When creating a landscape, designers pay special attention to paths, paths, steps and other exterior elements, without which it is difficult to imagine a cosily and harmoniously organized space. And more and more often, individual developers, when designing a site for a country house or cottage, abandon solid concrete structures for garden paths, parking for cars or a barbecue area in favor of the use of paving slabs. Skillfully designed and made of such material elements of landscaping look easy, have more functionality, and sometimes represent a real work of design art.

Types of paving slabs

Among the variety of products presented on the construction market, the main types of paving slabs should be highlighted, which include:

• traditional concrete tile is the most common;
• stone or concrete with the addition of natural stone components, the so-called paving stones;
• clinker - burnt clay-based ceramics;
• rubber - rubber crumb is used as a filler;
• plastic (or polymer sand).

Plastic

Plastic tile is a relatively new type of paving slab on the market of building materials, the production of which is associated primarily with the processing of secondary raw materials, namely, plastic waste. Made by special technology from simple sand, crushed plastic, polyethylene and organic dyes, this tile can be used where there are no large weight loads, for example, for the arrangement of internal hotel territories. In recent years, this material has become increasingly popular among private developers and owners of suburban real estate.

Did you know? British engineer Lawrence Campbell-Cook has patented the flexible plastic pavement "PaveGen", unusual in that it is a special design of the power plant. The author came up with a way to accumulate and convert into mechanical energy mechanical energy produced by people in the process of walking.

• The positive properties of polymer sand tiles include:
• light weight and increased ductility (compared to concrete counterparts);
• low moisture permeability and, as a result, resistance to climatic loads in a wide temperature range;
• high resistance to aggressive chemical environments (cleaning products);
• a wide range of color shades that maintain their saturation due to resistance to ultraviolet light;
• long (about 50 years) life;
• simplicity of laying, dismantling and replacing damaged elements.

• The disadvantages of this material sometimes include:
• low (in comparison with stone materials) strength;
• surface abrasion;
• increased coefficient of thermal expansion, which leads to the need to leave thermal seams between the coating elements and limit paved surfaces with a curb stone.

Based on natural stone

First of all, it is necessary to clarify one fundamental point: if the first is made from natural fossil stone (usually it is granite), then the second - by the type of concrete tile using cement as a binder with aggregate from stone chips. More often manufacturers use granite chips of various fractions and colorsless commonly, basaltic, gabbro, diabase and other minerals of volcanic origin.

Marble chips are used mainly as an additive to the surface layers to give artificial stone products a special aesthetic and sophisticated look.Artificial paving stones are produced using vibrocompression technology, which gives the products increased strength and density (in contrast to the usual budgetary concrete tiles, where vibration casting can be used). High-quality paving stones, in terms of their physical and aesthetic properties, approach natural stone products, and even surpass them in the variety of colors and patterns.

Important! Natural stone paving slabs and natural stone paving stones are two different things.

The main advantage of paving paving stones is its strength and durability.The high density of the stone provides almost zero water absorption, which makes the products extremely resistant to changes in weather conditions and temperature extremes, and the inertness of granite (granite chips) provides immunity to chemical influences and ultraviolet light. Do not forget about the aesthetic and artistic component, because it is thanks to the natural masterpieces of architecture and the grandeur of ancient or medieval cities reach stone.

The disadvantages of granite paving stones are its high cost and natural (albeit insignificant) radioactivity of red granite. Nevertheless, the landscape design of the territories, made using natural or artificial stone, always looks very expensive, prestigious, guaranteed to emphasize the status and taste of their owner.

Did you know? In the heart of Budapest, on the picturesque island of Margit, there is a beautiful city park surrounded around the entire perimeter, like a ring, by a running track made of modern rubber coating. Using such a track for training, runners can enjoy being in the fresh air, enjoy the view of the Danube and at the same time have no fear for the condition of their joints.

Rubber

Paving slabs with rubber filling is another version of the material, the production of which is based on waste recycling. This time, waste is mainly used tires. Fractional rubber crumb obtained from the processing of car tires (75%), color filler (5%) and a binder based on polyurethane resins (20%) are the main components in the manufacture of this type of coating.

Originally developed in West Germany, the technology was intended to use this material as a coating for the interior of sports facilities, but in practice the range of its application was much wider.

• The main advantages of the material are:
• safety, injury reduction, anti-slip effect;
• noise absorption - falling objects do not rattle, and the dishes do not break;
• tile laying is simple and does not require special surface preparation.

The main disadvantage is the high cost and relatively short term of active operation (6-8 years). When choosing a place for laying the coating, one should also take into account the high fire hazard of the material.

Brick

The history of the creation of clinker pavers has its roots in medieval Denmark. It was then that it was discovered that with an increase in the temperature of firing of ceramic bricks, processes occur in the material that greatly increase its strength. However, the truly mass production and use of material began in Holland at the beginning of the 19th century and quickly spread to neighboring countries. The streets of that period paved with clinker pavers can still be found today in most cities of old Europe.

Clinker paving slabs are made by firing blanks obtained from a mixture of special refractory grades of clay and subjected to preliminary processing on a vibrating press. The firing temperature varies between + 1300 ... + 1600 ° С. Under the influence of high temperatures, excess moisture is removed from the molten material, density and strength increase, and a natural noble color is formed.

