If you live in a private house, then concreting the site for you will be a paramount task after the construction of the dwelling. Do-it-yourself concreting of the yard must be done following a certain technology. The work will involve the need to implement several stages.

The need to fill the yard

If the yard is concreted, then it will be easier to take care of the territory, dirt will not accumulate on the surface, in addition, you will not have to periodically deal with weeds. In winter, such an area will be quite easy to clear of snow. You should also pay attention to the fact that on a flat, but not concreted surface, bumps and depressions are formed from the impact of the wheels of the machine, in which water can accumulate. This is especially true if not only cars, but also trucks enter the yard. Do-it-yourself concreting of the yard will be very simple, this will ennoble the territory, and install benches nearby, plant flower beds, and also arrange other decorative elements. It is important to follow all stages of work and follow the recommendations of specialists in order to ensure the strength and evenness of the future site.

Carrying out preparatory work

Initially, it will be necessary to carefully level the site, but first get rid of the top layer of soil by eliminating grass roots. After that, crushed stone preparation is laid on the rammed bottom, which will also need to be compacted as much as possible, a small layer of sand is poured on top. The thickness of the crushed stone layer should be approximately 20 cm, but not less. Most often, this layer is made even more massive, using, in addition to crushed stone, broken bricks, construction debris, remnants of concrete pavement, etc.

If the concreting of the yard with your own hands will be carried out on the ground, which is characterized by a sufficiently high hardness, as well as the absence of grass, the use of crushed stone can be excluded. But if it is used, a plastic film can be laid on top, which will act as a layer that excludes the interaction of concrete and water. Among other things, such preparation will prevent the germination of grass. Formwork should be installed along the edges of the prepared site using steel strips or concrete curbs, if you have the latter. If it is planned to install zones for flower beds inside the concreted area, then formwork must be installed in those zones.

Exposure of lighthouses

Do-it-yourself concreting of the yard cannot be done with high quality if beacons are not installed. This is done at the stage of laying rubble in the pillow. It is recommended to use a horizontal level in order to level the site. After that, beacons must be installed throughout the area, which will act as a guideline when filling the yard. For this, it is preferable to use plaster beacons made of a thin profile, between which a thin rope is stretched. Reinforcement should be laid between the beacons. It is better to use a special mesh based on thick wire. The sharp edges of the reinforcement should be bent down. Reinforcement will be the main way to ensure the integrity of the coating, this will eliminate or minimize the formation of cracks.

Solution mixing

If you are concreting the yard with your own hands, the stages and nuances must be studied in advance. Thus, the master needs to be aware that the preparation of the solution acts as the most critical step. At the same time, you should not save on raw materials, use low-quality cement, kneading it in insufficient quantities. This will cause that in two years the condition of the yard will deteriorate and repairs will be required. For the implementation of work, it is recommended to use concrete grade M300, sand and crushed stone should be used in proportions of 1 to 2. It is necessary to mix the concrete thoroughly until a mass is obtained that is homogeneous throughout the volume.

Pouring concrete

If the yard is concreted with your own hands at sub-zero temperatures, then plasticizers must be added to the solution, which will ensure that the mixture does not solidify so quickly. Concrete should be laid with a shovel between two adjacent beacons, the concrete should hide them by a few millimeters. After, using a spatula that has a suitable width, you need to get rid of excess concrete. Why the rail is installed perpendicular to the two beacons and moves along them like on rails.

Carrying out the final processing

If there is a desire, then a coating can be applied on top of the concrete, which consists of polymer cement, this will strengthen the composition. Such processing is especially important for areas that will be most heavily stressed, this applies to corners and edges.

Processing can be done in two ways. The first involves the need to pour out the finished mixture after leveling the concrete. The mixture must be absorbed into the wet mass. The second application technology involves the need to remove small strips of the concrete surface, the depth of which is 1 centimeter. It is necessary to pour the same mixture into the resulting recess as in the first case, however, it must first be diluted with water. After the final hardening, which will happen in a day, the surface will need to be cleaned of traces of the spatula.

