Garden paths made of river stone. Do-it-yourself natural stone walkways

Stone paths perform several different functions at once - they make it easier to move around the garden and yard and transport equipment, zone and decorate the site. It is not difficult to pave them on your own, the main thing is to choose the right material. Paths can be decorated by combining different materials with each other, and made part of the garden by planting grass and flowers in the seams between pebbles, flagstones or paving stones. Learn how to make stone paths with your own hands according to all the rules and for many years to come.

naturalness and practicality

Which stone for paths is better

Stone for paths on the site and for garden paths can be natural or artificial. Each type has its own characteristics and properties, without knowing which it is difficult to choose the right material suitable for your purposes. The choice of coating for depends on aesthetic preferences, the conditions of its operation and the budget allocated for the purchase.

Lawn walk

Wild stone - an age-old tradition

The shapes and sizes of flagstone for wild stone paths are always different. Choose a surface and use one of three paving methods - arc, random or in-line paving.

Most often, the first method of laying is used, making scaly-arc or segment-arc patterns. The result is a practical and beautiful surface. The remaining methods are similar, flagstone is laid in any order they like, but only masters have a good result.

The shape of a wild stone is never perfect

For laying use several varieties of natural materials:

• granite;
• sandstone;
• slate;

Each has its own characteristics and advantages, but the arrangement of paths made of natural stone of various types is similar in many respects.

A simple solution

Granite tiles - a luxurious classic

The strongest material for garden alleys is granite. He is not afraid of water and sun. There are many styling patterns - pigtail, herringbone, arc, checkerboard pattern.

Luxurious alleys are laid out of granite with their own hands. The natural pattern and color can be very unusual, due to the different characteristics of the constituent element of granite - feldspar. Shades range from dark red to grey.

Granite stone walkways can be made from processed or unprocessed material. Chipped, sawn or sawn-chipped granite paving stones are often used.

Paving stones from granite

If you want to pave old-style sidewalks on the site, choose chipped paving stones. It is produced by splitting large layers of rock, so the surface is not very smooth, but strong. Such a sidewalk will cost relatively inexpensively compared to other options paved with granite.

For a perfectly flat surface, buy sawn pavers. During production, it is sawn, so it has smooth edges and there are practically no gaps when paving. Thanks to additional grinding with special compounds and heat treatment of sawn paving stones, it becomes smooth and does not slip.

Sawn granite pavement

Make walking paths from sawn-chopped paving stones, due to the processing technology of such a bar, two faces are chipped, and the remaining ones are sawn. This makes it possible to make the pavement either with a smooth surface and uneven joints, or perfectly joined and with a rough top.

Sandstone plates - maximum naturalness

Natural sand stone for paths comes in different colors, its color is uniform. Most often, layers of a light brown shade are used. There are also white, blue, red, ash, green and burgundy plates.

The texture, density and pattern of sandstone vary due to the ratio of its constituent quartz, ore, clay and feldspar.

In the process of sandstone mining, the edges of the stone plate are uneven, chips may appear on the surface. The thickness of the layer can be from a centimeter to six, when paving the sidewalk, you can use pieces of different sizes.

If you need a material with a natural shade that does not absorb water, rough and aesthetically attractive, take a closer look at sandstone, it has all these properties.

Sandstone plates on the site

Slate flagstone - natural originality

Slate slabs can be golden, yellow, brown, gray, burgundy, green, black and even purple. The texture created by nature of each piece of rock is unique. During mining, layers of different thicknesses are obtained.

Slate has many advantages: resistance to frost, fire, water and sunlight, and high strength of the material. The sharp edges of the slabs can damage the soles of the shoes, so you need to carefully select paving elements. The appearance and properties of natural slate stone for paths make it possible to create unique paths in a country house or a suburban area.

Stacked multi-colored slate layers

Rocks - accessibility and practicality

When crushed stone is mined, fragments of rocks of various shapes remain - platy, torn, rounded, bedded or decorative. This is a wild rubble stone for paths. It is very durable, consists of different rocks - limestone, granite or sandstone.

