DIY roads: from need to self-interest

The road to the dacha plot Due to many circumstances, it is very difficult to wait until today for the day when a road will be built to your plot, since repairs to the route do not happen often. And if you wait, it’s not a fact that the quality of the road surface will be good. Therefore, the best way out of the situation can only be to independently build a road to the summer cottage.

In fact, this is quite an interesting procedure, but first you need to understand who exactly will use the future road. If you are its only user, then you will have to install it alone. The nuance is that others can use your road (you cannot prohibit this), in which case it is better to chip in with the owners of neighboring plots. Now let’s talk about options for laying the road to your dacha.

Option 1: Asphalt

Asphalt road to a summer cottage
This is one of the highest quality options, but to build a new road you need to obtain special permission from the owner. Moreover, this is a rather troublesome procedure, since first you need to remove the top layer of soil, lay and compact crushed stone, and then lay asphalt in several layers. For all this you will need 50 thousand rubles per 100 linear meters and a week of time.

Option 2: Backfilling with gravel or crushed stone

Filling the road with crushed stone
is one of the cheapest and at the same time practical options. Traditionally, the top layer is removed, sand is poured in (it needs to be watered for a while), then gravel (crushed stone) is laid. At the end, everything needs to be compacted; it is not necessary to resort to the help of a roller - this can even be done with a dump truck that brought gravel.

Such a pleasure will cost approximately 15 thousand per 100 linear meters.

Option 4: Paving slabs

Paving slabs on the road to a summer cottage
Paving slabs are distinguished by the fact that they can be used to cover almost any area, including the road to a summer cottage. Such a road will be attractive in appearance, it is completely safe, can be easily dismantled if necessary, and the gaps between the slabs will be minimal.

Disadvantage: the same cost of material (1-3.5 thousand per square meter).

bride-price

Another amazing incident related to road construction occurred in 2009. And again in India in the same state of Bihar. The cause of the commotion was a real revolution - the “revolt of bachelors.” About 1.5 thousand people from the village of Barvaan Kala, lost high in the mountains among the jungle, were connected with the outside world only by trails. In earlier times this was nothing unusual. The men of the village easily found wives in neighboring settlements and transported them to their homes.

With the advent of civilization, everything changed. Women increasingly agreed to move to the wilderness, where there is not a single teacher, and the nearest hospital and police station are located 45 km away. And later they began to completely refuse to marry forest hermits. Year by year, the number of unemployed bachelors aged between 16 and 80 years in Barwaan Kala has been growing alarmingly. The government refused to build a road only 6 km long, under the guise that its construction through the lands of the state reserve was impossible.

In 2005, during the election campaign, one of the officials promised not to get married until he achieved a road for a bachelor village. But as often happens, having taken up his post, he immediately forgot about his words and celebrated a magnificent wedding. And one day, more than a hundred potential suitors realized that they would have to realize their dream of the “road of love” on their own. They set to work together, armed with shovels, hammers and chisels. The state authorities immediately bombarded them with accusations of violating environmental laws, but they did not pay any attention to this. Bringing weddings back to the village became their main goal. After all, the last such joyful event was celebrated here almost 50 years ago.

In just 1.5 months of almost round-the-clock work, the restless bachelors built 3 km of road. Some paved the way, others crushed boulders, and others paved the foundation with stones. The remaining 3 km were also completed in record time. And now at least 10 thousand residents of not only Barvaan Kala, but also neighboring villages use the “bachelor's road”. After all, it shortened the path to civilization from the previous 40 km to only 6 km. So once again love proved to the world that it is not afraid of any obstacles.

For grandma's million

Option 5: Road slabs

Road to a summer cottage made of road slabs
Such slabs (for example, road slab 2p30, which can be found here https://uspehstroy.com/pliti-dorojnie) are ideal for areas where heavy equipment may appear. They are very durable, their installation consists of simply placing them next to each other. Moreover, if repairs are necessary, we simply replace one slab with another.

But the preliminary work will make you sweat a little: first you need to remove the top layer of soil, then dig a trench 35-50 centimeters and cover its bottom with geotextiles. After this, crushed stone and sand are poured in, periodically compacted, and only after that the slab is laid down. The price of road slabs is from 4 thousand per linear meter.

Three types of road surfaces in the countryside

• Asphalt crumbs
• Asphalt concrete pavement
• Reinforced concrete slabs

Option No. 1 Road made of asphalt chips

All road construction work outside the city cannot be done without special equipment. To remove the fertile layer and level the soil surface, you will need equipment with a blade. This can be a motor grader, bulldozer, backhoe loader and other equipment.

Geotextile devices

• The first layer of geotextile is used to prevent sand from escaping and mixing with the soil
• The second layer of geotextile is needed to ensure that the crushed stone does not mix with the sand.

There are also different properties of geotextiles, such as, for example, waterproofing properties and others.

