Forms for paving slabs - tips on how to do it yourself (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 in order to relax it was even more pleasant, the site must be landscaped. For this purpose, you can use decorative trees, flower beds and flower beds, various decorative elements for the garden.
A great addition to the landscape design will be walkways made of paving slabs. This tile is strong enough, will last for many years. In addition to creating garden paths, it is used to create the blind areas of buildings, it equips a recreation area near ponds, arbors, deck chairs. Also, with the help of tiles you can organize beautiful islands near the house, or arrange a place for car parking.
You can buy tiles in any store that specializes in construction or garden products. But, so that your site is 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.
Varieties of forms
Today on sale there is a wide range of paving slabs. They are divided into categories, which are determined by the shape of the product and the way it is laid. The following types of tiles are distinguished:
- universal;
- square, rectangular;
- arbitrary shape;
- modular;
- environmental;
Regarding the manufacturing method, the tile is divided into cast, pressed. It is possible to produce pressed tiles exclusively at plants that have specialized equipment. Such a process requires significant cash costs. Therefore, such tiles are not manufactured at home.
Unlike pressed, molded tiles are easy to make yourself. To do this, it will be enough to acquire or design forms for the manufacture of tiles and make the necessary solution.
What are the forms made of?
In any hardware store, you can purchase forms for filling paving slabs. They have different quality, and therefore different prices. The classification of forms depends on the material from which it is made. Consider the main varieties of these devices.
The mold for the manufacture of molded tiles may be as follows:
- rubber;
- silicone;
- fiberglass;
- plastic.
Today, rubber molds are considered obsolete 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 (vibration table, special shelving and shields).
In the process of cheaper forms, the manufacturer adds carbon black in large quantities to rubber, which negatively affects the quality of the 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 especially popular. Among their advantages distinguish elasticity, ease of use, the ability to decorate tiles with small details. But the price of such forms is not the most democratic.
The silicone mold is designed for home use, it can not cope with the production of a large number of tiles, because it is not strong enough.
Fiberglass molds are most often used when creating large tiles, decorative concrete figures, or any other volumetric product. Fiberglass molds cannot be called quality. Often they are not geometrically even, before starting the operation of the molds for the tile, lubrication is required.
Due to lubrication, pores and sinks appear on the finished product, and a glossy surface is not created. Such tiles often need additional processing. For these reasons, craftsmen rarely use forms of this material.
More often for independent production of paving slabs plastic forms are used. Thanks to 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, and the characteristics of the forms depend on the source material. But any forms of plastic are durable, they are not subject to deformation and the appearance of cracks.
When choosing a form, be sure to review the product certificate, which indicates the material and its characteristics. The cost of plastic equipment ranges from twenty to sixty rubles.
How to make a mold yourself?
If you wish, you can not buy equipment, but do it yourself. Let us consider in detail how to make a form yourself at minimal cost. The most suitable materials for this purpose are wood, metal, plastic. Do not adhere to classical standards, devices can have any shape and size.
Wooden forms are made from planed boards or plywood. Having prepared the material, form a kind of box without a bottom, giving it the necessary shape, set it on a rubber mat.
In order to seal the gaps between the bottom and the mold, use mounting foam, silicone. After that, concrete solution can be poured into the finished form. Tiles are removed only after the solution has completely dried.
For the manufacture of metal equipment, fragments of an ordinary pipe can be used. The pipe is cut into rings of equal height and attached to the desired geometric shape. To make a tile with a pattern, the form needs to be installed on a relief rug from rubber. Before pouring concrete mortar, the inside of the metal mold must be treated with oil.
The process of making a plastic mold is a bit more complicated. Initially, it is necessary to craft a wooden frame into which 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 fill the plastic mass. After the plastic has completely cooled, the wooden structure is removed.
To learn how to make interesting and original forms for paving slabs, look at the photos and videos of the training workshops.
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Join the discussion:
I didn’t even know that there are such various forms for paving slabs. And what original patterns can be made. Very beautiful!
As a seller of forms, I learned so many new things:
Silicone molds are especially popular.
Fiberglass molds cannot be called quality
But any forms of plastic are durable, they are not subject to deformation and cracking
In general, masterpieces are written here, do not re-read
Rubber is written out of date - it just didn’t go because of a change in geometry if you didn’t put it exactly, and the service life is really longer than the rest.
And so on a lot of writing you can walk