The sizes of rubble cobblestones can be from 150 mm to 500 mm. When paving alleys, use medium-sized pieces and choose rounded or decorative rubble.

The properties of wild quarry depend on the rock of which it is composed, but resistance to frost, rain and exposure to sunlight is common. Sidewalks made of rubble will last a long time and will be inexpensive - natural rubble cobblestones are mined almost everywhere.

Rubble alleys organically merge with the flora of the site

River pebbles - two laying options

Pebbles are often used for backfilling and paving country paths with their own hands. It can be different - mined on the banks of rivers, seas or lakes. River pebbles are best suited for garden paths, they are less smooth.

Pebble paths have a great advantage - if you later want to pave the sidewalk with tiles or other stone, you can lay the new pavement directly on the old one.

The disadvantage of alleys covered with pebbles is their ability to spread under pressure. This makes it difficult to move around the site. To improve the bearing capacity of pebble paths, fill it with a layer of no more than 7 cm. You can also mix it with crushed stone, but this will affect the aesthetics.

Monolithic pebble trails are highly durable and resistant to external influences. In addition, you will have the opportunity to create patterns of any shape and complexity. An example of an ornament that you can lay out from natural pebbles is shown in the photo.

Floral ornament made of pebbles

Decorative stone of artificial origin

If your budget is limited, then a decorative artificial stone is a substitute for natural. It has all the properties of natural - it tolerates temperature changes well, does not absorb water and withstands a significant load.

Outwardly, such material can look like anything - resemble raw rock, granite paving stones or even wood. Artificial tiles are cast in special molds and therefore have the same size.

Paths made of decorative stone are easier to lay out than natural ones, which have to be selected and laid out before paving the sidewalk. Artificial tiles come in different sizes. To preserve the alleys for a long time, choose plates at least 2 cm thick.

Path made of artificial stone

How to lay stone on paths

There are two options for laying a stone on a droshky - with and without cement mortar, but you need to decide how to lay a stone path with your own hands before starting work. When laying the topcoat, please note that the trails should be a couple of centimeters higher than the ground. So the water will not spread and stagnate on the surface.

Easy walking path

Stone path without cement

Paving paths with natural stone without the use of cement can be done if there is not much pressure on their surface. Simple walking or transporting a wheelbarrow with equipment will not cause much harm to the path in the country, but a car can seriously damage the laid out structure.

Sand laying

Do-it-yourself step-by-step paving technique:

1. Periodically check the result of the work with a building level, put it on several nearby tiles at once, so the measurement will be more accurate. If necessary, correct the horizontal position of the layers with a mallet.
2. Fix the elements of the garden path, sprinkle the joints and small cracks with dry sand, you can fill the large openings with decorative pebbles.
3. Finish paving with curbs. They will protect the pavement from spreading across the width and add aesthetics.

Video: How to put a stone on the paths with your own hands

Paths made of concrete and stone

Flat stone pavements laid on a concrete base have a significant bearing capacity. Even before laying out natural stone paths, decide whether cars will drive on the paved surface. If there are, be sure to make a concrete base. When pouring, take into account the thickness of the stone for the paths so that the finished sidewalks rise above the ground.

It is also better to pre-concrete paths made of small stone, pebbles and similar materials do not hold the load well and fail. If you want to create a pebble ornament, it must be fixed, otherwise the pattern will disappear over time. The solution can fix any pebbles for paths in the country.

Paving on a concrete base

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Clear the paths and mark the site by setting pegs and wrap them with a rope along the contour.
2. Dig a pit 25-30 cm deep with a shovel.
3. Make a gravel cushion by pouring crushed stone, pebbles or other similar material into the resulting earth trough. The layer thickness should be 10-15 cm.
4. Compact the gravel, level the surface with sand, water it and repeat the compaction procedure.
5. If there is a significant load on the surface of the garden paths, then reinforce it before pouring concrete.
6. Prepare the concrete and pour it into the trench with a layer of 5-10 centimeters.
7. Level the surface of the solution with a trowel or rule.
8. Cover fresh concrete with a film and wait a few days until the final fixing of the screed.
9. Lay the stone or brick finish over the cured concrete and mark the location of each element.
10. According to the prepared scheme for cement mortar, lay a natural cut stone on the path, checking the horizontal level.
11. Fill the joints flush with mortar.