Travel clothing

• Geotextiles
• The sand cushion will be 20 cm thick.
• Geotextiles
• Crushed stone of large fraction
• Small fraction crushed stone
• Asphalt crumbs

Special equipment for building a road in a country house:

• Cutting soil and leveling the soil surface - motor grader
• Sand leveling and distribution – motor grader
• Sand compaction – soil compactor
• Leveling and distribution of crushed stone - motor grader
• Compacting crushed stone - soil compactor
• Leveling and asphalt crumb – motor grader
• Compacting asphalt crumbs - roller

Before compacting, the sand must be moistened with water. Also, in order to save money, you can use a loaded dump truck in place of the dirt compactor; of course, this is not the same effect, but some contractors do this; the dump truck drives over sand and gravel several times, thereby compacting the road.

Option No. 2 Road made of asphalt concrete pavement

Travel clothing

• Geotextiles
• The sand cushion will be 20 cm thick.
• Geotextiles
• Crushed stone of large fraction
• Small fraction crushed stone
• Fine-grained asphalt concrete

Special equipment for road construction outside the city:

• Cutting soil and leveling the soil surface - motor grader
• Sand leveling and distribution – motor grader
• Sand compaction – soil compactor
• Leveling and distribution of crushed stone - motor grader
• Compacting crushed stone - soil compactor
• Asphalt concrete mixture devices – asphalt paver, roller

Option No. 3 Road made of reinforced concrete slabs

You cannot lay the slabs directly on the ground; you must first prepare the base for them. First we remove the top layer of soil and all uneven areas. Once the soil surface is level, we lay geotextiles. Then we create a sand cushion, with constant demand and watering. We use quarry sand; it is better to compact it. At the end of compaction, the surface should be perfectly flat.

Now we are installing the slabs using a truck crane.

The slabs are connected by welding the hinges of the slab to the adjacent slab. Fill the seams between the tiles with mortar or sand.

Special equipment for building slab roads:

• Leveling the ground surface - Bulldozer
• Sand Distribution – Bulldozer
• Sand compaction – Soil compactor
• Installation of reinforced concrete slabs – Truck crane

Option 6: Soil compaction

Soil compaction on the road to a summer cottage
For people who don’t want to bother too much, regular soil compaction is suitable. This is the cheapest option for constructing a road to the site and consists in the fact that the soil will be processed by a road roller and an excavator. This is extremely simple and cheap, but at the same time unreliable - after all, such a road is unlikely to last long. Regarding the cost of such work, it will be the cost of renting special equipment for a certain time + the cost of fuel.

Actually, that's all.

How to arrange a road to a country house: solutions

Having become the proud owner of a country house, the new owner most often faces problems such as poor access or a dirt road. And if in dry weather getting to your place of residence is no problem, then in rain and snow the car simply becomes loaded, and driving becomes very problematic. A washed-out dirt road, constant mud, and puddles do not bring much joy, especially when you have to push the car every time. And such a terrible picture against the backdrop of a beautiful house doesn’t really harmonize.

The only way out is to build a good road to your home on your own. There are several options.

Let's start with the most common and highest quality option - laying hot, cold asphalt: such a road will last a long time, and you will not encounter problems such as holes and dirt. In addition, an asphalt road looks beautiful, rich, and gives your home even more status. Of course, such work requires significant financial investments, but over the years they pay off.

The high cost of asphalt pavement is explained by the complexity of the work, which is divided into two stages:

• preparatory; • styling.

In addition, such work cannot be done without special equipment and specialists. Of course, you can fill the holes with asphalt yourself and roll them up, but how long will such cosmetic repairs of the road last? High-quality and durable asphalt pavement that meets all requirements is guaranteed only by a professional road construction company.

However, the prices for coverage depend on factors such as:

• size of the territory; • amount of equipment used; • scope of work.

Therefore, to save money, it is best to team up with your neighbors and make a good road once and for all.

The second option is to equip the road with road slabs. They come in different sizes and therefore can be used to make a road of any width. In addition, such slabs are even used to build paths on the site.

When building a road from such material, there is no need to thoroughly prepare the ground. The main thing is to remove the vegetation and go over it with a grader to level the base. After this, the road is covered with sand and compacted. Next the slabs are laid. The only drawback is that the slabs can only be laid using a crane. Their heavy weight does not allow this to be done manually. If in the future you want to lay asphalt, you can do it directly onto the slabs. There is no need to remove them. During operation, road slabs do not lose their properties and are dismantled as needed.

The third option, the most budget-friendly, is an embankment road using crushed stone and sand. To do this, you will need to pay for the rental of special equipment and the cost of materials. The car will, of course, travel along such a road in any weather, but the quality will be below average.

The reliability and durability of the driveway to a country house is always relevant. The type of road surface should be chosen based on the frequency of travel. If there are several houses in the village, and there are plans to increase the number of residents, then asphalt pavement will be the right choice.

The technical condition of the car largely depends on the quality of the road - this should also not be forgotten.