Owners of private houses or summer cottages know: if it rains, then there will be dirt on the local area – especially if the sun is not visible for a long time. Often, instead of real paved garden and summer cottage paths, the construction of which is relatively expensive, many summer residents welcome … a crushed stone path!
Crushed stone embankments provide more convenient movement around the site and transportation of goods on carts. In addition, the crushed stone paths look very neat, giving the entire site a well-groomed look, and you can equip them on your own.
Material selection
Before proceeding with the construction of the tracks, it is necessary to take into account the terrain, the type of soil and the nature of the track itself.
The relief determines the presence / absence of shrubs, trees, a reservoir, etc., as well as the need to level the ground surface.
Knowing the type of soil is necessary in order to determine how thick the layer should be filled with crushed stone, gravel and sand.
Determining the nature of the path is necessary, first of all, in order to know where and how much rubble should be poured – for example, it is advisable to make the paths made of rubble on the entrances for cars from rubble “reinforced”, and for pedestrians the paths can be not only small in width , but also be framed with bumpers made of fresh border flowers.
If access roads should be decorated with crushed stone of large fractions, then footpaths can be decorated with pebbles with fine rubble. In this case, it is advisable to select a pebble of a different color, different from the crushed stone embankment – this is how whole patterns of different colors can be formed on the paths.
The most practical bulk material is considered to be crushed stone with gravel, which has its own advantages:
- Fast device and great looks
- No need for careful excavation
- Wear resistance
- Excellent combination with other material, the ability to create a good landscape design at low cost
However, garden paths made of rubble, like other types of paths, have their disadvantages:
- A crushed stone embankment can be arranged ONLY on a flat earth surface
- Make noise when walking / driving
Nevertheless, it is easy to come to terms with these shortcomings if you calculate the final cost of the material and compare it with the costs of another, more “prestigious” material (for example, beautiful marble slabs).
Preparatory work
Before starting work, you need to determine the number and direction of the tracks, their width. Then make markings in the directions of the paths – for this you can use a nylon cord and pegs to mark control points.
Advice: the most “important” is the path from the gate to the house – it is best to lay it in a straight line. But with the rest, you can fantasize – lay out mixed with gravel, sprinkle with uneven lines and even small areas.
Weeds and large debris (branches, pieces of stone, if any) should be removed from the sections of the future path. Then, along the “contour” of the path, you need to dig a small trench – its depth should be only 15 cm.
The preparatory work is completed, now you can proceed directly to the technology of the device tracks.
Crushed stone filling
Step 1: laying the underlay. Geotextiles can be used as a substrate – today this material is one of the most famous, it will help prevent the growth of weeds. Another plus of geotextiles is the protection of the embankment from the possible impact of groundwater.
Step 2: pouring rubble. The material is poured into the trench and carefully compacted. For more reliable laying, coarse gravel and sand additives can be used.
Tip: to increase the density of the fill track, sprinkle crushed stone in several thin layers, and not in one. In this case, each layer must be tamped and spilled with water.
Step 3. For the embankment, additional installation of curbs is required – large fragments of stone or concrete, boards, pieces of brick, pegs can be used as small “sides”. It is advisable to treat wooden reinforcements with an antiseptic compound or machine oil. Of course, the height of the curb should be slightly higher than the rubble embankment.
As for the landscape design of the crushed stone path in the country, then the options are as follows: sprinkle some of the paths with pebbles, lay out large stones and sprinkle them with gravel, or simply plant fresh flowers along the curbs.
Recommendations for creating paths from bulk material
If you want to end up with sufficiently strong paths that will not “break apart” after the first heavy downpour, you can build a path with reinforced laying:
Option 1: Laying the cut asphalt. For this purpose, pieces of asphalt are cut into small crushed stone paths, and poured into prepared trenches. After laying the asphalt, it is necessary to warm it up with a blowtorch, and when the layer (about 100 mm) heats up, pour fine-gravel mass on top. The fill should be tamped well – as a result of tamping, you can get excellent durable tracks.
Option 2: filling the trench with crushed stone mortar with cement. The solution is poured into separately prepared mold containers, it is allowed to stand for a day. A day later, the crushed stone must be “pulled” to the surface – the containers are again filled with water, scraping the crushed stone with a metal brush. And the resulting “slabs” can be used as paving paths.
After reading this article, you can easily understand how to make a path from rubble and easily “refine” your adjoining territory, and the costs are minimal – and the filling speed is high (preparatory work will take longer), and the savings are obvious (especially if the design of the tracks produced by improvised means). In addition, neatly paved paths in the garden and on the adjacent territory will certainly delight the eyes of the owners and delight guests.