Preliminary docking of layers on dry concrete

You can make paths from broken stone with your own hands in the country by gluing the pieces to the glue. At the same time, flagstone must be intact, it cannot have cracks and chips.

What to plant between the stones on the path

To make the suburban area original, decorate the paths made of flagstone, pebbles or other similar materials with natural greenery. There are many types of plants that can live in gaps.

Cushion-shaped plants, such as creeping thyme or noble navel, work well for pebbled sidewalks. Thyme forms a fluffy and flowering mat underfoot, and the navel forms a thick and fragrant cover. They need light and water to grow. Do not plant these plants in passage places, they do not like to be injured often.

natural style

If the seams on the path turned out to be wide, you can plant a bryozoan, but it needs frequent watering and protection from the sun. If the gaps between flagstones are small, and the alley is impassable, plant a cuff.

The seams between the tiles can be fastened with sprouted grass. To do this, a couple of days after the completion of the paving work, pour fertile soil into the joints and compact it a little. For sowing, use the seeds of low-growing lawn grass.

How to plant grass between path stones:

1. Pour the seeds into a container with earth or sand, mix.
2. Sprinkle the resulting mixture over the surface and spread it over the gaps with a brush.
3. Compact the earth so that it is below the level of the slabs.
4. Cover the resulting "bed" with wet burlap or similar material that retains moisture and water it daily.

Grass sprouted in the gaps between the layers

After three weeks, grass will appear in the gaps between the plates. It does not require special care, being content with natural precipitation, but during drought days you can water miniature plantings.

Decorate the pedestrian zones in your country house by making paths from pebbles, sandstone, granite or other wild stone with your own hands. Natural materials will complement the appearance of the site, and you will admire the result of the work for several decades.

A pebble path is something that will emphasize the individuality of your garden plot and impress your guests. You are quite capable of making it, and you will daily admire the beauty and elegance of the garden. Let's talk about paving with pebbles in this article.

Where would be a good path of pebbles

A garden path is one of the elements of garden design. There are many paths, you need to choose the one that will harmoniously fit into the overall picture of the garden landscape.

If the composition includes a large array of natural stone and bright vegetation, then one of the priority options for paving will be a pebble path. This material has been known to designers for a long time and is famous for its ease of installation, high strength and durability. In addition, pebbles are cheaper than many natural and artificial materials and look very aesthetically pleasing and natural. The versatility of this stone also lies in the fact that it can be used in any climatic conditions.

Which pebble to choose

Various natural colors of pebbles allow you to create real masterpieces from it right in the garden. Before laying, it is important to consider that river pebbles have a flatter shape than sea pebbles, and they are also not as smooth. Naturally, river pebbles are somewhat easier to pave than sea pebbles. The difference in the size and colors of the stone makes it possible to make complex ornaments and colorful patterns from it.

Note that today you can buy artificial pebbles, which are based on slate rocks, sandstone and marble. The wear resistance of such material is even higher than that of natural pebbles, and the color range is more saturated and varied. However, artificial pebbles are more expensive.

How to make a pebble path

A pebble garden path, paved by an experienced and skilled craftsman, will delight you with wonderful structure and color, and walking along such a fabulous path will bring aesthetic pleasure. But, if you have minimal makings in drawing and have experience working with mortar, then you can pave a garden path with pebbles without the help of landscape design masters. How to do it:

Keep in mind that the solution dries quickly, so lay out the path in sections - so that you have time to lay out the pebbles before the solution hardens.

