Curb shapes

The design of a path in a garden, a sidewalk or a road is impossible without the use of borders. Their selection and installation will not take much time and effort, and the finished work will delight the eye for many years.

Borders are used not only for decoration, but also for the correct zoning of space. To "multiply" the components for a holistic curb, curb molds are needed for casting. Depending on the purpose, the forms are produced for blocks:

• road - used for the design of roads and the separation of pedestrian and carriageways;
• garden - needed for decorating garden paths, flower beds and other things;
• sidewalk - to preserve the sidewalk coverage.

The side stones can be laid in two different ways in accordance with GOST. Depending on the chosen method, the shapes are of different heights.

Before you get the shape, you need to decide which one is suitable for a particular site.

• In the form of a curb. In this case, the side stones protrude somewhat above the upper surface of the road.
• In the form of a border. During the execution of the work, the curb stones are laid on the same level with the road surface.

Therefore (depending on the purpose of future blocks), the shapes for the curb and curb will differ in manufacture.

To decorate a home garden, paths, flower beds, you can use improvised means, for example, a mound of pebbles, broken ceramics and others. But the decoration in the form of decorative stones, which you can make yourself, will look much more beautiful. The ebb of the blocks will not take much time, the main thing is to decide on the material of the form.

• Plastic. Plastic molds are one of the most popular options; polypropylene is used for the manufacture of the base. The shape is quite light, which makes it possible to use it in mass production and for making it with your own hands. It does not have unnecessary seams that attract the attention of passers-by, it is quite elastic in itself and has special ribs that allow it to withstand strong pressure from the inside.

• Wooden. Most often used as a stand-alone structure to create tracks. Such a border is easy to manufacture, and in order to make it, it is enough to purchase several sheets of high-quality plywood. It is important to pay attention to the density and not save on plywood, because during low tide, a bad tree can not only fall apart, but also swell.

• Silicone. Light weight and high elasticity make this shape very easy to use. Silicone molds are successful for self-casting, but on a commercial scale, they are not so popular. If you need to make many blocks at once, it is unprofitable to use them - the cost of one form is not so high, but if you buy several at once, it will hit your pocket hard.

• Metallic. They have two subspecies: fan and cassette. Both are made from alloys such as steel. When decorating a home garden, they can also be found from corrugated board. The design includes trays, four drop sides and a pallet.Nevertheless, each of these forms has its own characteristics. The fan shape is created with separate fasteners on the sections, which simplifies the stripping process. But the cassette differs in that the clips are located on the support frame, which have special devices for sealing the solution inside.

• Fiberglass. They have a number of disadvantages, but are sometimes used when creating borders. Due to their large size, they are inconvenient to use, and the material itself is very demanding for care and post-processing, which is why they prefer not to take it. It will take more time to prepare the form than to fill the block.

• Rubber. We can assume that they have already sunk into oblivion. Obsolescence lies in the fact that the care and manufacturing process are complicated by additional factors, and, for example, the same plastic or silicone molds do not require such intervention. Rubber molds need to be treated with hydrochloric acid, and their bulkiness and low strength reduce their potential for further use.

To carry out road construction and utility services on an industrial scale, structures are made that have almost the same appearance - this is a flat quadrangle with a cut corner, reminiscent of various variations of a trapezoid. These industrial forms include: English, D-shaped and parking curb. These blocks are created specifically for a monolithic road section.

When decorating garden paths, paths near the house, for tiles and other cases, when, along with the functionality of the blocks, their aesthetics should be, traditional and low-profile forms are used. These include wavy, semicircular, square, oblique, as well as the "super" shape and in the form of a straight strip. They have a non-standard appearance that impresses everyone, and may vary in height. For example, there are low-profile counterparts for undulating, oblique, and super shapes. Such curbs allow you to create an original look for the garden area.

At first glance, it may seem that the technology of manufacturing monoblocks is too difficult for a non-professional builder, but in reality it is not. As in any other case, you need to approach the matter carefully, set priorities and accents, act according to instructions and algorithms. Before you start manufacturing, you need to take into account some conventions.

• It is better to use concrete of the M-300 or M-500 brand. Its advantage will be the fact that products made of such concrete have high resistance to dynamic compression.
• To avoid subsidence of the soil, you need to use a cement-sand mortar.
• The reinforcement cage will be the guarantor of the safety margin for the future product.
• You need to take high quality cement to avoid mechanical damage.
• Work must be carried out at temperatures above 5 ° C.

You yourself can make a unique design for the border from a stencil blank. Often, the owners resort to the production of homemade tracks on the site in the form of semicircular elements. The design requires imagination and ingenuity, therefore, for the manufacture of decorative blocks, you can use all kinds of improvised means, for example, pipes with a wide diameter, drains, ebb tides, and so on. Getting the job done requires special care. The form must be installed in the immediate vicinity of the place of placement. This will be a plus, so as not to carry the weight and "not disturb" the solution once again.

For filling, it is important to use high-quality material that was diluted strictly according to the instructions. A properly prepared solution resembles a curd mass in consistency.The mold itself must be completely filled with cement so that there are no air bubbles, which greatly reduce the strength of the product. After even pouring, the upper surface must be carefully leveled.

The part should be released from the mold after the mortar has set (after about 3-4.5 hours) and let it rest for about 24 hours to cure. After preparing the required number of blocks, they can be laid out directly on the track in a day or two. This range of time is explained by the fact that during these days the blocks dry out thoroughly and gain a sufficient margin of safety.

If desired, coloring agents can be added to the grout to match the blocks to a specific site style or color scheme. You can simplify the block extraction process by adding a plasticizer to the mixture. Lubrication will allow you to reach the figure unhindered. It is important to remember that the maximum length of a block without reinforcement should be no more than 200 centimeters, because long blocks are more likely to break during installation.

For information on what and how to wash the forms for the border, see the next video.