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DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

This article outlines an affordable way for home gardeners to create beautiful pathways through their gardens. It highlights the advantages of using a form to create the paths, such as the ability to customize shapes, angles, and widths with ease. The form makes it possible to construct paths quickly and without any special skills or tools. Furthermore, the finished paths look great and can last for many years with only minimal maintenance. This means that home gardeners can easily create stunning pathways at a low cost.

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Precast concrete paths are strong, durable and economical. The technology of the device of such a coating is simple and allows you to make a track without special preparation. Use your imagination when choosing the shape and color of concrete, and create a garden path with your own hands at low cost.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

Materials

For the base for covering the track you need:

  • crushed stone with a particle size of 20โ€“40 mm;
  • sand;
  • geotextile.

To cover the track, concrete B15 (M200) is used. To make it yourself, you must observe the following proportion of ingredients by volume:

  1. Cement ะœ400 โ€“ 1 part.
  2. Crushed stone (gravel with a grain size of 20-40 mm) โ€“ 4 parts.
  3. Washed sand โ€“ 2 parts.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

Sand should not contain impurities that reduce the strength of concrete (clay, silt, mica, dust particles), more than 10% of the total weight, and coarse aggregate โ€“ no more than 2% of these impurities.

Based on the consumption of components per m3 concrete mix, you can calculate the consumption of cement, crushed stone and sand for the entire track:

  1. Cement M400 โ€“ 280 kg.
  2. Sand โ€“ 686 kg.
  3. Crushed stone (gravel) โ€“ 1204 kg.
  4. Water โ€“ 175 l.

If desired, a dye is added to the concrete mixture, then the boring gray color of concrete turns into a play of colors on a green canvas garden lawn.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

Instruments

To arrange a garden path, tools are required:

  • for marking the contour on the ground;
  • for concreting forms;
  • for filling joints.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

Shape selection

Prefabricated prefabricated forms

The form or actually the formwork for future concrete tiles can be purchased ready-made, factory-made. They are available on the market in a wide range. Some of them mimic the arbitrary shapes of natural stone, others โ€“ paving slabs.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

You can also make tiles using any high rim bakeware.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

DIY molds

Formwork for concrete tiles can be made from boards with a thickness of more than 19 mm. The height of the formwork is assumed to be 50 mm.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

As a form, you can use a cut car tire or a beam of 50ร—50 mm. Wooden formwork elements are treated with an antiseptic. You can coat them with used engine oil..

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

The randomly bent steel strip is also often used as formwork for artificial stone.

You can also make tiles with an individual design: โ€œDo-it-yourself garden path tiles. Photo instruction โ€œ.

Phased track technology

According to the finished plan, first a breakdown is made on the site. The future track canvas is marked with pegs and rope. Further, excess soil is removed to a depth of 20-30 cm, taking into account the thickness of the base under the coating and the coating itself.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

It is important to remove the entire height of the vegetation layer. With a high soil layer height, the height of the base under the cover increases.

It must be taken into account that the surface of the path itself must be at least 5 cm above the surface of the land of the plot. This will allow water to not accumulate on the surface. For this, a slight bias is made on both sides..

The subgrade is carefully compacted. It is better to lay geotextiles on the ground to prevent gravel from sinking into the ground and the possibility of plant germination. Then a layer of gravel (10-15 cm) is laid, and then a layer of sand (5-10 cm). All layers must be tamped. Sand must be spilled with water.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

At this stage, you need to check the level of the base in order to reach the required track mark after laying the covering. The form is laid out on a finished sandy base, slightly embedding it in the sand. Correct the required position of the formwork with a mallet.

The ready-made concrete mix is โ€‹โ€‹carefully laid out in a mold, tamped with a narrow manual rammer. The upper part is aligned. Concrete does not accept bending loads. To increase the service life of the paving slabs, you can lay trims of reinforcement or steel meshes during concreting.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

When the concrete has set, the mold is carefully removed. Next, you need to iron the surface of the track. To do this, dilute cement milk (cement + water) to the state of liquid sour cream and cover the concrete surface with a thin layer. This will make the track cover more durable and give it a beautiful metallic color..

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

Important! During the hardening of concrete, care is needed. In hot weather, they begin to moisturize it 3 hours after laying (7 days). In a cool (less than +5 ยฐ C) โ€“ cover.

Before using the form again, it must be cleaned of concrete residues and dirt..

The joints between the tiles can be filled with cement-sand mortar, sand or earth, followed by sowing lawn grass. Seams are filled with sand or earth with a mop, after which they are spilled with water to seal.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

You can operate a concrete path after concrete has set 70% strength (two weeks), or better 100% of its strength (28 days).

Advantages and disadvantages of a concrete walkway

Advantages:

  1. Strength and durability are the most important advantages of such a path in the garden..
  2. Ease of manufacture makes it possible to make the most reliable road surface, as well as to give the surface any shape from available materials.
  3. Modern dyes allow achieving an interesting aesthetic effect at high strength properties of the material. You can create an imitation of natural stone or embody your own creative solution.

Disadvantages:

  1. The production time of the track is increased due to the time for concrete hardening. However, the tiles can be made in advance. We told you how to do this in the article: โ€œMaking paving slabs with your own handsโ€.
  2. A well-prepared base is required for placing concrete.
  3. During the process of concrete hardening, it is necessary to take care of it in adverse weather conditions.

Concrete slabs for the walkway can be made of any shape, color, filled with decorative elements from natural stone, glass, metal, make prints of your hands, feet, plant leaves, various patterns and ornaments.

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

DIY garden paths at low cost using a form

Any work becomes a pleasure if there is creativity in it.

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Comments: 3
  1. Hadley

    What are some easy and affordable materials that can be used to create DIY garden paths using a form?

    Reply
    1. Levi Lambert

      Some easy and affordable materials that can be used to create DIY garden paths using a form are gravel, crushed stone, mulch, or even sand. These materials are relatively inexpensive and readily available. They can be poured into a DIY form, leveled, and then compacted to create a solid and stable garden path. Using a form allows for easy shaping and consistent dimensions. Additionally, these materials require minimal maintenance, are durable, and can easily blend into any garden landscape.

      Reply
  2. Mason Morgan

    What type of form is most suitable for creating DIY garden paths at a low cost?

    Reply
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