Foundation preparation
1. First you need to carefully prepare the base. To properly carry out such work, you must take into account the service life and appearance that you are counting on. You need to start with a trench, the bottom of which you want to level. This is most often done using a roller, but a specialized machine is ideal. If no other solution is suitable, you can take a vibrating plate that will cope with the task. Manual sealing is too time consuming and inefficient. The depth of the trench depends on the purpose of the paved area and, accordingly, on the thickness of the sidewalk, as well as on the layers laid under the slabs. In addition, it is necessary that the compacted bottom of the trench accurately reproduces the desired angle of inclination.
Base Layers Tab
2. The next stage is the laying of the base layers. Under the floor tiles for surfaces on which there is movement (approaches to houses, parking lots or roads), most often lay a layer of rubble. It is carefully tamped with a vibrating plate. If the load is expected not only in the form of cars, but also in the form of heavy equipment, this layer should be even thicker.
Landing zone marking
3. Next, you need to mark the landing zone, if it is planned. Curbstones are best suited for concrete. It is necessary to highlight the sidewalks and flower beds that will pass through the land.
Surface seal
4. After laying the curbs seal the surface. The base layers under the slabs are rammed three times, each time separately.
Substrate preparation
5. Finally, the top layer is prepared under the soil with very fine material, practically sand. This layer does not mix with concrete, which makes it easier to disassemble the structure in case of additional need for disassembly. In addition, without this measure, the tiles in the winter could crack in the cold, as the concrete expands in the cold. This thin layer must be smoothed while maintaining uniform material distribution. Of the first five stages of laying paving, the most time-consuming is the process of preparing the substrate. Laying the sidewalk in comparison with it is children's fun. The only case in which this stage is different is the laying of natural stone.
Pavement Installation
6. Installation of the sidewalk begins from the lowest point of the laid surface. From here comes the upward movement. Standard tiles easily assemble into any pattern. Only in case of atypical dimensions can one resort to sidewalk deformation. Doing it yourself is only worth the experience.
General recommendations
7. If the pavement is already laid, it is covered with dust, especially for joints at the joints between tiles. To bring this area in order, it is enough to periodically use a broom. During laying, all tiles must be clean and always dry, therefore, after rain, work is not carried out.
Final stage
8. The final step is to seal over the entire surface using a vibrating plate. During final processing, a protective sleeve must be put on the plate so as not to damage the sidewalk.