Do-it-yourself concreting of the yard, the photo of which is presented in the article, should be carried out taking into account the use of exclusively high-quality ingredients. Thus, the quality of sand affects the final physical and mechanical characteristics of concrete. It is recommended to use coarse sand, which contains a minimum amount of clay impurities. In order to analyze the quality of a placeholder, you need to place it in plastic bottle, pre-filled with clean water, then everything should be mixed and left for a while. If the water becomes cloudy and the dirt does not settle, this indicates that there is a lot of silt deposits and clay in the sand.

If the courtyard of a private house is concreted with your own hands, then it is necessary to further strengthen the structure by ironing. Why, on concrete that has begun to harden, you need to pour clean cement in a small amount, and then rub it over the surface using a spatula or trowel. In order to maintain the moisture level of concrete, it is possible to apply a coating containing hygroscopic salts, which are able to absorb moisture from external environment. But it is worth remembering that at low air humidity, these salts will absorb moisture from the concrete. As a protective measure, the concrete surface will be painted white. This will prevent excessive heating of concrete under the influence of ultraviolet radiation. Due to the fact that cracks in concrete most often form at the junction of sections that were poured and hardened at different times, concrete placement should be carried out as soon as possible. If the concreting of the courtyard of a private house was carried out using hardening mixtures, then water should not be poured into these places after the concrete has hardened. This can cause the topping to peel off.

Providing drainage

If you yourself are concreting the courtyard of a private house, the formation of gutters must be ensured. To do this, at the preparation stage, it is necessary to provide for a slight slope of the surface, as well as install grooves along the edges. Despite the fact that concrete loves water, the presence of a drain should not be ruled out so that moisture does not constantly stand on the surface. In order to make grooves, you need to lay the pipes on the hardening concrete and press them down with heavy objects. After the concrete hardens, the pipes are removed, and cavities remain in their place.

Temperature joints

If you are concreting the yard with your own hands, expansion joints on the surface must be formed. They should come out clean and straight. It is necessary to perform such manipulations only after the concrete begins to gain its strength, which will prevent damage to the surface, otherwise arbitrary cracks may form. Cutting, as a rule, is carried out by a tool for the formation of seams. This must be done no earlier than one day and no later than 72 hours after the completion of the surface treatment. Wet cutting can also be done, which is true for soft concrete, such conditions occur 4-12 hours after finishing. The rules should not be ignored.

For a city dweller, the “concept of a house” usually does not go beyond the stairwell or entrance. He is also of little interest in the improvement of the local area, since this is the patrimony of municipal services. The house is perceived quite differently by those who live in the private sector.

For them, the word "yard" is not an empty phrase, since not only appearance the entire site, but also the comfort of staying on it. Looking at the design of the local area, you can immediately get an idea of ​​​​how diligent the owners of the house are. This area can be put in order in different ways: lay out tiles, equip wooden flooring, asphalt, finally, but the most practical and clean owners still prefer concreting the yard.

Concrete interior house

We will try to figure out whether it is worth giving preference to this option and if so, how to do it correctly.

Three Reasons to Concrete

Why should the decision to concrete the yard be considered the right one?

Firstly, a concrete-filled area is easier to keep clean. Impenetrable dirt will not collect on such a coating, grass will not grow through it and it will not have to be weeded out. AT winter period the yard will be easier to free from blockages of snow.

A concrete yard is easier to keep clean

Secondly, you will get a solid, flat surface that can be driven by a car of any class, even a truck. At the same time, the yard will not be torn apart by wheels and covered with gullies.

Third, it's just aesthetic. When concreting the adjacent territory, you can ennoble it along the way by allocating places for flower beds, benches, providing a network of alleys, etc.

With the help of concreting the yard, you can zone the space

In order for concrete to retain an attractive appearance for a long time, and its surface integrity, it is necessary to strictly follow the technology of its pouring process.

How to pour concrete in the yard

"Plastic will be very useful if you plan to concrete the yard in an abstract form with curly paths"

Preliminary work

First of all, we prepare the site. The surface must be leveled and the top layer of soil overgrown with grass roots removed. The removal of the soil layer should be carried out wisely. If it is fertile land, it should be transferred to flower beds or sent to beds. Concreting of the yard must be carried out at the level of natural relief.

