How to make garden bridges with your own hands?

With the help of landscape design, it is possible to significantly modify your personal plot and make it more attractive. There are many techniques and varieties of decorative elements, however, the most popular are garden bridges. They can be of different shapes and designs, can be made from different materials, and also decorated with fresh flowers or decorative elements, which will make them even more unique.

If you are engaged in landscaping your garden at your dacha and want to find out how garden bridges are built, photos of which are very diverse, then in this article you will learn about all the nuances of building this decorative structure.

In which cases is the presence of a bridge on the backyard simply necessary?

The bridge is not only an excellent element, with which you can decorate the site in the country. In some cases, one can not do without it. If your dacha is in an area where there are large differences in the height of the landscape, and every spring melts snow with the melting of snow, then you simply can not move around your garden without a bridge. Also, if there is an artificial pond and additional buildings, for example, a bathhouse or a summer gazebo, the bridge will allow you to walk freely between them.

Preparatory stage

To ensure that the bridge in your garden is durable and beautiful, it is necessary to determine in advance the site of construction, to choose suitable materials, and to develop a blueprint for the future structure. This will not only avoid the many mistakes that people usually have without a building education, but also make the garden bridge by their own hands more attractive and reliable. If you do not have any experience in drawing up drawings and estimates, then you can use already ready projects.

What factors should be considered in the construction?

If you are interested in the question of how to make a garden bridge, you first need to understand the basic nuances that should be considered in the construction.

To make the decorative object look great on your land and well in harmony with other elements of landscape design, the following factors must be taken into account during construction:

• Design features;
• The area of the infield;
• Planning;
• functionality.

There are some other factors on which the success of your project depends, however, these are the main ones, so they should be considered before drawing up the drawing and starting the construction. In the planning process, you need to determine the materials, calculate their required number, think about the structure and form of the structure, its location, and also what decorations will be used to decorate it.

A very important aspect is the presence of a nearby bridge nearby buildings. For example, if the bridge is located near a brick house, then the best material will be a stone. And if there is a wooden gazebo, a bathhouse or a barn next door, then in this case your choice should be made in favor of wood or metal.

Bridge Design

Despite the fact that the garden bridges seem to be quite simple structures, nevertheless, their design should be given very great attention, since even the slightest mistake made during their construction can greatly affect the strength, stability and usability of the bridge. As a result, an unreliable design may be obtained, which needs to be altered.

When designing the main factor is the choice of materials that will be used for construction. If you have a modest budget, then it's worth staying on wood, because it is the cheapest material, however, so that it lasts a long time, it will have to be treated with special antiseptics or colored. An excellent alternative to wood on a small plot of land will be metal, because it combines excellent durability and relatively low cost.

Well, if you decided to take a very serious approach to decorating your garden, then you should consider building a bridge from natural stone, limestone or granite. Hand-made garden bridges, photos of which simply fascinate with their beauty, although more expensive and more difficult to build, nevertheless, they will become a magnificent adornment for your garden and help to realize any, even the most daring ideas and projects for the design of landscape design.

Decorative bridge for the garden

Decorative garden bridges have an attractive appearance and are a wonderful decoration for any landscape, so they are most popular. When building them, it is very important to choose the right place for erection and the construction of the bridge.

Most people, while doing the design of the landscape in their garden, prefer monolithic structures. They can be completely lined with natural stone or have a plank flooring. Especially effective, it will look if the paths in the garden are also paved with stone.

Such garden bridges are best constructed of stones of the same size. If your dacha has an artificial pond, then the minimum height of the bridge above it is 10 centimeters. For the convenience of crossing the bridge, its width should be at least 60 centimeters.

Erection of a decorative structure

The construction of a decorative bridge is not an easy task, however, the result is worth every effort. In addition, to make the structure beautiful, it is not necessary to use complex structures and shapes. You can build a classic humpbacked bridge, the construction of which will take only one day.

The whole process is as follows:

1. We mark out two thick wooden beams that will act as a support for the bridge. To simplify the task, you can use ready-made paper templates.
2. We connect both support elements on each side with two transverse beams and anchor bolts.
3. The construction is being carried out to the planned site of the infield.
4. The wooden flooring is laid along which the ferry will be carried out. It is made of boards in the thickness of 20 millimeters, which are nailed to the base by nails.
5. The finished bridge is treated with an antiseptic and opened with a varnish or painted with a water-repellent paint.

