CONCRETE PATHS

Manawatu Herald, Volume LI, Issue 4500, 4 September 1930, Page 4

CONCRETE PATHS

HOW TO MAKE THEM. There is nothing so clean or tidy as a good concrete path, particularly when arranged near the domestic part of the house, where ;here is a good deal of inward and outward traffic. Once made, the path is easy to wash down or sweep, and its life is almost indefinite. There is no such maintenance trouble as cost as must be incurred in keeping a gravel or cinder path in good order.

Three feet is usually a convenient width for a concrete path, and it need be cambered only slightly to throw off water. A concrete path rounded up too much is apt to provide an uncertain foothold. The best results are obtained by laying a clinker bed beneath the path as a. kind of .foundation. This, if rammed, will prevent subsidence and obviate cracking of the concrete. When the foundation has been arranged and levelled the two edges of the path should be marked out with lines stretched between pegs, and the boxing placed in position. Battens three or four inches wide will serve to box the sides of the path. These battens bold in position'by stakes', to which they should b.e nailed, should be levelled along their top edges, or adjusted to a. true line if Ihe path is on a slope. On a good foundation, well rammed, a depth of three inches of concrete, or oven a little less, will make a good and dependable path. A board shaped to the camber curve to be given to the path should be provided. Resting on the boxing at each side, this board may be drawn along the concrete as this is placed in position, and the path will thus be true and shaped with little trouble. In making a corner on the path, a curved boxing must be formed either with metal or wood. A bit of old roofing iron, hammered flat and bent to the desired shape, will come in handy for this purpose.

An approved aggregate for patlimaking consists of four parts of gravel or shingle, two parts of sand, and one part: of cement. This should !be well mixed. It is advisable to turn the materials over twice dry before water is added. After being- laid in the path, the concrete should be well tamped before it is trued by drawing the shaping board along the top edges of the side battens. The path should be finished off with a layer of mortar consisting of pure cement and water. This should be applied as soon as the moisture has disappeared from the surface of the concrete. If the boxing battens are rnibbed with thick oil before being placed in position they will, come away from the concrete quite readiiv. About four days should be allowed for the path to set. The surface should bo watered occasionally if the weather is dry.