• After an area of ​​​​25 × 25 cm is paved, the stone is compacted with a rubber mallet.
• The resulting gaps between the stones are filled with the same solution, but more liquid.
• After filling the joints between the stones, it is necessary to wait three hours and sprinkle the path with water, and then cover it with plastic wrap.
• After that, sprinkle again with water and, without covering with a film, let the track dry completely.
• During drying, twice a day, the garden path must be moistened with water, this will give additional strength to the solution.
• When the path dries, stones stained with mortar can be cleaned with a medium-hard metal brush.

How to create an ornament

Patterned paths are the most beautiful. Pebbles are exactly the material from which magnificent ornaments are easily obtained.

• First you need to make an ornament template according to the sketch.
• Before paving begins, this template is laid on top of the solution poured into the formwork.
• Sort the stones by size, shape and color.
• Pebbles can be laid not only flat, but also edgewise.

Garden paths add grooming, elegance and nobility to the site. In addition to practical functions, they also have significant aesthetic value. On the one hand, uniting all the buildings, the paths form a common ensemble. On the other hand, they allow you to zone the site, highlighting functional areas: a vegetable garden, a flower garden, outbuildings, a recreation area. With proper organization, garden paths can correct some of the shortcomings and inaccuracies of landscape design.

Paths can be arranged in a variety of ways, but the most surprising, perhaps, was the technique of laying out pebbles and stones. Stones can be used, both natural and artificial.

When creating a composition, both river and sea stones are suitable. These stones look very impressive, because. very smooth, polished by waves. They can be of different colors or sizes, due to which tint paintings are often created. Flat rocks that do not have much smoothness can also be used. The most important thing when choosing a material is to accurately imagine how it will lie.

When planning to build garden paths from pebbles and stones with your own hands, you should definitely take into account several factors:

1. Planned load - it is important to consider for those cases if the track will be crossed (moved) by a car.

2. The walkway should be sloped to avoid rain water collecting on the track.

3. In a small area, the tracks should not be straight - turns and bends will optically add depth and space to the area.

To create a pebble garden path, you will need stones of various colors and sizes, screed cement and sand.

It is imperative that during construction it is necessary to take into account which climatic zone you live in, so for countries with a harsh climate, in particular for Russia with its frosty winters, you should not build long monolithic paths, it is more rational to create small sections of tiles, and then lay them in the path.

To create small fragments (which can decorate not only the garden path, but also borders, steps, flower beds), we decide on the ornament of the pattern that will decorate our tiles, select stones by color and size. It is not recommended to use pebbles smaller than 5-6 cm in diameter, as they do not hold well in cement and will surely fall off.

Moisten the pebbles with water, this will increase their adhesion to the cement mortar.

To reinforce our mosaic tile, reinforcement will be required, which should be drowned in cement mortar.

To prepare the site for the garden path, we need to make a pillow of sand with a layer of 5 - 6 cm, carefully tamp.

We knead the solution, put it on a small fragment of the track, level it and lay the pebbles in accordance with the intended pattern. In order to prevent the surface of the cement from cracking, it is necessary to moisten it with water and cover it with a film, this will slow down the process of solidification of the solution.

In order for the stones to lie evenly, you need to press them down with a wooden plate from above and knock them out with a rubber mallet.

When the path is complete, fill in the gaps between the stones with dry concrete mix, moisten with water and cover with a tarp or plastic bag for a few days to allow the concrete to saturate and not dry out. Let it stay that way for one day.

Open the path and make sure the stones are dry. Using a brush, hammer the concrete mixture between the stones so that no more than a third of the stones remain on the surface. The more you add mixture to the stones, the harder the track will wear out. In high traffic areas, fill the joints almost flush with the top of the stones.

Lightly moisten the mixture until it is saturated. (You can add more mixture if it has shrunk too much.) Leave it for 30-60 minutes to completely soak, do not cover or water, let it dry. Using a stiff brush, “tap” on the seams, shaping them.
Cover the mosaic with a plastic tarp to hold the moisture you gave it. Leave it on for 1-2 days. See if it's ready. Complete drying will be in 1-2 weeks.