Topsoil cleaning

Work on this issue begins with the fact that the marking of the territory is carried out, indicating the location of the sites, paths and other elements, and in accordance with this marking, excavation is carried out. On average, you have to remove up to 20 cm of soil. This is not much at all, as it may seem. The fact is that the concrete coating does not respond well to moisture, so a good drainage pad should be laid under it. The creation of the latter will have to be dealt with immediately after removing the soil. Crushed stone is required for drainage. It is poured into prepared recesses and clinched with sand. The thickness of the crushed stone cushion should be at least 15 cm. If the drainage is planned to be made from a mixture of crushed stone and construction debris such as broken bricks, the remains of an old concrete or asphalt pavement, etc., then it must be covered with an even larger layer.

Drainage area with rubble

Provided that your house is on infertile land and you have to deliver and pour black earth, the site for concreting can not be deepened. In this situation, the preparatory work will be reduced to marking and adding rubble. If the basis of the site is clay soil, which does not shrink, then you can do without a drainage cushion. In the same way, they act on hard, not overgrown with grass and well-packed land.

Compaction of the earth on the site

In order for the concrete to harden in the required form, and not spread over the entire area, it must be poured into the formwork, which can be built from improvised material with a smooth surface. You can launch:

1. Boards (this is ideal).

2. Plastic panels.

3. Chipboard pieces.

4. Slate sheets.

Wooden formwork for concreting

Plastic will come in handy if you plan to concrete the yard in an abstract form with curly paths. The material is very pliable in work and easily accepts any configuration.

Plastic formwork suitable for figured concreting

The formwork is placed along the perimeter of the site, exactly repeating its contour. Mounting the structure is easy. Boards or other material are laid along a given path and supported with pegs driven into the ground. Now you can start the main work.

Stage one - beacons

The technology of concreting the yard is somewhat different from the work of leveling the floor in the room, so the standard level will not help you. The relief of the terrain will not allow to withstand the horizon during the pour, so you need to find an alternative replacement for the level. An unusual system, referred to by professionals as a "spider", will help to cope with the task. It is created from 4 tightly stretched threads.

Spider concrete leveling system

Making a "spider" is not difficult. To begin with, drive wooden stakes or pieces of reinforcement into the corners of the site preparing for concreting. Now let two parallel threads run from corner to corner. We fasten the remaining threads in the same parallel order, but not to the pegs, but to the already stretched threads themselves, and we do this on the so-called “air loops” so that they can be freely moved in the right direction. Beacons are placed at the point of contact with the crawling threads. Next, select the angle of inclination of the site. This must be done to ensure the outflow of rainwater. Look at the features of the surrounding landscape and decide where it is most beneficial for you to direct storm flows.

Filling the site with concrete using the "spider" system

Now you can begin to remove the backfill level of the drainage layer. To set the "spider" in the correct plane, you need to work with the threads. The main ones, which are fixed on stakes, are lowered to a height of 15 cm from the base of the site. Sometimes it becomes necessary to adjust one of the sides in terms of level. This is done using a special device designed specifically for such work. The level for threads is equipped with hooks, thanks to which it is very easy to attach it to them. Now set the desired position of the thread, having achieved its absolute horizontality, and you can consider your "spider" adjusted in space. Everything is ready to install beacons.

It is done like this. Mix the solution and spread it in a row in small slides. They will become the holder of the profile pieces used in the creation of drywall systems. The height of the beacon should be such that it only slightly touches the "spider" threads. Landmarks are set at a distance equal to the length of the rule, which will stretch the concrete.

Installed beacons on fittings

Stage two - reinforcement

Experienced summer residents know firsthand how to properly pour concrete into the yard. They are aware that concrete is prone to cracking. This happens especially often at the junction of sections flooded at different time intervals. Laying reinforcement between beacons will help prevent trouble. The best option there will be a reinforcing mesh made of threads of thick wire, there will be no sharp edges that need to be folded.

