Shapes for paving slabs — tips on how to make with your own hands (115 photo ideas)

The courtyard of a private house or a country plot is an ideal place to relax in a family circle or with friends. And to make it even more pleasant to relax, the site needs to be landscaped. For this purpose, you can use decorative trees, flower beds and flower beds, various decorative elements for the garden.

A wonderful addition to the landscape design will be paths made of paving slabs. This tile is quite durable, it will last for many years. In addition to creating garden paths, it is used to create a blind area of buildings, it is used to equip a recreation area near reservoirs, gazebos, sun loungers. Also, with the help of tiles, you can organize beautiful islands near the house, or arrange a parking space for cars.

You can buy tiles in any store that specializes in construction or garden products. But in order for your site to be original, you can create original samples with your own hands using special forms. This process is not as complicated as it seems at first glance.

Summary of the article:

To date, there is a wide range of paving slabs on sale. They are divided into categories that are determined by the shape of the product and the way it is laid. There are the following types of tiles:

universal;
square, rectangular;
arbitrary form;
modular;
environmental;

Regarding the manufacturing method, the tile is divided into cast, pressed. It is possible to produce pressed-type tiles exclusively at factories that have specialized equipment. Such a process requires significant monetary costs. Therefore, such tiles are not made at home.

Unlike pressed, cast tiles are easy to make yourself. To do this, it will be enough to purchase or design molds for the manufacture of tiles and make the necessary solution.

What are the forms made of?

In any construction store, you can buy molds for pouring paving slabs. They have different quality, and accordingly different price. The classification of forms depends on the material from which it is made. Let's consider the main types of these devices.

The mold for the production of cast tiles can be as follows:

rubber;
silicone;
fiberglass;
plastic.

Today, rubber molds are considered an outdated technology. They are rapidly becoming more expensive due to the constant increase in raw material prices. Also, these devices are heavy, require the parallel use of additional equipment (vibrating table, special shelving and shields).

In the process of reducing the cost of molds, the manufacturer adds carbon black to rubber in large quantities, which negatively affects the quality of products. The service life of such forms will be no more than a couple of months, and they can also leave dark spots on the finished tile.

Silicone molds are particularly popular. Among their advantages are elasticity, ease of use, the ability to decorate the tile with small details. But the price of such forms is not the most democratic.

The silicone mold is designed for home use, it cannot cope with the production of a large number of tiles, because it is not strong enough.

Fiberglass molds are more often used when creating large-sized tiles, decorative concrete figures, or any other three-dimensional product. Fiberglass molds cannot be called high-quality. They are often not geometrically smooth, and lubrication is required before using the tile molds.

Due to lubrication, pores and sinks appear on the finished product, a glossy surface is not created. Such tiles often need additional processing. For these reasons, masters rarely use forms of this material.

More often, plastic molds are used for the independent production of paving slabs. Thanks to the modern material, such forms are perfect for home use, as well as for the manufacture of a large number of tiles.

For the production of such products, different types of plastic are used, depending on the source material, the characteristics of the forms also depend. But any form of plastic is durable, they are not subject to deformation and cracking.

When choosing a form, be sure to review the certificate for the product, which specifies the material and its characteristics. The cost of plastic inventory ranges from twenty to sixty rubles.

How to make the form?

If desired, you can not buy inventory, but make it yourself. Let's consider in detail how to make a form yourself at minimal cost. The most suitable materials for such a purpose are wood, metal, plastic. It is not necessary to adhere to classical norms, devices can have any shape and size.

Wooden forms are made of planed boards or plywood. Having prepared the material, form a kind of box without a bottom, giving it the necessary shape, install it on a rubber mat.

In order to seal up the cracks between the bottom and the mold, use mounting foam, silicone. After that, concrete mortar can be poured into the finished mold. The tiles are removed only after the solution has completely dried.

Fragments of an ordinary pipe can be used to make metal inventory. The pipe is cut into rings of equal height and given the desired geometric shape. To make a tile with a pattern, the shape must be installed on a raised rubber mat. Before pouring concrete mortar, the inner side of the metal mold must be treated with oil.

The process of making a plastic mold is a little more complicated. Initially, it is necessary to make a wooden frame into which the molten plastic will be poured. It is worth remembering that the sides of the frame should have a length greater than three centimeters from the side of the form. To fasten wooden parts, use metal corners, or self-tapping screws.

The dimensions of the second frame should be identical to the dimensions of the required tile. Next, combine the two frames, install the structure on the base and pour the plastic mass. After the plastic has completely cooled down, the wooden structure is removed.