Curb sizes according to GOST and typical, installation instructions

Borders and curbs are needed to separate pedestrian zones from the road. They, but smaller, are used to delimit pedestrian areas, separating lawns. In general, for landscaping. And not only in public places, but also in private courtyards. What sizes of borders are in general, where which ones are used, what types. You need to know about this if you have to make paths in the garden or a blind area at home. It is also desirable to separate it, and it is most convenient to do this with a concrete separator.

Distinguish the curb from the curb

As you understand, a curb and a curb are elements that separate the sidewalk from the roadway or delimit different zones of footpaths (for pedestrians and bicycles, for example). So what is the difference between a curb and a curb?

If you thought that the size or shape, then you were mistaken. They are made from the same elements, which manufacturers call side or curb stone. The only difference is how they are installed. If the surface of the side stone is on the same level with the coating, then this is a curb. If part of the height protrudes above the level of coverage and forms some kind of barrier, this is a curb. That is, it depends on how deep you dig the curb block.

Types of borders according to the standard

In general, it is correct to talk about the types of side stones. The side stone is a dividing element in the construction of roads, sidewalks, pedestrian zones. Prevents washing of soil on the paved part. It is a product made of concrete or reinforced concrete (reinforced concrete), which has a large length and a small cross-sectional area. Differs in high resistance to loadings, static and shock loadings. All its characteristics and properties are described in GOST 6665-91.

According to the standard, curbs are made of sand concrete or heavy concrete (with gravel aggregate). Brand – not lower than M300, but is selected depending on weather and climatic conditions. Oddly enough, but for the mid-south regions a higher grade is required than for the northern ones. The fact is that higher grades have a higher level of frost resistance. In such a climate, there can be up to 20 freeze/thaw cycles in one winter. So the minimum acceptable frost resistance is 400 cycles (F400) and above.

Standard types of curbstones

Borders are used to separate roads, sidewalks and green areas, decorate flower beds and separate trees. In general, the scope is wide. To create the required relief, not only straight, but also curved elements are needed. Here are the types defined in GOST:

• Direct:
  • BR – ordinary;
  • BU — with extension;
  • BUP – with discontinuous broadening;
  • BL – with a tray;
    

• Entrance – BV;
• BC – curvilinear;
• Ramp stone.

According to the standard, the curbs that separate the sidewalk from the carriageway must be made of concrete with a strength class of at least B30. If it is necessary to separate walkways from lawns, the strength can be B22,5.

Symbols

The marking put the name of the stone in the form of letters, and then indicate the length, height and width. In that order, separated by dots. Dimensions are in centimeters. Then the reinforcement class is indicated, if any.

An example of marking and its decoding:

• BR 100.30.18. It reads like an ordinary curb (straight) without reinforcement 100 cm long, 30 cm high and 18 wide.
• BC 80.30.15 – AV. The decoding of such a marking is a curvilinear curb (actually a side stone) 80 cm long, 30 cm high, 15 cm wide. The reinforcement class is AV (A5).

Curb sizes according to GOST

The standard length of the side stone is available in three versions: 100 cm, 300 cm and 600 cm.

Please note that the bevels, their shape and size are also spelled out. Possible options are also described. So, in the marking, the width is affixed along the widest part. Usually it’s the sole.

There may also be questions about curvilinear curb blocks. GOST allows the manufacture of roundings with a radius of 5, 8, 12 and 15 meters. There is an addition in the standard that it is allowed to manufacture copies of other sizes in agreement with customers. Since almost all of the listed options are too massive for a private courtyard, factories often make smaller borders. For example, BR 50.20.80. Its mass is about 18-20 kg, so it is quite possible to install it yourself.

curb stone weight

Since the curb and curb can be made of concrete with different aggregates, its mass may vary. The reference weight is indicated in the standard, and the exact one must be checked with the manufacturer.

Borders one meter long can be made of sand concrete or heavy concrete, longer ones – by 3 and 6 meters – only from heavy concrete. Sand concrete must be vibrated so that they are strong enough. It is allowed to use additives that increase strength and frost resistance.

Vertical and horizontal edges must be perpendicular. The maximum allowable deviations are set – they do not exceed 3-4 mm.

Non-standard border sizes

Agree, such large and massive borders are not needed for arranging a personal plot. In fact, they are rarely needed. Is that the smallest in order to fence off the path for the car from the lawn / vegetable garden. Here their strength will be required so that all beauty does not disperse. And the rest are applicable in the construction of roads.

