How to make a path from granite screenings. Garden paths made of crushed stone - simple and long lasting! Instructions on how to properly prepare the base for a future garden path from granite screenings

Before filling the yard, you need to understand what you want to get as a result. As far as I understand you a private house, the design of the adjacent area can be different, you can make a hard platform for a car (for example)

you can make a lawn with a lawn

can be arranged various shapes flower beds

Or you can combine all of the above

There are a lot of options, it all depends only on your imagination and capabilities.

Before you start registration local area, you need to sketch out a plan with the planned purpose of each section, and then for each section you can already choose your own coverage. If after construction you have a lot left construction waste, then you can do it alpine slide, construction waste is an excellent drainage and the basis for various flower beds various plants. For flat areas, you need to clear the place, level it and you can start decorating.

Parking for a car can be arranged different ways. You can install plastic gratings and make a lawn

Various paving slabs can be laid

For styling paving slabs, you need to remove the top layer of soil, pour in crushed stone (you can use construction waste), then add a layer of sand, then you can lay paving slabs using a level. You can invite specialists for this work; there are quite a lot of companies involved in landscaping.

I do not recommend covering the area asphalt pavement, on hot summer days it will melt, and its components, to put it mildly, are not entirely environmentally friendly. If at this stage you are not ready for such global work, then you can simply level the area and fill it with sand or gravel; this will simplify landscaping work in the future; you will not need to dismantle it complex options coverings, such as pouring concrete or laying asphalt.

Inexpensive and easy-to-make paths made from granite screenings can turn out to be a beautiful and convenient element of landscaping the territory of a personal garden or summer cottage. Thanks to its simplified design, walkways from this material can be made independently, without turning to specialists. Granite crushed stone has high performance indicators. It is distinguished by strength, durability and frost resistance.

Material characteristics

Granite screenings are obtained from hard rocks by grinding waste during mining natural stone. In addition to being used as a decorative backfill for the surface of garden paths, it is widely used for:

preparations concrete mixtures when pouring mosaic floors;
production of high-quality asphalt mixtures;
finishing plastering works on facades and in interior spaces;
when designing landscape design elements;
powder for rolled roofing materials;
filling mechanical cleaning filters;
sprinkling roads during icy conditions;
in the production of building materials.

In each case, the required fraction of granite screenings is selected based on the technological requirements of production. Manufacturers produce gravel of three fractions:

small up to 2 mm;
average 2-5 mm;
large 5-10 mm.

Stones larger than 10 mm are called crushed stone.

For garden paths made of granite screenings, the recommended gravel size should not exceed 5 mm.

Walking on larger stones in light and soft shoes will not be comfortable. In addition, the fine and medium fractions are better compacted and give an almost even and hard surface garden paths.

Granite gravel does not absorb moisture, making it frost-resistant and does not collapse over time. As a result of use natural materials during its manufacture, it is environmentally friendly for humans and is not susceptible to temperature changes.

Depending on the granite deposit, screening paths can have a variety of color shades. The most inexpensive material is gray, but for a more colorful design, colored stone of red, burgundy, blue, green, orange or other colors can be laid on the surface.

Required materials and tools

To properly arrange garden paths from granite screenings with your own hands, you will need the following materials:

colored granite screening of small and medium fractions;
less expensive gray screening to reduce costs;
crushed stone fraction 10-40 mm for the installation of a drainage layer;
geotextiles with a density of at least 120 g/m (non-woven insulating material);
sand, preferably river sand;
materials for;
cement for fixing curbs;
water;
pegs for marking work and primary securing of curbs at the site of their installation.

From the tools necessary for the job you will need to prepare:

shovel and bayonet shovel;
measuring tape and cord;
buckets and wheelbarrow for moving materials;
hammer and rake;
car or hand tool for compacting paths made of granite screenings.

All these materials and tools are freely available in most hardware stores. It is cheaper to rent a tamping machine rather than purchase one.

Marking

Marking with pegs.

Work on installing garden paths begins with markings. It should be taken into account that their location is influenced not only overall design and the shortest distances, but also the slopes of the site, the nature of the soil, the presence of trees, the growing roots of which can disrupt the beautiful coating over time.

Marking is done by driving stakes into the ground and stretching a colored or white cord along them. The width of the paths should allow two people to separate when meeting without leaving the covered surface.

Excavation and backfilling of the drainage layer

Before backfilling granite screenings, it is necessary to prepare the base of the path, which consists of:

two layers of geotextile;
drainage crushed stone layer;
sand cushion;
backfill from granite screenings.

