How to make a stamp and make cheap garden paths with imitation tiles

Laying paving slabs is an expensive and labor-intensive task that requires the performer to have considerable experience and high qualifications. But it is possible to decorate a freshly laid concrete screed using relief embossing and imitate paving slabs of any shape. As a result, a boring, monotonous concrete screed takes on an attractive and rich look at virtually no cost. Almost any adult can do this kind of work.

Will need

Materials:

• metal strip;
• profile square pipe;
• purified sand;
• cement grade M350 and higher.

Tools: grinder, welding, paving slabs of the “Coil” type, hoe, trowel, usually corrugated and smooth trowel.

The process of making a stamp and applying relief embossing on a concrete screed

Using natural paving slabs “Katushka” as a template, we “go around” its contour with a metal strip, making cuts at the bend points from the outside or inside of the strip, depending on the direction of the bend in a given place.

We strengthen all bending points and the connection of the ends of the strip by welding.

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We weld a handle from a profile pipe in the shape of the letter P to a strip that follows the contours of the tile.

Mix the solution in the proportion of three parts sand and one part cement of a grade not lower than M350. Add such an amount of water so that the finished mixture, after thorough mixing, is homogeneous and does not crumble when squeezed in a fist.

We apply the finished solution to a dry and hard base with a thickness of at least 2 cm and level it with a rule and a construction trowel. We finally level the surface of the screed first with a corrugated and then with a smooth trowel.

Before stamping, we check the plasticity of the concrete and its consistency, which should be comparable to plasticine. The surface is ready for decorative processing if, when pressing on it with a finger, prints about 5 mm deep remain.

For precise orientation of the stamping, we place a verified support, for example, a rule, and from there we begin decorative processing. We place the stamp on the surface of the concrete screed and press it firmly into the concrete or evenly tap it with a rubber or wooden mallet. However, just a heavy piece of wood will do for this purpose. We combine each subsequent print with the next one until the entire surface is processed.

After completing the decorative treatment of the concrete surface for curing, we leave it alone for one day. Then we wash the surface with water from a hose to remove the separating components.

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