Therefore, manufacturers of the same paving slabs make curbs according to their own sizes. Such products are called lawn or garden borders. By the way, the standard does not prohibit the production of curbstones of other sizes. Only they must have a strength of at least B22.5 and frost resistance of at least F200. You can find such a name as a standard size border. It’s about the fact that this size is common. But not about the fact that it is written in the standard. Here are the sizes of borders for paths in the garden or in the yard:

• 500*200*80, weight of one piece is about 20 kg;
• 390*190-90 and weighing about 15 kg;
• 500*240*35, weight 9 kg.

In general, there are different sizes of borders. Length from 80 cm to 40 cm, height – about 200 mm, width – from 3.5 cm to 10 cm. They can be “standard” gray. Colored ones cost a little more. Colors are usually the same as paving slabs. Most often it is red, brown, green, sometimes yellow. Please note that the colors are not “pure”, but with an admixture of gray cement.

There are also granite curbs. They also come in several sizes:

• length from 70 cm to 2 meters,
• width – from 80 mm to 200 mm,
• height – from 150 mm to 600 mm (150, 200, 300, 400 and 600 mm).

Granite curbs, of course, are beautiful and very durable, but they have a very large mass and a very high price.

Installation manual

We are talking about installing not those large and massive curbs that separate the road, but lawn or garden ones that are needed to separate the garden path. It doesn’t matter what you plan to pave the path with – tiles, stone or other coating, so that it does not blur, you need limiters. Most often they make a low curb. That is, the top of the fence of the path is a few centimeters higher than the surface of the path and the garden / garden / flower garden on the other side. In this case, when watering or raining, the soil will not be washed onto the path.

Order of work

So, here is the order of installation of the border:

• Draw a path on the ground. To do this, you can use a dense plastic bag into which we pour sand. We cut off one corner, we get a thin stream of sand, which is convenient for marking. If you need to fix something, that’s not a problem either. Worn out, painted over again.
• We dig a trench. Width – 30-40 centimeters, depth – about 20-30 cm. In general, the depth of the groove for installing the curb depends on the height of the curb. Or rather, the part that you were going to bury. Under it there should be crushed stone bedding and a layer of concrete.
• We level the bottom of the trench, compact the soil. How to align, probably, you can roughly imagine. What about ramming? You know how to cook and have a welding machine, take a piece of thick metal, weld a piece of rod or pipe to the middle, and a crossbar-hold on top. Get a normal tamper. It will also be required when leveling the surface under the track. Don’t have a welding machine? Do the same with wood. It’s also good, although the mass is less.
  

• Next, we pour crushed stone onto the leveled and compacted bottom. The layer is about 10-15 cm. We also level it and ram it until a trace of your foot is visible on it.
• We take pegs and ropes. We fill the pegs and stretch the rope. The height of the rope is the top of the curb. We check the horizontalness of the thread with a building level. It will serve as a guide when setting the curb in height.
• We knead the sand-cement mortar grade M300 or higher. We spread it under the thread with an oblong slide. We install a border on the prepared pillow, align it with a stretched thread. The bottom edge must be recessed into the concrete by at least 5 cm. If such a layer does not work, add concrete on the sides on both sides.

Actually everything. Then we continue in the same spirit: we laid out the cement, installed / leveled a piece of the curb. We coat the joints of two fragments of the curb with a layer of cement. We remove its remains immediately after installation and alignment. If it dries, there will be ugly marks, which are not easy to get rid of. If the installation of one curb takes a little time, you can spread the solution on several “curbs” at once. So it will be faster.

Features and subtleties

Most of the questions are usually about rubble. Not everyone puts it on. You can do without crushed stone if the soil is sandy. Then just level the bottom of the trench and you can work on. But if the soil is clay or loam, black soil, then without gravel bedding in the spring, the curbs simply squeeze out in different directions. So here gravel gives an increase in durability. Can I use not crushed stone, but gravel or construction waste? It’s better than nothing, but not the best option. Especially the brick fight. It will collapse over time and turn into crumbs, the curbs will sag. So, it’s better not to, but there – see for yourself.

One more moment. Clay, chernozem and loam amazingly quickly “eat up” gravel. He drowns in them. If you want a “long-playing” path, lay geotextiles at the bottom of the trench. Its edges should go beyond the trench. You just straighten them around the edges. When the curb was installed on the cement, the edges of the geotextile were wrapped, and the concrete was covered with a film. After a week, you can remove the film and fill the trench with earth. In this case, the edges of the geotextile can not be unfolded. Then the rubble will not erode.

A few words about how much solution to knead. Depends on how fast you work. If you have little experience in such work, it is better to make a very small batch for the first time – for two or three stones. The fact is that if the concrete begins to set, it will have to be thrown away. It will not recover if you add water. No, you can and will get the desired consistency. But the concrete itself will be from the word “nowhere”. It may not gain strength at all or be very tiny. In some cases, so much so that you can just pick it with your finger.