In addition, a border must be installed along the edges, which can be concrete, brick, wood, plastic or other materials.

To install crushed stone drainage, along the marked lines of the path from stone screenings, it is necessary to remove the top layer of soil by digging a trench 20-25 cm deep. Level its bottom and, which then needs to be sprinkled with a 2-3 cm layer of sand. Geotextiles will drain moisture well into the soil and will not allow weeds to sprout. Sand is needed to protect the textile layer from damage by the sharp edges of crushed stone.

Excavation.

Cushion, border and gravel layer

Next, add a 10-15 cm layer of crushed stone and compact it. The drainage layer must be protected thin layer sand and cover with another layer of geotextile. After this, install curbs that will prevent gravel from spilling to the sides and soil from getting onto the surface of the path.

Curbs can be made from treated wood, concrete, or brick. The borders of garden paths are secured with stakes, cement mortar or special plastic fasteners.

Schematic representation of a path made of granite screenings.

Place a layer of sand 5-7 cm thick on top of the textile as a support cushion for the granite screenings. A dry base will be more durable. cement-sand mixture. This support layer must be compacted well. The quality of compaction has an important influence on the stability of the gravel layer.

You need to pour granite gravel onto the sand and spill water on the surface. Thanks to the water, the sand and stone will be well compacted and provide an even and dense coating. For final leveling, use granite screening.

When using gray gravel, you can increase the strength of the path surface by pouring liquid cement laitance onto it. It will bind individual pebbles together well, forming a monolith similar in characteristics to concrete.

Installation of plastic borders.

Finally

The technology for making paths from granite screenings is one of the simplest. Even without having construction skills, you can make them yourself.

In addition, you do not need to purchase tiles, paving stones or other piece paving materials, and such paths look very beautiful and original.

Frequent rains and inclement weather in St. Petersburg make it impossible to comfortably move around a garden (dacha, country, village) area without hard trails. The construction of paths from screenings, small crushed stone, and paving slabs becomes an urgent task with the beginning of the development of the site, the formation of its landscape appearance, and the division of the territory for vegetable gardening and gardening.

The installation of paths with screening is the simplest and fastest construction of garden overpasses. Often the owners of the plots themselves are engaged in filling the screening paths - some to save money, others because “they like this kind of work”, others - for self-affirmation in the concept of “I built a house.”

What kind of screenings should be used to fill the paths at the dacha?

If the screening is granite, then in St. Petersburg it is gray, pink and red. Some people think that it is necessary to buy screenings for paths Pink colour, since gray lacks brightness, and red requires careful monitoring for radioactivity. It remains pink.

Paths to the dacha can be made from both granite screenings and screenings of other types of stone mined in local quarries, as well as from fine crushed limestone, secondary crushed stone, quarry and rounded gravel. The main factors in choosing are the color of the material, the absence of radioactivity and the appropriate size.

Thus, some developers notice that too small screenings get stuck in the treads of shoes and are carried into the house, others propose to build a platform of paving slabs in front of the entrance to combat this phenomenon, others prefer small (10-20 mm) crushed stone. It is not easy to be a judge in such matters - everyone makes tracks to their own taste.

Screening track technology

When making a path from screenings at your dacha with your own hands, you should follow some rules that will increase its service life and prevent it from deforming and creeping.

For tracks from screenings in the humid climate of St. Petersburg, it is necessary to prepare road pavement - dig a trench 20-25 cm deep, the bottom of which should be leveled and compacted with any accessible method- a vibrating platform, a piece of log with handles, a manual or mechanical roller.
Sprinkle a small layer (2-3 cm) of sand onto the compacted soil, level it and lay geotextiles - woven or non-woven synthetic material with good water permeability. It is needed to strengthen the path over time - with a strip of geotextile there will be less subsidence and bulging. Geotextiles are not suitable for supposed protection against weeds, since their seeds are introduced into the screenings from above, and do not germinate from below.
The same small layer of sand is poured onto the geotextile, protecting it from damage by crushed stones, on top - 10-15 cm of crushed stone or gravel of fraction 10-20, it will perform two functions - solid foundation and drainage layer.
Another layer of sand is applied to the crushed stone, on top of which granite screenings are poured. The thickness of the latter is selected experimentally so that the legs do not get stuck in it. To do this, the screenings are compacted and watered. Over time, it compacts and the path becomes hard.
A garden path made from dropouts, made by yourself, must be equipped with borders. Without them, the screenings will spread around and pollute the soil. Curbs can be made of monolithic concrete, from paving stones placed on cement screed, from large bottles of the same size, from wooden planks, from a concrete curb curb stone. Last one correct installation(on concrete) will ensure the operation of the path for many years.