When finished, wipe the stones with a rag so they are clean from the concrete.

The most popular solution in recent times is molds for garden paths, do-it-yourself allowing you to get a canvas that imitates stone. Most often, these are special plastic forms (although you can make them yourself if you wish), representing several cells that have an arbitrary shape and are connected together. They form a certain pattern, while the shape is designed in such a way that it allows the plates to be joined together in any direction, to obtain tracks of the required width, and also to perform turns (bends), while the joints are completely indistinguishable.

Making garden paths with your own hands using molds has a number of advantages:

1. External attractiveness - separate (mosaic) blocks look more attractive than a concrete screed monolith. Additionally, concrete can be painted with special dyes, as well as supplemented, for example, with pebbles.

2. Relative cheapness - if we compare the total costs, then a do-it-yourself concrete garden path obtained using a mold will cost less than laying pebbles.

Garden paths look very interesting, in the form of leaves. Let's see how they can be made.

After spending some time and your work, a garden path made of pebbles, natural or artificial stone will be a wonderful decoration for your garden.

A fashionable trend in the design of a personal plot has recently become the manufacture of a pebble path in the country with their own hands. The building materials market offers a wide range of different materials. Pebbles are one of the few natural and environmentally friendly elements used for paving.

What is suitable for

A variety of types of pebbles will emphasize the style inherent in your summer cottage. If the cottage is decorated in a Mediterranean style, then it will be necessary to lay out various mosaic patterns, highlighting many shades and changing the size of the pebbles. When decorating a site in a country style, it will be appropriate to use a single-colored gray raw material of a small, and preferably a very small fraction.

These tracks have a practical application.

When the house is decorated in high-tech style, you can complement the existing main approaches to housing with thin paths made of small stones, dividing the various sections of your garden according to their intended purpose. If there is a reservoir or an alpine hill on the site, large pebbles and the paths paved with it will be an excellent end to the landscape design.

Video "Do-it-yourself pebble path"

From this video you will learn how to make a beautiful pebble path in the country with your own hands:

Paving technology

Subject to all the prescribed points, any summer resident will be able to lay pebbles on his site:

1. Let's mark the path. We define the width. Usually it is from 0.9 to 1.5 m. The features of the relief may not always allow this, then the minimum width should not be less than 50 cm. In this case, we use pegs and a cord.
2. According to the marked width, we dig a trench to a depth of 20 cm. More or less depends on the size of the pebbles: the larger it is, the greater the depth, and vice versa.
3. We lay two layers of geotextile on the bottom. Its use will protect the path from the germination of weeds.
4. We pour a layer of sand, and after that - crushed stone. We fill the volume of the trench with a sand-gravel mixture to two-thirds of the depth and be sure to wet it. The device of such a pillow is necessary so that later during operation the track does not have cracks or other defects.
5. Install a tile or curbstone along the edges of the trench. We fill the entire area with a ready-made solution of a cement-sand mixture, in a ratio of 1: 3 / 3.5. Using the level, we check the horizontalness of the filled surface.
6. We make laying of pebbles with the help of a board and a hammer. We precipitate it halfway into the solution, which is still raw. The stones are placed as close to each other as possible. They can be installed both along and flat, depending on the idea.
7. We will take measures to slowly solidify the solution: cover with a film, periodically we will water. This must be done so that our path does not have cracks.

After finishing work, the track should stand under the film for several weeks and dry.

When performing these works, you will need:

• shovel;
• rake;
• timber, which in length will correspond to the width of the track;
• level, building corner;
• brush;
• hammer.

Material selection

To determine the track material, it is important to know that pebbles happen:

• marine;
• river;
• artificial.

This material is of several types.

Sea pebbles differ from river pebbles in a variety of sizes, colors and shades. The river has a solid gray-brown tone and a smaller fraction. They are distinguished by size:

• small - up to 2.5 cm;
• medium - 2.5–5 cm;
• large - more than 5 cm.

