensitive to moisture and temperature, takes a long time to dry, and the second option is more expensive than resin and regular paint.
Thermoplastic as a coating material is durable and easy to apply, but it is not a cheap option. At the same time, its service life is from 5 years, so this is a compromise option and the most popular. 
Although there is also colored asphalt, it requires labor-intensive maintenance. And as a minus - there are no reflective properties.
In the Netherlands, for example, colored asphalt and colored road tiles are more often used. 
If the infrastructure is built correctly, the bicycle navigation system should also be taken into account.
This includes signs of confirmation, turning, and decision making. Navigation markings can complement navigation signs. 
Very good signs in Amsterdam. Everything is as it should be
And in many countries they install counters on the paths to understand how many cyclists ride on them. 
Clearly shows the efficiency of the tracks. 
Unfortunately, until now, any attempt to somehow improve the cycling infrastructure is met not only with bewilderment from officials, but also with acute rejection on the part of motorists and pedestrians. As a rule, they are sure that bicycle paths will only worsen the traffic situation, and in general, why do we need another full-fledged road user if there is already little space in the city.
In fact, this is just a myth. In the fall I wrote about How traffic has changed in New York after a number of city streets were reconstructed to accommodate cyclists.
It turned out that after bicycle lanes were opened on the roads, the number of accidents decreased (including those involving cyclists), and the speed of cars not only did not decrease, but even increased in some areas due to the fact that many just switched to bicycles.
Here is the standard scheme for changing New York streets, according to which the city's Department of Transportation has been operating since 2007. 
As you can see, the car lanes are being cut and narrowed, but there are dedicated lanes for buses and bicycles, and one of the parking lanes has been shifted to protect cyclists and has undergone landscaping. This is what they did with First Avenue, for example. These measures not only reduced the number of accidents and increased the number of cyclists by 160% (which in turn improved the environmental situation), but also had a beneficial effect on local business: sales in shops and cafes located in the “bicycle renaissance” zone increased sharply.
You can continue to persist, or you can conduct similar experiments in Russia. Then everyone will be able to see for themselves that their city will become cozier, safer and more attractive not only for themselves, but also for tourists, students and investors.
As I already wrote, a huge contribution to the cycling of the country is made by “Urban projects”. And thanks to the book “Designing Urban Bicycle Paths,” funds for the translation and publication of which we put it all together on Planete.ru, you can finally create the right cycling infrastructure.
Now cyclists and their sympathizers can not just be indignant that they have a bad ride, but read exactly how to do it to make everyone feel good and comfortable, and competently demand a normal bike path from the city administration. We have a lot of good examples in the book. 
Anyone who is partial to cycling can now purchase “Designing Urban Cycle Paths” in online stores, for example at “Ozone”, or in regular offline bookstores. Those who participated in raising funds for the publication will soon receive their lots with all the required bonuses in the form of autographs, excursions and other things. Well, according to tradition, the book will go to city libraries, administrations, universities and other places where decisions are made about what our cities will be like
It would seem that you don’t need a lot of intelligence to build landscape elements such as paths and platforms. Laying paths is not like building a house.
However, if you want them to serve you for more than one year, you need to take into account all the nuances in the construction of such elements.
Otherwise, all your energy and time may be wasted.
What should the paths and platforms be like?
Basic requirements for these landscape elements:
Naturalness and harmony;
Strength and durability;
Easy to care for.
Paths and platforms should look natural, i.e. match with the style of the home.
To make them strong and durable, great attention should be paid to the choice of paving material.
Well, the ease of maintenance is also influenced by the properties of the material.
Types and purposes
There are 3 types of tracks:
Walking;
Auxiliary;
Transport.
First, you need to decide what task each specific track will perform. Will a car drive through it, or will it be intended for walking around the garden?
The purpose depends on how the base (underlying layer) will be constructed, the type of coating, as well as the width and height.
Track and pad options
Each parameter is influenced by several factors. For example, the width of a particular track (as well as the area) will depend on what function you define for it.
Width
The walking path should comfortably accommodate two people, i.e. the width should be 1-1.5 m. This also applies to the path that leads to the house.
A path of secondary importance (auxiliary) can be 80-100 cm wide. For example, a path connecting a house and a garage, a utility room, or a house and a recreation area. And for auxiliary paths in the garden between the beds, a width of 50-60 cm is sufficient.
The width of transport and access roads, first of all, depends on the size of the transport that will pass along them. It can vary from 2 to 3.5 m.
The dimensions of transport sites also depend on the size of the transport itself and its quantity. For one car, a space of approximately 2.5 x 4.5 m is allocated.
Height
As for the height, we mean the height relative to the level of the lawn, there can be 2 options: above the level of the lawn or below. The calculation is made on the fact that the water that falls with precipitation must drain somewhere.
If you are going to arrange water flow along paths, then they must be built below the level of the lawn. At the same time, the design heights and other coverings on the site must be strictly observed to prevent blocking the drainage.
Paths above the lawn level can only be installed if the area is well drained. Since they are built with a slight transverse slope, all the water will flow onto the adjacent lawn. And so that water does not stagnate on it, the soil must be moisture-absorbing.
Slope
The entire road and path network in the garden should be designed with a slight slope to avoid the formation of puddles during precipitation or melting snow.
In this case, the slope along the path can be 2-5%, and across it - only 1-2%. In addition, the direction of the slope can be different: from the central axis to the sides or from one edge to the other.
The direction depends on many factors, for example, whether the surface on the site is flat or has a general slope. In addition, to prevent water from accumulating in any one point of the garden, the entire area must be planned with a “slope”. Thus, the slope of the paths also depends on this layout.
Types of coverage
Today, modern materials make it possible to make paths and platforms not only durable, but also beautiful, and in some cases even especially decorative.
Depending on the type of material, there are 3 types of coating:
Solid;
Combined.
Curbs
Not all paths and areas require curbs. As a rule, edges of soft and combined coverings are reinforced with curbs. And for hard surfaces, strengthening the edges is not necessary.
For the border, use the same material or one that is in harmony with it in color and structure. Both low and high borders look good.
The curbs are laid in a groove located slightly below the level of the path, the bottom of which is covered with sand and then with concrete. Laying is done before paving begins.
And finally, some tips
To prevent the path from becoming overgrown with weeds, a film should be laid under the backfill or under the “trough”. Of course, weeds can get into the gaps between the slabs (with step-by-step paving). Therefore, as a preventative measure, the gaps are planted with moss, lawn grass, ground cover plants, bryozoans, or treated with Roundup.
If you are going to buy expensive covering material, then it is better to entrust the installation of paths and platforms to professionals, or at least read specialized literature. Paving technology has its own secrets, for example, how to properly create a foundation (trough) for paving. And even if you decide to make a simple path from wooden cuts, you will still need a base for it.
If a good, durable material is chosen for paving and all the subtleties of technology are observed when constructing the paths, then their service life without repair will be about 15-20 years.