Filling paths with screenings - partly creative work. It is replete with a variety of solutions, technologies, materials used, colors of the top layer, investments of effort and means to achieve main goal- practical and harmonious arrangement of the local landscape.

The construction of garden paths from granite screenings is one of the most simple ways creating decorative and durable paths on summer cottage. Thanks to the simplified design, creating garden paths with your own hands is not difficult. The origin of granite screenings is natural; it is obtained by grinding large waste of natural stone.

The scope of application of granite screenings is quite extensive, it is widely used in landscape design and decorating flower beds, as well as in the construction of road surfaces, the production of concrete and asphalt, since granite screenings are distinguished by the following performance characteristics:

Environmentally friendly material.

Resistant to temperature changes.

High wear resistance.

Frost resistance.

Does not absorb water.

Doesn't sag.

To create pedestrian paths, fine granite screenings of no more than 5 cm are used. Garden paths made from fine fractions are better compacted and create an almost perfectly smooth and hard surface.

Instructions on how to properly prepare the base for a future garden path from granite screenings

Marking. Creation garden path from granite screenings begins with marking. The markings are made taking into account the desired design, distance and length of the future path. When marking, it is important to take into account the slope of the allocated area for the paths. Pegs and colored strong thread are used for marking.

Tip #1: You can mark curved paths using a regular hose. The hose should be soft and bend smoothly. Using a hose, a pattern or winding path is created. Next, you should dig small holes along the hose. The distance between the holes should not exceed 50 cm. The result will be a clearly marked path.

Preparing the base. Upper layer soil must be cut to a depth of 30-35 cm. When removing turf, it is necessary to simultaneously clear the area of old stumps and rhizomes of weeds, and also remove large stones and other debris that prevents the creation of a flat surface. After cleaning, the surface of the trench must be leveled. Fill in uneven areas and level out unevenness and differences.

If the soil is clayey, in addition to a slope for water drainage, it is recommended to install a drainage pipe. The pipe is laid along the edge of the future path. Drain pipe should be installed at the lowest point and discharge water beyond the path into the ditch. On other types of soil, water drains through the granite screening and sand cushion quite quickly, even in heavy rain.

Laying geotextiles. The granite screening path consists of several layers. After removing the top layer of soil, lay double layer geotextiles. In the table we consider several types of geotextiles that are ideal for creating garden paths:

Types of geotextiles	Characteristics
Geokom D-100	Non-woven fabric withstands heavy loads, intended for car areas and garden paths. It is durable and resistant to temperature changes. It allows water to pass through well and prevents the development of mold and mildew. Not subject to organic decomposition.
Ecospan Geo garden	Woven fabric made from heavy-duty polypropylene threads. Resistant to decomposition. The material absorbs tensile loads well and retains elasticity. It is shear resistant and prevents soil heaving.
Dornit 200	Non-woven fabric resistant to thermal-oxidative aging. High level chemical resistance. Non-biodegradable, resistant to rot, mold and mildew. Does not absorb water, has filtering ability.

Tip #2: After laying geotextiles, the canvas must be sprinkled with a thin layer of sand. Optimal thickness layer of sand - 3 cm. An embankment of sand will serve as additional protection for the canvas from damage by the sharp edges of crushed stone.

Drainage devices made of crushed stone. To create garden paths, the drainage layer of crushed stone must be at least 10 cm and no more than 15 cm. In order to create correct and high-quality drainage, you need to know the types of crushed stone and their characteristics:

Types of crushed stone	Advantages	Flaws
Crushed gravel	Cheap material. It holds dirt well due to its sharp edges. High throughput.	Strength and frost resistance are average. Operational life is no more than 5 years.
Crushed granite	Is different high strength and frost resistance. Service life more than 45 years.	High price. The material has a radioactive background, so when purchasing it is necessary to check the quality certificate indicating that the material complies with the first class.
Crushed dolomite	Cheap material, has zero radioactivity. Does not contain harmful substances and impurities. Service life more than 20 years.	Used to create a drainage layer only in dry areas and on soils with low level soil acidity.

The drainage layer of crushed stone must be protected with a layer of sand. To construct a parking lot, another layer of geotextile is laid on top of the protective layer of sand and another layer of sand cushion is created.