Reinforcing mesh for concreting

It is not worth skipping the reinforcement stage, since this is the only way to ensure the integrity of the concrete canvas and reduce the number of cracks to a minimum threshold. The presence of a reinforcing layer of those who carry out the reconstruction of the yard in parts will help out a lot. The coating will turn out smooth and retain its integrity and attractiveness for many years.

Reinforcement will protect concrete from cracking

Stage three - concreting the yard

To fill the yard with concrete, you first need to prepare a working solution. This can be done in different ways, so consider the most common way. Let's start with proportions. To obtain concrete, you need to mix three components:

1. Cement.

3. Rubble.

They are mixed in a certain proportion. Three buckets of sand and a bucket of rubble are placed on a bucket of cement. You can find recommendations where it is indicated that two buckets of sand and crushed stone should be mixed into a bucket of cement, but in the absence of a vibrating screed, it should not be prepared. Manually, you will never be able to stretch and perfectly level the concrete surface.

Proportions for making concrete

The presence of such a mechanism as a concrete mixer will greatly facilitate the work of mixing the solution.

In the absence of auxiliary mechanisms, it is possible to concrete the yard alternative way. It provides for two actions. First you fill in the solution, which contains a lot of gravel, and leave it with little or no alignment, that is, as it will lie. The second is to fill the site with a concrete solution, in which there is practically no admixture of crushed stone. The final layer can be quite thin, only a couple of centimeters. This is a very economical option for decorating the yard, as it does not require the involvement of expensive fixtures. However, there is a "pitfall" here as well. In order for the concreting to go “with a bang”, you need to fill the yard in one day. Day breaks are not allowed here. If the bottom layer seizes, you will no longer be able to tie the top layer to it.

Multilayer concrete pouring

The process of mixing concrete begins with pouring into a concrete mixer or a trough of water. Its quantity is determined empirically. For a guide, again, you can take a bucket. Approximately the ratio of water and cement should be 1:1. Add the rest of the ingredients to the water and mix thoroughly. The solution can be considered ready when no sand is visible in it.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly

Let's move on to the fill. Concrete is unloaded onto the ground and carefully, with a shovel, is distributed to nearby lighthouses. A layer of solution should cover them. Now you should remove its excess. You will need a flat rail or something similar. It must be placed on the nearest visible lighthouses and pulled, as if on rails, to rake off excess concrete. The procedure is repeated several times in different directions. Your task is to make the surface as even as possible. If you are too far from the ups and downs of construction, but have a great desire to equip your home with my own hands, you can find thematic videos and see clearly how to fill the yard with concrete.

Leveling the surface of the concreted area

Try to mix the solution well. If this is not done, the view of the courtyard will not be very aesthetic. A poorly tightened mortar will be full of bumps and lumps of unbroken sand. But even if everything is done perfectly - do not apply to cover the concrete with another reinforcing polymer layer. Be sure to topping the weakest places to loads:

Polymer processing is carried out in two ways. In the first case, its dry mixture is poured over freshly laid concrete, in the second, a liquid solution of the hardener is prepared, which is poured into the grooves prepared in the already set concrete, centimeter deep.

Polymer concrete treatment

Features of drying concrete pavement

The concrete screed must be properly dried. This will give it extra strength. The process must go slowly. After water leaves the surface of the setting concrete, it is cleaned, eliminating all bumps and sagging, and covered with a film. If the weather is too hot, the concreted area will have to be watered. It is imperative to do this, since already at + 30 °, concrete mixed with aluminous cement will lose half of its strength reserve.

At high temperatures, pour concrete with water

If during the pouring of the yard, temperature gaps were not made in the concrete surface, you will have to pick up a grinder and cut them through the dried layer.

Now the process of concreting the yard can be considered complete.

Care of the concrete area

In principle, the hardening of concrete occurs quite quickly, but it takes a longer time to gain the main strength. So in the first days after the formation, you should not drive cars onto a freshly poured site, drop weights on it, etc.

It is important to maintain the moisture balance not only during the formation of the concrete solution, but also in further operation. In a strong heat, the yard will be useful periodically watered with a hose. In the rest of the period, it will have enough moisture that falls during precipitation.

