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ALLANDSCAPERS.ORG Allandscaper's Tips Hints and Tips Making 'Soil Concrete'
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Making 'Soil Concrete'
on: May 12, 2013, 09:11:47 am
Alan Sargent
Jr. Member
Posts: 89
MAKING SOIL CONCRETE
There are occasions, when designing a garden, especially a wild area or site,
when the planting scheme calls for a softer approach. Even if the scheme does
not call for a lot of hard landscaping, there will still be a requirement for
stability, either paving, steps or walling, and often a designer can find difficulty
in trying to combine both worlds.
Take paving for example. Natural stone materials are the usual choice for
patios and footpaths in wilder gardens, lending themselves more readily to a
local appearance. Purbec stone, York sandstone, Oxford Hornton stone,
Caithness, Somerset, Leicester stone they are all very attractive in almost
and setting, most certainly, in their own regions.
How often though, are they spoilt in appearance with mortar pointing. Crazy
paving definitely not the grey 1960s broken precast variety! if laid
correctly, can be very attractive, with uniform joints, either close jointed or laid
with wider gaps to encourage moss or lichen.
A form of soil concrete may be produced for use under the paving slabs,
comprising dry, crumbly soil (friable good quality, weed and stone free topsoil
is fine), or sandy/loamy soil any soil that will mix easily with cement, not
chunks of clay!
Simply mix the concrete, 6 parts soil to 1 part ordinary Portland cement, not
too wet, almost semi-dry. Dry enough to crumble in your hands, but wet
enough to ball together.
Use this soil concrete in the usual way, bedding each slab firmly into the
material. For light pedestrian use, 75 100mm depth should be sufficient, but
please allow for soft ground in the normal manner. You are still using the same
logic as if you were playing standard concrete, only substituting ballast for
friable soil.
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If you need to make the concrete more malleable to receive the slabs, make
the paving wet by dipping in into water, do not make the concrete wetter,
otherwise you will end up with a muddy mess! The amount of water on the
slab will be sufficient to make the base more amenable to laying the individual
slab.
Planting Soil Concrete
Using normal paying methods, ensuring an even surface, with no trips, low
spots to collect rainwater, to levels and falls to repeat exactly as though
you were laying in the usual way, the only difference being that the concrete
base, and pointing mix will be vegetative enough to support those plants that
require little nutrient to survive and thrive.
If you wish, you could leave areas unpointed, with perhaps a 10 20mm
recess between the slabs, in which alpines, mosses, sedums and micro leafed
plants e.g helexine, arenaria and thymes may be introduced.
Use this same soil/cement material, perhaps adding common building sand
with the friable soil and cement; 3.3.1.mixing ratio , to point between natural
stone walling. I often use soil concrete to build walls that are drystone in
appearance, yet actually backed with wet concrete to secure each stone,
either left without any pointing, or with a heavily recessed joint using the soil
mortar method, which also encourages vegetative growth. (sedum, aubretia,
arabis etc).
With experimentation with your local soil/s, you could devise your own
specification, suited to your own choice of plant varieties and stone selection.
This technique may also be used when constructing water courses and
streams, although the specification will no doubt call for a butyl liner to prevent
too much water loss by means of evaporation and capillary action. Enjoy
working out your own specialities!
Alan Sargent
May 2013
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