To make the decorative bridge more attractive and original, on the center of the base on either side you can cut out any pattern. To date, there is a huge number of various ornaments, so you can choose them based on your taste.

Original stone bridge from non-standard materials

An excellent and inexpensive option will be the construction of stones of non-standard size and shape. For construction, a savage stone or special concrete blocks simulating huge boulders with an even surface is suitable. They will look great on water bodies with a small and medium flow, when water, flowing through such a bridge, will create a slight oscillation of the waves and the sound of the murmur of water.

The process of building a stone bridge

To build a stone garden bridge with their own hands is quite simple. The most important thing is to follow the instructions and observe the safety procedures. If you have all the necessary materials and tools at your fingertips, then the erection takes place in the following sequence:

1. The reservoir is completely freed from water.
2. From thick boards or beams, a foundation is created for the future bridge.
3. The foundation is laid with stones.
4. On the sides of the future bridge are installed metal or brick poles, which will serve as the basis.
5. On top of the stones is laid a wooden flooring.

When the bridge is completely completed, it is possible to fill the pond with water. In addition, in order for the structure to be strong, it is necessary to give it a few days to shrink.

Wooden bridges in landscape design

Not less popular in landscape design are garden bridges made of wood, the photos of which looks simply amazing. They have a small weight, good strength and durability, as well as an attractive appearance. For their construction, you can use boards and beams, and it is not necessary to buy exclusively new materials. You can use any that you have at your disposal, and the finished bridge is easy to paint, and it will look like a new one.

The process of erecting a wooden bridge

All garden bridges of wood are erected on the same technology, and the construction process takes place in this order:

1. If there is a pond on the site, it is completely drained.
2. Both banks in the proposed location of the crossing are laid out with stones.
3. On each bank there are two wooden blocks, which are planted on the cement mortar, to a depth of about 70 centimeters.
4. When the cement is dry, the track is laid.

The garden wooden bridge will perfectly harmonize with other decorative elements, for example, a stone or wooden gazebo.

An excellent alternative to the classic wooden version will be a zigzag construction, which you probably saw in Chinese and Japanese films. They have an elementary design, original shape and design, are very simple to build and do not require a lot of materials, so they will be an excellent solution for those who decided to build a bridge in their garden with minimal financial costs.

Metal variant for giving

A great alternative to the wooden and stone is the metal bridge. Many landscape designers use them very successfully to implement their projects. Such bridges are distinguished by their high strength, durability, ease of installation, and also look very modern. To make the metal structure more elegant, it can be decorated with pots with fresh flowers, garden lights or any other decorative elements that you only have enough imagination.

Make and install garden bridges from metal is much easier than any other types. To do this, it is enough to buy or order a black metal base from the blacksmith, install it on the ground or through a pond, then lay a wooden platform. Also on sale are already ready bridges, which need only be installed at the desired location.

General tips and tricks

The difficulties of building a bridge in your garden are related not only to the choice of materials and the construction process. It is also necessary to consider the many factors on which the picturesqueness of your garden depends.

Here are some tips to help you implement your plan:

1. If there is a lot of vegetation in the summer residence or the main building is built of wood, then the wooden bridge will be the ideal solution, since it will perfectly harmonize with the house and trees.
2. To extend the life of the bridge, it should be processed with special antiseptic and anti-corrosion agents.
3. To make the bridge more effective, do not erect it too high above the reservoir.
4. If there are ditches or drains in the garden that pass through the garden, then the presence of a bridge is simply mandatory, as it will help to hide this lack of landscape.

You can supplement this list with your own items, which you consider necessary for the implementation of the project. The main thing is that the finished bridge is beautiful, durable and practical.

Conclusion

Now you have a detailed idea of what kind of garden bridges are and how to build them properly. You can fully adhere to the tips and recommendations described in this article, or connect your own imagination and build in your garden a beautiful, functional and original bridge, from which it will be difficult to look away. Do not be afraid to improvise and you will certainly succeed. Most importantly, in the process of constructing a structure, always adhere to safety techniques when working with tools.