Sooner or later, every owner of a private house or cottage faces the issue of arranging the yard. After all, we need walking paths, all kinds of areas for parking a car or barbecuing - do not knead the mud, in fact, after the rain? This is where concrete is needed.

You may say: “But what about paving stones or paving slabs?” Yes, it's beautiful, but in order for all kinds of paths and playgrounds laid out paving slabs, served for a long time, you need to make a solid foundation - pour a concrete "cushion" for them. Filling the yard with concrete pursues not only decorative purposes - a special blind area made around the house does not allow rain and melt water to erode the soil under the foundation and, thereby, prevents the building from sinking.

And now the main thing that can bother you is the process itself, how to fill a yard with concrete. How to make a concrete path or fill the site? These are the questions we will try to find answers to.

Do-it-yourself concrete pouring in the yard

The concreting of the local area is slightly different, say, from the concreting of the floors of large areas in shops and enterprises. If the latter require a clear area with observance of the horizontal level, then in the garden or in the courtyard of the house it is almost impossible to maintain the horizon in most cases. This nuance is associated with the terrain. That is why you will have to forget about traditional levels and levels and learn how to how to fill a yard with concrete on a flat plane.

Stage 1. We expose beacons

An excellent device for placing beacons in a plane is the so-called "spider". Four tightly stretched threads will help to outline the boundaries of the plane in the best possible way. How to make it? The thing is quite simple - we drive wooden or metal pins into the ground along the edges of the platform being poured with concrete. It should look like a rectangle.

From pin to pin, we tightly pull two parallel threads, between which we stretch two more perpendicularly - they need to be tied directly to the already stretched threads. You get something like sliders - two perpendicular threads should move over the entire area pouring the yard with concrete. It is on touching them that beacons are installed.

Now you need to choose the right plane. It all depends on the terrain and where you want to send rain and melt water. But in any case, you need to build on, first of all, the thickness of the concrete pouring of the site - who needs a concrete pad twenty or even more centimeters thick? The best option for concreting and platforms is a concrete layer not exceeding 10 cm. By lowering or raising the stretched threads along the pins hammered into the ground, we establish the plane we need.

It may happen that one of the sides of the site will have to be oriented according to the level - the plane twisted by the propeller looks rather clumsy. The question arises of how to set the tensioned thread in the level. For these purposes, there is a small special level, equipped with hooks, with which it is hung on a thread. We cling to it and, again, raising or lowering the thread on one of the pins, we achieve its clear position in the horizontal level.

Only after creating a "spider" and orienting it in space, you can proceed to the direct installation of beacons.

Next, we knead the solution (preferably with a concrete mixer) and apply it in small slides arranged in one row. We press a drywall profile into these slides, which acts as beacons. At this very moment, you will need a stretched "spider" - along the entire length of the installed beacon you need to check for touching the threads. They should slightly touch the profile.

In this way, all the necessary beacons are installed, the distance between which must correspond to the length of the rule for stretching concrete. Lighthouses are left to dry for about 24 hours.

Stage 2. How to make a concrete path, or the role of reinforcement in concreting paths and platforms

Concrete, no matter how thick you pour it, tends to crack over time. For the most part, cracks form at the junction of several portions of concrete poured at intervals of a day. If you have finished concrete work today and are going to continue tomorrow, then in the absence of reinforcement or at least a metal mesh in the concrete, the probability of a crack appearing at the junction of yesterday's and today's concrete is one hundred percent.

That is why a lattice of reinforcement or thick wire is laid between the lighthouses - this is a guarantee that the concrete yard will maintain its integrity for a long time.

How to concrete a yard

Stage 3. Filling the yard with concrete - concrete pouring technology

Before proceeding with the direct pouring of your yard with concrete, first we will learn how to mix the mortar correctly. And let's start by determining the proportions of it constituent parts. As a rule, the composition of concrete includes three components: cement, sand and crushed stone - they are mixed in a ratio of one to four. There is no need to save here, everything must be observed clearly - 1 bucket of cement, 3 buckets of sand and 1 bucket of crushed stone. Variations are possible, like two sand and two crushed stone - only in this case you need to remember that the more crushed stone in the concrete, the more difficult it is to stretch and level it without special mechanized equipment (it is called a vibrating screed).

