The side stone (curb) is mainly used to separate the pedestrian part of the street and the carriageway. It is indispensable when laying paving slabs or paving stones. It is mainly made of concrete. This stone is relatively cheap. When laying, it must be well fixed. In general, the side stone should have qualities such as durability and resistance to weather changes.
Concrete curb
The most important positive quality of a concrete curb is its cheapness. However, a large temperature difference is detrimental to him. Water ingress is also bad. A concrete side stone that has absorbed water can easily collapse if there is frost after rain. Water turned into ice will simply tear it apart from the inside. Cracks and chips will appear. Therefore, in our country, concrete curbs are changed so often. In addition, in its manufacture, technology is often deviated from in order to speed up the production process. A special operation of long cooling of the concrete mixture is skipped. Instead, it is steamed. The result of this is disastrous. After 4-5 years, it has to be completely replaced. When building cottages, it is sometimes necessary to use a side stone of a curvilinear shape. It is also made frommonolithic concrete with reinforcement. It will, of course, be quite expensive, but the path and sidewalk will turn out to be very beautiful. The best concrete side stone is made from cement-sand concrete with the addition of crushed stone or gravel. Concrete curbs can be made not only in gray (familiar to us) color. It can be made in any color and even imitate marble, granite or malachite. In this case, the stone is painted not only superficially, but throughout the depth. This color is maintained for the entire life of the curb.
Natural side stone
The side stone made of natural material is more aesthetic and reliable, and also more environmentally friendly than its counterpart made of concrete. It is much stronger, has better frost resistance, wear resistance and better hygroscopicity. Usually a full-sawn curb is produced (all 6 sides are sawn). Such stones are produced with a decorative profile and relief, even with a polished surface. A border with a polished surface is used to add solemnity to any part of the street. It will emphasize the style of the building and the surrounding landscape.
The most reliable material for its manufacture is granite. It gives unlimited possibilities for processing, is aesthetic and durable. Granite side stone can be used to separate the carriageway, sidewalk, lawn and other elements of the urban structure. It can also be used when framing laid paving stones or pavingtiles. Granite side stone has fixed dimensions, established by special GOST, usually this section is 300x150mm. This is a normal road curb. For walking paths, a granite side stone with a section of 200x80mm is used.