Types of borders for garden paths: advantages and disadvantages

To prevent the spillage of crushed stone in different sides, and also to prevent soil from getting onto the surface of the drainage layer, it is necessary to install curbs. Borders for garden paths can be metal, natural stone, wood, brick and plastic. In addition to their decorative function, borders have the following advantages:

Prevent paths from spreading.

Protects against weeds that grow along the path.

Protect the path from erosion.

In the table we look at the advantages and disadvantages various types borders:

Types of borders	Advantages	Flaws
Plastic	Low cost. Durability and strength. Easy to install. Protects against erosion. Creates clear boundaries. Allows you to maintain the winding line of the path. During installation, they do not require the creation of a drainage pad. Attached with anchor pins.	Inconspicuous and simplified framing, which reduces decorative look garden path. The material is not environmentally friendly.
Metal	Affordable price. Not required preliminary preparation soil and creating a sand cushion. Reliable protection paths from weed germination. Creates clear boundaries. No fasteners are required for installation.	The disadvantages are similar to plastic.
Wood	Affordable price. Decorative and creative framing. Will fit into any garden composition and landscape.	Processing required. The durability of the border is no more than 6 years. Mounted only on the waterproofing layer.
Brick	Emphasizes the contours of the path. Facing brick It is durable and frost-resistant.	High price. A sand bed is required. Weeds may grow between the bricks.

The final stage of creating a garden path: laying out the screenings, maintaining the path

Crushed stone for arranging the drainage layer should be of medium size - up to 4 cm. Crushed stone of this size will perform good filtration.

After installing the curbs and compacting the supporting sand cushion, you can begin laying granite screenings. Place the screenings in a dense layer of about 10-12 cm, carefully level them and compact them with a hand roller. Next, the path should be moistened. The moistening procedure is carried out using a sprayer.

Owners of garden paths made of granite screenings note that during the rainy season, screenings stick to the soles of shoes and spread throughout the entire area. Experts suggest that for strong adhesion of granite screenings to each other and to the base, the path should be treated with cement laitance using the spray method. This mixture binds the screenings well together, forming an even and dense coating.

It is quite problematic to buy pink and red granite screenings in large quantities. Experienced gardeners suggest using gray granite screenings as a finishing layer, on top of which covering with a thin layer of pink or red screenings.

Caring for a garden path made of granite screenings is quite simple; with the onset of spring, the surface of the garden paths must be leveled.

The surface of the paths is leveled using a fan rake, after which the screenings are moistened and compacted again.

Fine-grained granite screenings are supplied in bulk and packaged in bags of 25 kg and 50 kg, which allows you to purchase required quantity material for large and small sites.

The final cost depends on the amount of raw materials; the table shows the estimated cost of granite screenings:

Types of granite screenings	Price for 25 kg	Price for 50 kg	Price for 5m3	Price for 10 m3	Price for 15 m3	Price for 20 m3
Grey/Pink

Common mistakes gardeners make when creating a garden path from granite screenings

1. The base for the granite screening layer has unevenness and strong differences.

2. Do not use geotextiles to protect the base from swelling and weeds.

3. Lack of drainage layer.

Frequently asked questions from gardeners when creating a garden path from granite screenings

Question No. 1. Is it possible to create paths from granite stones at lawn level?

Answer: Any garden path should be 2-3 cm above the level of the lawn, since during rain and watering, the soil from the lawn will be washed off onto the garden path.

Question No. 2. Is it possible to make platforms from granite screenings for parking a car?

Answer: It is possible, however, you will need to lay another layer of geotextile, road mesh and an additional backfill of a layer of crushed stone.

Question No. 3. What height should the slope be so that water does not stagnate on the path?

Answer: A slope of 2-2.5 cm in any direction of the path will prevent stagnation of water even in the rainiest season.

Question No. 4. Is it necessary to lay geotextiles in two layers under garden paths?

Answer: The second layer of geotextile should not be laid. It is only needed to separate the cushion and the soil. Granite screening contains great amount dust particles that fill the voids, due to which the surface is compacted, leveled and remains motionless. When laying the second layer of geotextile, dust particles cannot fill the voids, which leads to disruption of the connections between the top and bottom layers.

Question No. 5. How to strengthen the base for a platform made of granite screenings for parking?

Answer: When constructing a base for a parking lot, in addition to geotextiles, it is necessary to use a geogrid or geoframe. This material It has a cellular structure that does not allow the base to spread in different directions. Laying the geoframework in separating layers will double the strength of the base.