We pour water into the concrete mixer (its amount will have to be determined through experiments, I can only say one thing from experience - approximately 1.5-2 buckets of water will be required per serving of concrete per 1 bucket of cement), pour the rest of the ingredients there and mix thoroughly. Well-mixed concrete can be identified by color (no sand should be visible) and mass uniformity.

Now you can pour! We unload the concrete onto the ground and, using a shovel, evenly distribute it between a pair of beacons. The layer of distributed concrete should be slightly higher than the installed beacons.

Now we take the rule, a flat rail or whatever else you come up with, install it on two lighthouses, and, as if on rails, making reciprocating movements to the left and right, we pull the concrete towards ourselves. In this way, you need to make two or three passes - the task is to remove all excess concrete.

How to fill the yard with concrete - photo

So, batch by batch, methodically, alternating the process of preparing the mixture with its direct pouring, the concrete of the sites is carried out and garden paths. In conclusion, the next day after pouring, when the concrete has cooled down a bit and it will be possible to walk on it, the concreted surface must be cleaned - remove possible sagging and tubercles. For these purposes, you can use, as a rule, using it as a scraper, and ordinary silicate brick.

Sergei Golikov spoke about how to fill the yard with concrete.

The owner of a private house probably more than once had the question of what material to fill the yard with? We need comfortable paths, parking lots, barbecue facilities, gazebos for relaxation. For a comfortable living in the yard, you can, of course, lay out the area near the house with beautiful tiles, but not everyone can afford its use, and even more so, the tile can not last long, it often cracks and crumbles. And the yard will no longer look beautiful and well-groomed. The least time consuming and cheapest way to get your yard in top condition is to concrete it. If you wish, you can pour a concrete yard with your own hands.

Purposes of concreting

Yard concreting is used for the following purposes:

• creating a flat surface with a solid structure, which will not leave marks from large vehicles;
• when concreting the yard country house the formation of dirt and weeds is reduced, and in winter time years it is easier to clear it of snow;
• apply concreting to replace fragile asphalt or expensive tiles;
• the concrete surface in the courtyard of the house allows you to seamlessly install benches, fountains and any other decorative outdoor element.

The nuances of hand-made concreting

Concrete laying has the following nuances:

Preparatory work

Do-it-yourself concreting begins with preparatory work. First of all, prepare necessary tools and materials, after which they level the site and remove the upper tier of soil, which contains the roots of plants. Next do. A waterproofing layer in the form of a polyethylene film is laid on the crushed stone. It will not only repel moisture, but will be a barrier to weed germination. Formwork is installed along the edges of the site and in the places of future flower beds.

Leveling and site preparation

Work begins with the preparation of the base, for this, the soil with plant roots is removed by 100 mm. Make a backfill, the thickness of which is from 100 to 200 mm. "Pillow" is made of crushed stone or sand, the use of crushed stone can reduce overall costs. Do not apply bedding in places with poorly absorbed soil. After they have made the bedding, they tamp or sand and water it with water. For the construction of the formwork, wooden boards are driven into the ground. It is important to cover the bedding with a plastic layer and seal it with tape. Polyethylene performs the following functions:

• waterproofing, which is designed to protect concrete from rapid destruction;
• barrier, for grass breaking through a solidified solution;
• shutter, does not allow milk to flow from the cement until the mortar sets, which helps to reduce the strength characteristics of concrete.

Cushioning and sealing

"Pillow" is used to improve quality characteristics concrete base. It is made of crushed stone and sand and laid on the ground in an even layer 100-200 mm thick. If necessary, compact the sand using a channel with a handle. The device is immersed in the solution and alternately rammed up and down. You can also do the following: pour a layer of sand with plenty of water and leave it to sit on its own. The disadvantage of this method is the need for a large volume of water, which increases the price of the total cost. Crushed stone 0.6 cm thick is laid on a layer of sand and also rammed.

Formwork preparation

For even solidification, formwork is constructed, which will give it the desired shape. Slate sheets are used to mount the formwork, plastic panels, wooden boards and particle boards. Before erecting the formwork, the work surface is cleaned and the bars are hammered at the same distance. Connect the shields with screws or nails. After that, they begin to create wooden clamps, which are used for the reliability of the structure at the time of pressure of the concrete solution on the walls of the molds.

Stages of concreting

Concreting of the yard consists of the following stages:

• setting up beacons;
• reinforcement;
• preparation of concrete solution;
• finishing processing.

Exposure of lighthouses

For the placement of beacons, the evenness of the construction site is important. You can provide it even at the stage of laying the "pillow" using a horizontal level. They put beacons over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe working surface for pouring. As a beacon, thin-sheet profiles and twine can act, which are interconnected by stretched stakes or, as they are also called, a spider. The spider is designed to guide beacons.

Reinforcement

After installing the beacons, a reinforcing structure is laid between them. It can be made in the form of a wire mesh with a thick diameter. The reinforcement is designed to prevent cracks in the concrete surface. Shovels between previously installed beacons. At the same time, concrete is poured in such a way as to hide the tops of the lighthouses by a couple of mm. If necessary, the excess amount of concrete is removed with a spatula or other even tool. To remove excess mortar, fix the rail perpendicular to the beacons and stretch it with a spatula, thus leveling the surface.

If you are faced with such a task as concreting a yard, do not rush to look for a master who will have to pay a lot of money for the work. Arranging your own territory with convenient paths or hardy platforms for a car can be done by hand.

To correctly concrete the area near a private house does not mean facing an impossible task. It is enough to carefully study the technological rules and you can begin the construction process. Let's try to detail the material on how to properly complete all the stages of work and get the desired result, which will delight the owners for many years.

Preparation for the main work

Digging a large area of ​​soil is laborious and time-consuming work, but the technology provides for such a process and it is unlikely that it will be possible to do without it.

Of course, you can simply level the base and arrange asphalt or concrete pavement on top of it, but here you will have to additionally bring in the ground, otherwise the screed will not hold normally and will simply crumble.

Soil filling

If the soil around the house is infertile and in any case you need to add good soil, then the top layer can not be removed. In this case, the preparatory work will consist in marking the area for pouring and filling it with rubble. If the basis of the yard is clay, which does not shrink, you can do without crushed stone.

Soil removal

If the yard is covered with fertile black soil, it would be more expedient to transfer it to the place of flower beds or beds, where it will be very useful, and it is better to equip concrete or asphalt on the same level with the relief. To do this, at the very beginning, mark the boundaries of the tracks or the site and, guided by them, remove the soil.

On average, it is necessary to remove a layer of 20 cm. It may seem that this is too much, but you need to take into account the arrangement of drainage to drain moisture, which negatively affects the concrete pavement. This stage will be the next after the removal of the earth layer.

drainage system

In this case, drainage is nothing more than a bedding under a “pillow” of concrete, which consists of two identical layers of sand and gravel. After the soil layer is removed, 5 cm of sand are poured and tamped with a special device that can be easily made by yourself. We need a large channel, on which the handle is welded from the pipe. For tamping, it is necessary to raise and lower the tool with force on the sand. Or you can align everything with a rule, but it will be somewhat inconvenient.

To simplify such work (tamping), you can shed sand with a large amount of water, and it will settle down in a dense layer. There is one minus: water is an expensive resource, and its consumption will be impressive.

Now you can fill in the next layer of crushed stone at 5 - 7 cm. It is recommended to take a medium or small fraction, as it is better compacted. Large stones will leave gaps, and this will be a violation of technology, and it will not work to properly concret the yard.

Main technological process

All preparatory stages can be considered completed, and it's time to lay asphalt or mount a concrete pavement. Like any construction, the pouring of paths and areas in the courtyard of a private house is carried out according to strict rules and is divided into several stages. To work, you will need the following tools:

• shovel;
• drywall profile;
• level;
• rule or board.

formwork

So that the concrete screed does not spread and freeze in the form that it was decided to give it, it is necessary to build a formwork. As a material, any flat objects at hand are usually used, as long as they have a smooth surface. Here may be useful:

• boards (classic version);
• slate sheets;
• plastic panels.