Important! The absolute advantage of clinker products is their environmental friendliness, since pigment dyes and cement are not used in their production.

The high strength of clinker pavers allows it to withstand any transport loads, and the low porosity of the surface ensures the preservation of the initial properties of the material during multiple full cycles of freezing and thawing (more than 500). Such qualities provide a service life of road or paving pavement up to 150 years.

The disadvantages of this type of material could include a limited number of shapes and colors. However, almost all products obtained by the method of vibrocompression are distinguished by an insufficient variety of forms, and the rather poor color scheme, which does not fade over time, only emphasizes the natural origin of the material.

Concrete

Concrete paving slabs are today the most common and popular, mainly due to their competitive cost.As a rule, budget options for this coating are made using vibrocasting or vibrocompression of specially prepared concrete mix (cement, sand, gravel, pigment dye, plasticizer, water). At the same time, vibration pressing gradually displaces vibration casting due to a more durable and high-quality output.

Mass production of affordable concrete paving slabs provides the arrangement of large areas in city parks, squares, recreation areas. This tile is increasingly being used as a replacement for broken asphalt on the sidewalks of city streets.Industrial designs have high strength, abrasion resistance, low degree of water absorption and good color fastness. The estimated service life of the material is 100–120 years, depending on the operating conditions.

The undoubted advantage of concrete tiles is the relative simplicity of the process, so that it can be made even at home, and a variety of shapes and color shades will depend only on the imagination of the designer.

What to choose for your site

In the case of building a house according to a design project, the architectural and artistic ideas of the developers concern not only the interior, but also the entire adjacent territory in the complex. In this case, the homeowner only needs to decide on the price of the issue.

If the registration of a summer cottage or a private household, the improvement of the yard, the installation of small architectural forms, fences, outbuildings and other objects is carried out independently (or with the involvement of scattered contractors), then the question of choosing material for paving garden paths, parking, the area in front of the porch, the site for barbecue, space inside the gazebo, etc., it is necessary to solve the same way. The importance of each of the criteria is the subjective decision of the owner of the site. It should not be neglected only a security issue.

Did you know? The legislation of many countries provides for liability of building owners for injuries sustained by their visitors during their stay at the facility. In practice, in the vast majority of cases, we are talking specifically about falls on slippery floors.

As for the selection criteria, experts recommend adopting a few standard tips:

1. See how the neighbor has, and do the same (or better, or vice versa). This is a traditional rule that allows you to take advantage of existing experience for free, evaluate the correctness of the materials used, avoid repeating other people's mistakes and not allow your own.
2. Never neglect security issues. For example, you should not put fire-hazardous rubber tiles in the barbecue area, and ceramics prone to glaciation - on the porch of the house. This will allow in the future to prevent many troubles.
3. For paths laid through the green zone, you should immediately provide for the possibility of dismantling, because under the moon, as you know, nothing lasts forever. For such purposes, polymer-sand blocks with a cellular structure or their exact opposite - pavers made of natural stone, are perfect.
4. Use packing material as intended. For example, you should not experiment with a place for parking a car and bridge it with expensive plastic - it is not intended for this!
5. Decide on a color scheme in advance. If you want the site to look harmonious and whole from an aesthetic point of view, when choosing paving slabs, you should take into account the color compatibility of not only the designed tracks, but also the finished structures.

Varieties of texture and tile shapes

Since the main consumer property of paving slabs is the lack of such quality as slippery, this building material is rarely smooth. In connection with this, in modern building codes there is even a special term - the coefficient of friction-slip of the floor covering. If, when checking the material for safety, it turns out that this parameter is below the established standards, a special anti-slip protection must be applied to the surface of the floor, sidewalk or walkway.

To increase friction and reduce sliding, most types of paving slabs initially have a textured surface, which, in turn, can be made in the form of:

• clouds - winding rough fragments, outlines resembling clouds;
• nets - ribbed lines in the form of squares or rectangles, which provide the best protection against slipping (this kind of tile is ideal for facing steps or the area around the pool);
• boards or logs - the outer surface of the tile imitates wood fibers on a cut, which fits very well into a landscape in which objects made of wood predominate;
• checker - as a rule, we are talking about a two-color tile, where squares of different texture are arranged alternately, imitating a checkerboard pattern;
• carpet - a combination of structurally different fragments creates a complex pattern, which during the laying process is built with an exquisite pattern that resembles an oriental carpet ornament;
• under the stone - imitation of natural material: granite, marble, buta, etc.

The shape of paving slabs can also be completely diverse. Among the most common options are worth mentioning:

• paving stones;
• English cobblestone;
• zigzag;
• a coil;
• "12 bricks";
• a wave;
• clover;
• "new town";
• "Old city";
• "Old square";
• square;
• rhombus;
• cube;
• hexagon - single, double or triple;
• fan;
• delta;
• lawn grate (with a hollow interior);
• combi;
• "blade";
• "tractor";
• "calypso";
• "Scale";
• "Flower" and others.

Colors of paving slabs

According to the variety of colors, the range of paving slabs is not as great as that of ordinary tiles. And this is quite justified, because the surface on which it is supposed to walk in street shoes should not be a brand. The most successful in this regard are black and brown shades, although there are more interesting options, for example, beige, red, green, yellow, cherry, brick, orange, white, etc.

Important! Paving slabs of gray color are considered a win-win solution, because it harmonizes with almost any other shade, looks expensive and perfectly emphasizes the architectural features of the buildings located on it.

Combinations of two or three tones or their alternation during styling are also possible.When choosing the color of the tiles, it is important to take into account the general style of the site, as well as the place of laying the cover. For example, not very practical light colors, in addition to a beautiful view and creating a sense of space, are clearly visible in the dark, so it makes sense to use such a tile in areas with poor lighting Therefore, if there is any doubt as to how this or that type of coating will look, designers advise giving preference to gray color.

Options for patterns and patterns

A variety of patterns and patterns applied by manufacturers on paving slabs have already been partially mentioned when describing the classification of goods by texture, because with regard to the flooring of this type, the pattern is usually made textured, which allows to solve two problems at once - decorative and applied (anti-slip). But this rule is not mandatory.

So, a very interesting example of an unusual design solution are:

• style finish Gzhel - A special style of blue painting on a white background;
• "Gothic" - exquisite ornament in the form of broken lines, converted into parallel;
• different kinds multicolor mosaic;
• fragments of complex geometric shapescollected during the laying process on the basis of the puzzle.

In addition to the usual drawings and ornaments, there are also more complex types of paving slabs, which, of course, affects the price, but gives the site a truly fabulous look. As examples of such products, there is a transparent or frosted surface “under the glass” with mounted LEDs, as well as another luminous option - luminescent.

Application in landscape design and design rules

Due to the competent playing out of all the variations and forms described above, an experienced designer can at his discretion change the general appearance and style of the site, create a soft and comfortable, or, conversely, aggressive and dynamic atmosphere in it. In addition, the methods of laying tiles in different parts of the house territory also have their own characteristics, which you need to know about.

Did you know? The main attraction of the Chinese metropolis of Chongqing is a glass pavement suspended over a gorge 200 m deep. The length of the transition is more than 300 m, which is an absolute record for glass sidewalks.

On the porch of the house

The porch is one of those few spaces where you can give full play to your imagination. Both color and monophonic coating, shape and texture also do not impose any restrictions equally well here.

The only thing to think about is to try to make the design of the porch, if possible, combined with other parts of the gardenMoreover, the word “combination” in this case should not be understood as “identity”, it is only important that the porch design resonates with paths, car parking or nearby objects, giving the impression of a single and well-thought-out design.

Important! If a parking lot is provided on the personal plot of a country house, for its lining it is necessary to use a special reinforced concrete tile, which is designed to withstand heavy weight and heavy load.

In the courtyard of a country house

If the adjoining territory of a country house occupies a vast area, paving slabs on it can be laid out in the form of an unusual pattern, for example:

• herringbone - at an acute or right angle with respect to each other, which usually looks very original and dynamic;
• checkerboard - from two types of tiles of the same color and size texture of contrasting colors (beige and cherry, black and white, yellow and brown, etc.);
• brick - a very simple option, but it looks much more spectacular than standard masonry;
• wicker - An interesting way of laying a rectangular tile, in which one row is performed horizontally, and the second - vertically;
• zigzag - a complex drawing involving the preliminary preparation of an accurate drawing;
• arbitrarily - this is the method that can become an original solution, if necessary, fit into a small budget: in many construction stores, the remnants of expensive materials are sold literally at bargain prices, and using them in a “thoughtful mess”, the homeowner makes the yard unique and stylish in its own way.

Paths in the country

Perhaps the most successful track design at a summer cottage will be tile in the form of a grid, into the free zones of which lawn grass can be sown. The basis for such a coating does not need to be concreted, which is very important to maintain environmental friendliness and maintain the ability, if desired, to conduct a small redevelopment on the territory.

If the site is small, experts advise avoiding the right straight lines when designing paths: the more such an element of decor will resemble a winding forest path, the more beneficial the overall impression will be. On the contrary, for large areas, the strict solution and accuracy of forms will be the best solution, in this case the landscape composition looks expensive, rich and stylish.

Cladding stairs

For facing the stairs, you need to select a tile that meets three main criteria:

• minimal glide (falling from a ladder is potentially much more dangerous than from a height of one’s own height);
• strength (the changing pressure angle that the stairs take over when moving up or down on them is a big load, so the staircase lining is destroyed faster than the sidewalk);
• insignificant thickness (usually tiles made of concrete blocks are sheathed with tiles, and thick cladding material will not hold onto such material).

One of the most successful solutions for the design of stairs is definitely a rubber tile.Paving slabs are an indispensable tool in the arsenal of any landscape designer. The ideal application for this material can be found in any project - from the improvement of a small summer cottage to the design of a fashionable hotel complex with a garden, a swimming pool and an outdoor area for a restaurant. Modern manufacturers offer a truly incredible choice of flooring, but basic knowledge and good taste will allow the homeowner to make the right choice.