How to increase the strength of paving slabs. Mortar for paving slabs: proportions with a plasticizer. Master class on the manufacture of paving slabs

Recently, landscape design has been gaining more and more popularity in Russia, because a cozy house with a well-equipped, well-groomed plot is the dream of any owner. Paving stones will help create comfortable paths and parking spaces. It is a coating of blocks of the same shape and size. The composition of concrete for paving slabs determines its performance. Drying conditions are an important factor affecting strength. Manufacturing can become a profitable business - it does not require large production capacities and significant cash investments.

How to make paving slabs with your own hands

Special skills and knowledge are not required, it is only necessary to strictly observe the proportions of all components and ensure uniform mixing of the mixture using a concrete mixer.

1. Vibrocasting.

The basis of the technology for the production of tiles at home is the compaction of a cement-sand mortar in plastic molds under the action of high-frequency vibration. Oscillations are created by an electric motor, on the shaft of which an eccentric is fixed. A form with a concrete solution poured into it is placed on a vibrating surface and kept on it for a certain amount of time. After tamping, it is removed from the vibrating table and placed in a warm place for 2 days. Next, the finished product is removed, which is best done in a thermal bath with a water temperature of about 70-80 ° C.

It is not recommended to remove the coating before the specified period, since there is a high risk of chipping the edges and the formation of microcracks, which will subsequently affect the quality. The proportions of concrete for the production of paving slabs by vibrocasting are 1: 2, that is, for one bucket of M-500 cement, there should be 2 buckets of filler, which can be sand, slag or granite screenings. These components are poured into the concrete mixer in a dry form, after which 0.5 buckets of water are added to them. The ratio of crushed stone to sand in the mixture is 1:1.

To give a certain shade, coloring pigments are added to the solution, their amount should not be more than 3-5%. You can increase plasticity and uniformity by adding polypropylene fiber to it - a soft reinforcing material. The quality of the manufactured paving slabs depends on the composition of the concrete, therefore, to improve its performance, a plasticizer is added to it, which increases the mobility of the mixture.

Vibration molding products have an attractive appearance and a smooth surface. Due to the high water content, the frost resistance of products decreases. It can be increased by including various modifiers in the solution, which as a result will negatively affect the cost of the tile. Tiles often have a curved surface or different thicknesses, which makes installation much more difficult. The advantages of using the vibrocasting method include the possibility of obtaining a large range of products without any special monetary costs.

2. Vibrocompression.

It is based on the use of a special mold (matrix) located on a constantly vibrating frame. From above, a punch presses on the solution in the form - an integral part of the vibropress, tightly entering into it, like a piston into a cylinder. After lifting the mold, the finished block remains on the pallet. The method is characterized by high productivity and can be fully automated, which eliminates the influence of the human factor on the quality.

The concrete recipe and the proportions of ingredients for the manufacture of tiles by vibrocompression are 1: 3, that is, for one part of M-500 cement, there should be 3 parts of sand or other filler. It is not worth diluting the mixture with a large amount of water - it will significantly reduce the strength of the future coating. By adding a plasticizer and fiberglass, performance can be significantly increased. The amount of coloring pigment (granite or marble chips) placed in the mixture directly depends on the desired intensity of the shade of the front layer.

The composition of the mortar for paving slabs without crushed stone is 1: 3, that is, 3 parts of sand are added to one part of cement. To work effectively, a plasticizer must be contained. Durability is increased by adding a dispersant - a mineral additive that protects against moisture penetration.

Products made by vibrocompression are rough, which makes it easier to move over the coating after rain or in ice, have a strict geometric shape and are distinguished by parallel surfaces. Concrete for the manufacture of paving slabs at home is characterized by a low water-cement ratio, which reduces the consumption of a binder, while providing a high level of frost resistance and product strength. Unlike blocks obtained by vibrocasting, vibropressed products are able to maintain color saturation throughout the entire service life, which averages 25 years. The surface of the elements can be easily sanded, polished and bush hammered. The percentage of rejects in manufacturing is much lower than when using the injection method.