It is plastic that will become indispensable when pouring curvilinear curly paths, since the PVC structure bends well and is pliable in work. The formwork structure is mounted along the edge of the site and defines its contour. Its installation is simple: the boards fit into the shape we need and are supported by stakes driven into the ground.

Reinforcement

Having completed the installation of the formwork, they proceed to reinforcement, which will provide special strength and durability of the screed. Typically, the solution is reinforced with a building metal mesh or various metal products. Reinforcement, rods, pipe trimmings or steel wire can be used.

Of course, it is better to perform such a process using a ready-made grid. It is convenient to work with it, because the material evenly overlaps the surface of the crushed stone flooring (otherwise the screed will be covered with cracks). The thickness of the rods is about 6 mm, and the dimensions of the cells are around 15 cm.

lighthouses

In order for the concrete layer to have a sloping surface, it is necessary to use guide beacons in the work. The consumption of the solution increases significantly in this case, therefore, this rule can only be partially applied in the local area.

Inclined surfaces of paths and platforms will drain rainwater in a timely and high-quality manner and rid the yard of puddles and stagnant melt liquid. Following this principle, it is better to install beacons on the required plane, without reference to horizontal lines.

What is the best way to make lighthouses? Here, profiles for drywall works. They have an affordable cost, and the use of such material will provide a perfectly flat front surface. Since we are forming a platform with a sloping surface, the metal profile is mounted on hills from a building mixture at different heights and, using a level, is set to the desired slope.

It is necessary to wait for the solution to dry completely and make sure that the beacons are securely fastened. On average, this takes one day. Once everything is ready for the next step, you can continue the process of laying concrete on walkways or platforms.

concreting

Pouring the mortar is a fairly simple but responsible process that can be carried out using ready-made concrete ordered at the factory, or by preparing the building mixture yourself. If you need to equip a large area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe yard, then the first option would be more appropriate.

But in the case when the area for pouring is not very impressive, it is better to do everything yourself. For such work, you will need a concrete mixer or an old unnecessary trough, which you will not be sorry to throw away later.

Proportions and shading

1 part of M400 cement is placed in a concrete mixer or trough (for outdoor work it is better to take a frost-resistant grade F 200). Sand (3 parts) and crushed stone (2 parts) are added to the cement.

First, all components are mixed without water, and only then can the liquid be carefully introduced until a solution of medium density is obtained (usually ½ of the amount of cement is needed). The finished mixture with a shovel is thrown onto the reinforcement between the profiles a few centimeters above the lighthouses. A flat rail or a plaster rule is stretched along the lighthouses, with the help of which the solution is leveled.

In this way, we remove excess concrete. Filling the tracks must be done in one go, ensuring they dry evenly. If the screed is seized in pieces, then cracks will appear at the joints of the material poured at different times.

Technological clearances

In order to avoid damage to the coating during climate change, it is necessary to provide expansion joints. As you know, at low or high temperatures, the material changes linear parameters (expands and contracts), so it is very important to create technological gaps. This is a simple process and will not cause any difficulties.

It is possible to insert thin slats at the pouring stage and remove them until the concrete hardens. The second option involves "scraping" strips of mortar before it hardens with a construction tool. If for some reason you did not provide technological seams, do not worry, this is easy to fix. Gaps can be cut with a grinder after the concrete has completely hardened.

Drying and processing

The pouring of the yard with concrete is almost complete, it remains only to wait for the surface to dry (on average 24-48 hours) and clean it with a spatula or silicate brick from bumps and bumps. If temperature gaps were not provided during the pouring of the screed, they are cut by a grinder on dried concrete.

However, there is another point from which cement strainer gain strength - drying should be slow. What is needed for this?

Film cover

After the water that has begun to set has left the surface, it is covered with a film, and evaporation slows down noticeably. At very high air temperatures, a platform or path concreted near the house is watered.

Whatever you choose as a material for arranging the local area, asphalt or concrete, depends only on personal preferences. The main thing is that all stages of the construction process are carried out correctly and strictly according to technology.