Let's choose the required faction. If we prefer the manufacture of colored mosaics, then an artificial stone of medium or large fraction will be more suitable. And if only the functional use of the path for its intended purpose is important, then small river pebbles will be enough. The use of natural material will allow it to last longer. If there is a reservoir in the immediate vicinity, then you can use pebbles taken directly from the river. So you can save on the purchase of basic raw materials.

Direct laying

Before starting work, you need to make sure that all sections of the future path are horizontal. Laying work is carried out in a wet solution, so everything must be done before the mixture hardens. With mosaic laying, it is necessary to lay out a drawing next to the place of the future location. If the pebbles have different colors and sizes, you should pre-sort them. With wet laying without patterns, the pebbles are placed very tightly. With the help of a plank and a hammer, the surface of the future path is leveled.

If a mosaic is made, then a sketch of a drawing is applied to the solution, which is located nearby. Until the mixture has hardened, the drawing is carefully transferred to the planned place. Aligned with a hammer with a rail. When laying a mosaic of pebbles, there is no need for a clear alignment of each stone parallel to one another. If the drawing is done perfectly evenly, then it will lose its naturalness, so do not waste your energy in vain. Start paving round shapes of mosaics from the middle. This will keep the pattern fairly symmetrical. When using stones of different sizes, try to work out the larger elements first.

When laying, the mortar between the stones may be unevenly distributed. To avoid this, you need to smooth out all these irregularities with a brush. After everything is done, it is necessary to carefully shed the laid out path and cover until completely dry.

A properly laid pebble path is practical and requires minimal maintenance. After heavy rainfall, especially after winter, it is recommended to treat the seams of your path with a special impregnation to increase the elasticity of the cement coating. If this is not done, then over time the cement mixture will crack and the cracks will fill with earth or sand. If you did not use geotextiles when arranging the path, then after some time you will have to deal with the removal of weeds from your paths. With the destruction of individual sections of the path, it is necessary to repair them using building mixtures and glue.

Now your site will have modern pebble paths that will allow you to keep clean and tidy on the street and in the house in any weather. The appearance of the estate will become more solid and neat.

Only those who already have garden paths made of stone rejoice in the warm, quiet rain. Others gloomily set off to knead the dirt with galoshes and glide smoothly over the unstable surface, gradually overcoming meter by meter of their yard. Agree, it is not very comfortable to be dependent on weather conditions, to expose your clothes to pollution, and yourself to bruises. This needs to be radically changed.

In the article we will tell you how to do the paving of paths with natural stone with your own hands, so as not to spend a lot of money on hiring workers. Of course, you won’t be able to do this for free, you still have to buy materials (from 150 rubles per 1 m 2 approximately), but everything else, including borders, can be done with your own hands and not overpay 100-200 rubles for laying 1 meter.

Preparing the foundation for stone garden paths

Most building work starts with a foundation. In our case, work below ground level will also be needed, especially if it will then be necessary to drive equipment along the path (vacuum trucks, garbage trucks, trailers, etc.). If you still only walk - just make a backfill before laying natural stone on the paths. Let's consider step by step.

STEP 1: make a groove. Draw the shape of the required path on the ground, dig 1 bayonet with a bayonet shovel, tree roots can be cut along the edges. Then we remove the earth with a shovel so that the sole of the pit is solid.

STEP 2: put up borders. Do not skip this step, they must be placed in front of the mound of building material, as it will hold the curb in place and prevent it from tilting to the side.

STEP 3: crushed stone. You can use cinder blocks, wild stones, large construction slag, etc., the main thing here is to place heavy materials that will put pressure on the soil and have minimal shrinkage. The layer is no more than 10 centimeters or 50% of the height, approximately as in the photo of stone garden paths. Then it is desirable to walk with a rammer.