When it comes to choosing materials for paving, people are increasingly making their choice on paving slabs. Which is quite natural. Now there is no better material for improvement in terms of price / quality / appearance. The variety of types and colors of paving slabs provides unlimited scope for the client.

Average characteristics of products made by vibrocasting:

• compressive strength: 100-300 kg/cm 2 ;
• water absorption: 4.9% of the volume;
• abrasion: 0.49 g/cm 2 ;
• frost resistance grade: F200.
• service life 3-10 years.

The tile produced by vibrocasting has an attractive glossy surface.

Average characteristics of products manufactured by vibrocompression:

• compressive strength: 300-400 kg/cm 2 ;
• water absorption: 0.5% by volume;
• abrasion: 0.3 g/cm 2 ;
• frost resistance grade: F200-300.
• service life of 25 years.

The tiles produced by this method have a rough surface.

Explanations:

• Concrete brand and class. Means the following: for example, brand of concrete M100 withstand load ≈ 10MPA, i.e. ≈ 100 kgf/cm2(to be precise, 98 kgf/cm2, as g=9.8 m/s2). The class of concrete characterizes the compressive strength: for example, the class of concrete B1- withstands approximately load 14.5kgf/cm2., IN 2 -29kgf/cm2.
• Ultimate compressive strength.
  1kgf/cm2 = 0.1 MPa, hence 10 kgf/cm2 = 1 MPa. 1 MPa means that the material area 1 cm2 able to withstand a concentrated load of up to 10 kg.
  For example, let's analyze the compressive strength of a brick: 2.5 - 25 MPa means that 1 cm2 withstand it from 25 kg before 250 kg, depending on the brand of brick. That is, we multiply 2.5x10 kg and we get 25 kg/cm2.
• Frost resistance. The ability of a material in a water-saturated state to withstand repeated alternating freezing and thawing. A quantitative assessment of frost resistance is the number of cycles at which the loss in mass of the sample is less than 5%, and its strength is reduced by no more than 25% . With a decrease in the hollowness of concrete, its frost resistance increases.

Advantages of paving slabs:

• Environmental friendliness. Paving slabs are made from natural, environmentally friendly material without harmful impurities and artificial dyes, do not emit carcinogens.
• Durability. The high strength of paving slabs, the ability to withstand heavy mechanical loads and its low abrasion significantly extend its service life and allow it to retain its attractive appearance for a long time.
• Frost resistance. The ability of paving slabs to withstand very low temperatures makes it almost indispensable in the harsh Russian climate.
• Resistant to various weather conditions. Paving slabs are not very susceptible to the destructive effects of rain, wind and open sun.
• Ease of care. Paving slabs are easily cleaned of any type of dirt and require minimal maintenance.
• maintainability. This quality makes it possible to reuse paving slabs when re-laying communications or other repair work.
• Aesthetics. Paving slabs are ideal for paving sidewalks, paths and home gardens. By combining tiles of different sizes, colors and textures, you can create countless styling options. All this allows you to harmoniously fit paving slabs into any landscape, whether it be a city square or a country park.
• economy. With a slight difference in price, compared to the same asphalt, paving slabs require much less cost for installation, maintenance and care.

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If you are going to pave the yard, sidewalk or garden path, you will have a choice - which paving slabs to use for this.

After reading the article, you will learn how to choose the right paving slabs for the courtyard of a house or cottage, which experts recommend using and what parameters they choose. Learn to determine which varieties and types are preferable in a given situation.

Before proceeding with the choice, ask the question: why tile? Why not asphalt, not concrete, not poured and compacted gravel? Why is it important for you to lay tiles here? This question will help you better understand what expectations are associated with the coating, and select the necessary material, shape and other parameters of the tile.

If you need to fit a walkway or sidewalk into a sophisticated site design, choose porcelain stoneware or natural stone tiles. If you need to create a feeling of antiquity and monumentality, choose natural or cast wild stone. To evoke memories of the last decades of the Soviet Union, choose colored vibropressed tiles.

The cost of high-quality tiling (with appropriate preparatory work and the creation of the right foundation) will cost 3-5 times more than pouring concrete or laying asphalt. Even when using inexpensive materials. If you choose expensive materials, laying tiles will exceed the cost of creating a concrete or asphalt path by at least 10 times. The reason for this is the high price of the material and the large amount of expensive manual work, which requires high qualifications.

Characteristics

The main characteristics of the tiles include:

• abrasion resistance;
• frost resistance;
• size and shape;
• price.

Abrasion resistance

Abrasion resistance determines how long the tile will last under the influence of external factors (shoes and car tires). The higher this parameter, the greater the load the tile can withstand and the longer it will not need to be replaced.

The abrasion resistance of concrete paving slabs depends on the materials from which the concrete was made. The use of quartz or river sand, high-quality cement grade not lower than M-500 and crushed stone of hard rocks (granite, marble, basalt and others) improve abrasion resistance.

This property is a conditional value, which is determined according to GOST 13087-81. To determine the value of this indicator, a sample of a concrete or reinforced concrete product is abraded using a special machine and abrasive powder.

After a certain exposure time, the sample is cleaned and weighed. The difference between the weight of the original and the resulting sample is the abrasion resistance. It is indicated in grams per square centimeter (g / cm2). The lower the abrasion resistance value, the more difficult it is to destroy a product made of concrete or natural stone.

The best value of resistance to abrasion in porcelain stoneware and paving stones made of natural stone. Somewhat worse is polymer concrete made of granite (marble) chips and clinker bricks (tiles). In third place is a vibropressed paving slab made of concrete, which includes crushed granite or marble. In last place are cast concrete tiles and rubber paving slabs.

Frost resistance

Frost resistance is indicated either in the number of freeze-thaw cycles (based on GOST 10060-2012), or by concrete grade F100, F200, F300. The higher this value, the more frost the tile can withstand. Concrete grade F300 is used to make products that can withstand temperatures below minus 45 degrees Celsius. Concrete brand F100 is designed for operation at temperatures above minus 5 degrees.

Size and shape

The thickness of the tile depends on the load that it can withstand. Tiles with a thickness of 3-4 cm are used for footpaths and other places where there is no any transport. A thickness of 4-7 cm is used for areas where the movement of cars is possible, over 7 cm is used for any areas.

The greater the length and width of the tile, the higher quality base is needed. This is due to the fact that when the base subsides, the tile with one or two edges tilts towards the failure, the other side, on the contrary, rises above the surface of the bulk of the tiles, forming a kind of "hummock".

The choice of laying pattern and the complexity of joining the extreme tiles and the border depend on the shape of the tile. Tiles of a simple shape - quadrilateral and hexagonal are the easiest to install, but the choice of schemes is limited.

For a one-dimensional square shape, “checkerboard” and “half-row shift” schemes are available, so the pattern is created using tiles of various colors. For rectangular paving stones, chessboard, circular laying and herringbone patterns are available, and the pattern is also created by a combination of colors.

Square tile with half row offset

For a hexagon, the "mosaic" scheme is applicable. There is no laying scheme for wild stone, because all stones are of different shapes and sizes. Therefore, instead of a diagram, a drawing is laid out. Decorative (artistic) tile itself is a pattern, so there is no laying scheme for it.

If you want to lay out a particular drawing or pattern, make a plan of the site on a convenient scale and create a drawing on it. This will help determine what color and shape tiles are needed.

If the stores do not have the required tiles, contact the manufacturer directly. Most of these firms undertake the manufacture of custom-made tiles, however, at a price 2-5 times more expensive than that which is mass-produced.

Price

In 50 percent of cases, the choice of tile determines the cost. The more expensive the tile, the more expensive the services of the worker in laying it. For the installation of cheap cast tiles, which will last ten years at most, you can hire a team of guest workers, they do it quickly and cheaply. But such an approach to laying expensive tiles will lead to the need for a major overhaul of the blind area in 3-5 years.

Laying tiles is the final stage, before which hard and complicated work is needed to prepare the soil and lay the underlying layers. If one of the operations is performed poorly or with errors, the blind area will not last long.

The cost of a tile depends on the price of raw materials, manufacturing technology, brand popularity, the income of the manufacturer, and various transport and sales costs. Therefore, the spread in prices for different models of the same type of tile reaches 100 percent.

Do not rush to buy tiles in the first store. Look at the offers of other outlets, visit several companies that produce tiles. There is a high probability that you will be able to find what you need, and at a lower price than they ask in the store.

Remember, more expensive tiles are not necessarily better quality than cheaper ones. After all, the quality of tiles (within the same type or model) depends on the experience of workers and technologists. If the workers do not violate the technology, check and repair (adjust) the equipment in time, use the right ingredients, then this approach ensures high product quality.

The choice of tiles for paving sidewalks, garden paths or recreation areas is not an easy task. Now you know what to look for when choosing a tile, what qualities and parameters are really important, and what exactly can be safely ignored. This will help you choose a tile that suits the price, quality and is ideal for your design.

In order for a garden path or a platform for a car to look attractive, you need to buy paving slabs. This material is very popular lately: manufacturers have launched the production of paving stones of various shapes, thicknesses, colors. But how to choose paving slabs of proper quality? What should you pay attention to? To answer the question, you need to understand the technology of making pavers, with the rules for laying it and other nuances.

Paving stones, subject to the laying technology, have certain advantages over a monolithic concrete and asphalt pavement:

• due to the presence of gaps between adjacent tiles, the formation of puddles is excluded;
• in summer, the surface made of tiles does not heat up and does not become softer, and there are no unpleasant odors;
• no greenhouse effect is created under the cover, which is important for growing ornamental plantings nearby;
• if it is necessary to lay or repair underground utilities, it is enough to disassemble and, upon completion of work, re-lay the tiles in a certain area;
• using stones of various colors and shapes, you can create a patterned coating.

Paving slabs (a photo of laying examples is presented in the article) can be used to create a unique landscape.

Regulatory Requirements

You should know that the main requirements for the quality of paving stones are set out in GOST 17608-91. The regulatory documentation states that it must withstand at least 200 freeze and thaw cycles, a compressive load of at least 30 MPa, moisture permeability of no more than 5%, abrasion resistance of no more than 0.7 g / cm². GOST also defines the maximum allowable deviations from the specified geometric parameters and other characteristics.

For the manufacture of the working mixture, Portland cement M500, fine crushed stone (5 - 10 mm) and sand with a grain size of up to 2 mm are used. In order for the hardened mixture to be strong enough, a plasticizer is introduced when mixing the working mixture, the best manufacturers of which are the Czech company Mustache and Prohese and the German company Bayer.

The buyer has the right to demand from the manufacturer or seller for review the Quality Confirmation Certificate issued by the authorized regional Certification Body. Such a document is issued on the basis of positive results of laboratory tests of products. In addition, there must be documents confirming the radiation safety of the tile or raw materials used for its production.

Basic information about the production of paving stones

Currently, manufacturers use one of two technologies: the first is based on pressing a rigid mixture with the help of vibration, the second is based on vibration casting with the addition of plasticizers. Both methods make it possible to obtain high-quality low-porosity concrete products, but paving stones obtained by vibrocasting are superior in strength to pressed ones due to the use of plasticizers.

Paving slabs are also made in a handicraft way: a plastic form is filled with concrete and placed on a vibrating table. Without vibrocompression, the product will be fragile and will not last long: moisture, penetrating into the pores and freezing in them, will destroy the tile.

For production in industrial volumes, a concrete mixer, a vibrating table, a sufficient number of molds and other equipment are required. The process is carried out with the following sequence of actions.

1. Plastic molds are lubricated with grease or other similar lubricant: this will facilitate the removal of the finished product after the mixture has dried.
2. Forms are filled with a solution and placed on a vibrating table.
3. At the end of the process, the molds are stored on racks and covered with plastic wrap for uniform drying. In this state, the product is within a day. The air temperature must be at least +15°С.
4. The dried tiles are removed from the molds, preheated in hot water at a temperature of up to +50 ° C: this reduces the amount of rejects, increases the service life of the pavers.
5. Finished products are stacked on pallets, pallets are tied with tape and covered with a film. Paving stones made in the summer can be used for their intended purpose in 7 days. In winter, it gains strength longer - 28 days. This period must be clarified before purchasing tiles.

To your attention a video about the process of production of tiles.

How to determine the quality of paving stones without accompanying documents

It is not always possible to verify the quality of paving stones by looking at the Certificate of Conformity. How to proceed in such a case? First of all, it must be taken into account that to create pedestrian zones, a paving stone thickness of 25-30 mm is sufficient. For the roadway and parking area, thicker (from 40 to 60 mm) paving slabs are needed: its price is different and also depends on the shape and color. Otherwise, you need to pay attention to the following.

1. To make the surface of products glossy, some unscrupulous manufacturers, instead of using special expensive additives, introduce excess water into the solution. This leads to a decrease in the strength of the pavement. To identify such a flaw is simple: just lightly tap one tile on another. The sound that a quality tile will make will be sonorous. A dull sound is a sign of a violation of production technology.
2. The color of concrete paving stones should not be overly saturated: an excess of pigment also worsens the strength characteristics of the material.
3. The presence of clay in the working mixture adversely affects the quality. Reacting with cement, it destroys the tile when it gets wet. Clay can be detected by examining the back of the product: yellow inclusions and spots are signs of the presence of clay.
4. If paving slabs are outwardly attractive, this does not guarantee its compliance with the requirements of regulatory documents. You should examine the material in the middle, for which you need to break one stone. Pores, voids and foreign inclusions should not be. The pigment that sets the color of the product must be evenly distributed throughout the material. Painting only the front part leads to delamination, reduces the service life.
5. It is worth avoiding the purchase of tiles that are too cheap: they are most likely made from low-quality raw materials or in violation of technology.
6. It is important to consider how long the manufacturer has been operating in the market for the production of this type of building materials. It is advisable to enlist the recommendations of those who have already used this tile and inspect the pavement laid out by it: if the paving stone has served for several years and has not lost its appearance, its quality is at the proper level.
7. It is necessary to correctly determine and purchase the required amount of material (with a small margin): the color and texture of products from different batches can differ significantly from each other.

Some information about the technology of laying paving slabs

Paving stones are laid in different ways depending on how it will be used. For personal plots, the following technology is suitable.

1. Before starting laying, you should decide on the pattern and size of the area to be paved in order to avoid unnecessary cutting of tiles and a large amount of waste.
2. You need to stock up on tools. You will need: shovels (bayonet and shovel), rake, rammer, construction level, geomembrane cloth (geotextile), as a rule, a hammer with a rubber striker.
3. The marked area must be cleared of vegetation (remove the sod) to a depth of 150 mm and tamp the ground. Hard soil can be softened by watering abundantly. This pit must have a slope to drain rainwater.
4. On the sides, you need to prepare ditches for installing a curb, the bottom is compacted in them and a sand cushion is poured with a layer of 50 mm. Borders are installed on a cement-sand mortar.
5. Geotextiles are laid over the entire area of ​​​​the pit. Sand is poured over the canvas with a layer of about 40 mm and evenly distributed with a rake. To avoid surface deformations due to unevenness of the bottom of the pit, cement should be mixed with sand in a ratio of 1: 10.
6. A pillow made of a mixture of sand and cement is wetted with water and carefully leveled with a rule.
7. The tile is laid (starting from the curb) and driven in with a rubber mallet. You can’t move on the sand: for this, a board is used, which is laid on top of the tiles already driven into place.
8. Tile cutting is performed by a grinder with a diamond wheel.
9. Differences in the base level are leveled by adding or sand selection.
10. At the end of laying, the paving stones are abundantly sprinkled with sand, which is then swept away. This is necessary to fill the seams. After that, the sidewalk is watered. You can use it the next day.

To equip the site for the car, an additional layer of crushed stone is required, which is poured and compacted in front of the sand cushion. A reinforcing mesh is also needed: it is placed on top of the sand.

A video on how paving stones are laid will help clarify some important points.

To choose the right paving slabs, you should seek help from specialists of trading enterprises - managers. Tiling is best left to the professionals.

During the construction works (or upon their completion), the question of the improvement of the adjacent territory inevitably arises. Walking on the remains of building materials and cement-soil mixture is uncomfortable and antisocial. To bring this design task to life, there are many solutions, including the justifiably popular laying of paving slabs. This material has many configuration options and a rich selection of colors, easy to install and relatively inexpensive.

The production of paving slabs is possible without expensive equipment and does not require the involvement of production facilities. Anyone can organize it. Properly selected proportions of concrete and other components of the mixture will allow you to get high-quality building material with significant savings.

Materials for paving slabs

To minimize the cost of paving slabs (which every zealous owner dreams about in pink dreams), you can make it on your own at home. This does not require expensive equipment, but only the simplest tools: a concrete mixer (if any) or a container for mixing the solution (Russian-Soviet trough), shovels, buckets, molds, also made independently or purchased at bargain prices. And, of course, materials:

• cement,
• sand,
• rubble,
• water,
• plasticizer,
• modifier,
• coloring pigment of the desired color.

In order for the result of your work to justify the money and effort spent, follow the simple recommendations below.

The quality of concrete products (in particular, paving slabs) largely depends on the correct selection of concrete components and careful observance of their proportions. Therefore, you need to purchase Portland cement M500 without additives (to be sure), washed granite crushed stone of a fraction of 5 - 10 mm, coarse-grained river sand, high-quality plasticizer and pigment dye, use clean water. Of course, you can buy cheaper (respectively, lower quality) ingredients, but then it will be very difficult to achieve the proper quality of the final product.

The composition of the concrete mix

Products such as curbs, paving and facade tiles, according to GOST 17608-91, must meet high. The proportions and composition of the mixture to a large extent affect the technical characteristics and quality of the final products.

Experts recommend opting for M500 cement, which belongs to the group of Portland cements and is characterized by high strength and earlier setting, in comparison with concrete of M400 grade and below. M500 cement can come with mineral additives (no more than 20%) or be without them. PC II / A-Sh 500 contains mineral additives, PC I-500 - pure Portland cement (products made from such cement can withstand loads up to 500 kg / cm 2).

In the production of paving slabs, it is best to use the additive-free option.

Crushed stone should be selected with a fraction of 5-10 mm. At the same time, its resistance to abrasion should not be lower than M800 (high-strength or durable type), frost resistance indicators - F300-400 (correspond to the characteristics of crushed granite). Sand should be purchased coarse river sand (fraction size not less than 2.5 mm) with a percentage of impurities - no more than 3%.

The use of plasticizers and superplasticizers makes it possible to obtain cast tiles without vibration. With a decrease in the amount of water in the composition of the solution, we will get a self-compacting high-strength concrete for paving slabs.

To give the product the desired shade, iron oxide pigments-dyes are used that are resistant to ultraviolet radiation, moisture, and elevated temperatures.

Polypropylene fiber acts as a reinforcing material. This additive is able to replace steel reinforcement, prevents the formation of cracks in finished structures.

Water is needed to adhere the components and make the mixture homogeneous.

Proportions of concrete mix - 1:2:2 (water, cement, crushed stone)

Step 1. For 50 kg of non-additive cement M500, we need 15-20 liters of fresh clean water (2 buckets). Pour water into the concrete mixer.

Step 2. We dissolve the plasticizer in a small amount of warm water (up to 50 ° C) and add the composition to the concrete mixer, after which we mix thoroughly.

Step 3. Pigments-dyes are taken at the rate recommended by the manufacturer.

Step 4 Pure granite crushed stone in the amount of three 12-liter buckets is poured into a concrete mixer and mixed with water. The addition of granite screenings significantly reduces the risk of cracking and increases the strength of the finished product.

Step 5. Add a bag of cement (50 kg or 3 12-liter buckets) to the resulting mixture. After adding each bucket, the mixture is thoroughly agitated.

Step 6. Add 1 more bucket of granite rubble and knead again. Then we load 4 buckets of river sand, mixing thoroughly after each new portion (bucket). Add a little water if necessary.

Step 7. Add the last bucket of rubble. The whole process of making one such portion will take you no more than 10 minutes. At the same time, the proportions and composition of concrete for paving slabs proposed above will make it possible to obtain a thick, high-quality mortar.

Step 8. Pour the mixture into molds. We compact the contents in the forms with a mallet. When laying the concrete solution in the molds, the latter should be shaken a little, which will ensure a more dense shrinkage of the composition.

Step 9. After a couple of days, we remove the tile, after lubricating it with oil or emulsion. To simplify the extraction process, you can place the mold under hot water (up to +60°C).

Production of concrete mix

So, let's start making concrete mix. The recommended ratio of dry ingredients (cement, sand, crushed stone) should be taken in a ratio of 1:2:2, and the plasticizer and dye according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

First, pour about 20 liters of clean water into the concrete mixer. We prepare a solution of plasticizer. To do this, the required amount of dry matter (approximately 0.7% by weight of cement) is dissolved in warm (50 - 60 ° C) water, poured into a concrete mixer and mixed thoroughly. Now we send pigment dye there (from 2 to 5% of the mass of cement). After 1 - 2 minutes, we fill in clean crushed stone, then with the same interval we place sand and cement in the concrete mixer. To increase the durability of concrete, increase its wear resistance and impact resistance, polyamide, polypropylene or glass alkali-resistant fibers 10–20 mm long and 10–40 µm in diameter (0.8–1.0 kg per 1 m3 of concrete) can be added to the solution. Thanks to this reinforcement, the strength characteristics of the finished product are significantly increased. The finished solution should be kept in a slide on a trowel, but it is easy to blur even with slight shaking.

If you do not have a concrete mixer, the process of making concrete can be done manually. Of course, this will require more effort and time, but with due diligence, the result will be good.

New forms do not require special preparation before pouring the solution. However, over time, small scratches appear on their inner surface, which increase the adhesion of the form to the solution. In this case, it is required to treat the surface with a special emulsion for easy removal of the tile. After pouring the solution, we compact it with a mallet or light shaking to ensure complete filling of the mold and tight shrinkage of the composition.

After two days, the tile must be removed from the mold. Warming up in hot (up to 60 ° C) water will help facilitate this operation. For the next two weeks, the tiles are kept in the shade at positive temperatures, regularly watering the product with water to prevent drying out. During this time, the concrete will gain its maximum strength, and the tile can be used for its intended purpose.

Over the next two weeks, the products are stored in a shaded place at a temperature not lower than 0 ° C, periodically wetting their surface with water. After two weeks later, the paving slabs are completely dry and gain maximum strength, you can start laying them.