STEP 4: sanding and rammer. Everything is simple here. It is necessary to pour 5 centimeters of sand and tamp everything manually or with the help of a special machine that can be rented for 1 day. Now everything is ready, you can paving with natural stone. We also recommend that you fill the sand with water and wait until it dries. This will allow additional shrinkage of the material if you did not use a rammer.

Borders can be bought ready-made, but making them yourself is also easy. You need to take a container 70-80 cm long, 25 cm wide and 4-5 cm thick. You can buy it on the market or weld it with a welding machine, make a couple of small holes with a diameter of 3-4 mm at the bottom.

We lubricate with technical oil (working out), pour concrete, after 1 day we lay it out carefully from the mold and make the next border. So little by little you can make borders for garden paths with your own hands in 2 weeks, and they will be no worse than purchased ones.

Photo of a sandstone path
Photo of the track without grouting

Do-it-yourself sandstone paths!
Photo of a typical sandstone walkway

Do-it-yourself natural stone walkway: we disassemble step by step

The first step is to choose the material from which you will make the track. Of course, there are many options: wild stone and granite, marble tiles, artificial ceramic tiles, imitation of natural stone, pebbles, round rubble and more. But we still recommend making artificial stone garden paths using sandstone. This inexpensive material has a good decorative appearance, is easy to fit and lasts a long time. Consider step by step how to lay it on a prepared sand cushion.

STEP 1: assemble the drawing. Working with sandstone is complicated by the fact that it is necessary to find pieces of material that are suitable in shape in order to make the drawing as beautiful as possible with small seams. You can lay out pieces of sandstone on the ground beforehand and try to lay down the desired pattern.

STEP 2: install. It would be better to use sandstone with a thickness of 1.5-2 centimeters, since when laying thin material, cracks can appear even with minimal subsidence. After you put a piece of sandstone on the pillow, you need to lightly tap it with a rubber mallet.

STEP 3: sealing the seams. After all the tiles are laid, you can take a black grout (it is better to use a waterproof elastic one) and seal everything, after hardening it will resemble a tight seam from a sealant, it will give a better look to the tile.

IMPORTANT: if you make garden paths from natural stone with your own hands, be careful when choosing a grout. They are for internal work, for external work, used indoors and outdoors. Take only for external use and frost-resistant grout.

STEP 4: varnishing. Please note that natural stone paths will look much better if they are opened with impregnation and varnish, but there is a very big drawback - they become slippery after rain and in winter. The surface roughness is lost after varnishing. We recommend that you use only impregnations or be careful when moving in adverse weather (walking on a dry surface is normal). Opening varnish in 3 layers of sandstone will look something like this:

Now we can already assume that the garden path made of stones with our own hands is already ready and can be used a couple of days after paintwork. If you intend to use heavy equipment on the tracks, then the layer of sand in the cushion must be replaced with concrete, everything else remains unchanged. Here are some photos of sandstone garden paths:

Making garden paths is a very simple process, but we will not hide the fact that there are still some nuances and they must be taken into account in the manufacture so as not to redo the work and the result met everyone's expectations.

1. Garden paths made of round stones and pebbles are best done immediately on a concrete screed, since they have a smaller pressure area and sag more under load.
2. It is necessary to open with impregnation and varnish at a temperature of +10 and above, in addition, all this must be done 4-5 hours before precipitation, and preferably 1 day in advance, choose good weather.
3. Natural stone for paths in the country can be obtained for free, for example, on a pebble beach. You can also save money when buying used sandstone, because whatever you want will go to the floor.
4. Use only a rubber hammer, a metal tool will immediately break the tile during shrinkage.
5. It is better to make paths on a small hill, because in the hole they will be washed away during heavy rains and will give a drawdown, they will have to be redone.

Our step-by-step path is made of natural stone, this process takes about 5-6 linear meters per day, if you work at your usual pace and carefully select the pattern. We also suggest watching a video of sandstone grouting using a special grout (can be made based on soot), it is not so durable, but it is much easier to make it and you can then “correct” it: