DIY Concrete Walkways

Preparation

• The first thing you will need to do is plot out the area for the walkway, marking it off with string. Once it is marked off, dig down along the entire length of where your path will run. You will want to lower the level about eight inches. Pack the soil using your feet, a push roller or, if you have one, a power pounder. Pour gravel all the way down the walkway so that it is filled to about a four-inch depth. You will then place 1-inch by 4-inch, four-foot-long wooden boards along the inside of your pit. Place stakes at the end of each board, forcing them into the dirt on the outside of the pit, but close enough to the edge that you can attach the board to them. Attach your boards to the stakes using screws. This will secure the boards, making sure as you pour the concrete that they stay in place and hold the concrete to shape.

Pour

• Mix your concrete according to the instructions on the bag, then begin pouring. It is important that you pour from the walkway's highest point so that if any runs down, it is moving toward the lowest spot. If you pour from the lowest spot to the highest you may overfill. Use a board or the back of a garden rake to make sure you are pouring the concrete level. Once is has been poured, and before the concrete begins to set, run a board along the top or use a screed, a long aluminum or wooden tool used for concrete, and smooth out the surface of the concrete.

Finish

• Once the concrete has had an hour to dry, use an edging trowel, a small handheld tool that has a metal ridge down the middle used for making lines in concrete, and run it across the concrete to make a line. To ensure the line is straight, run the trowel along a wooden board. Run a broom along the surface of your walkway to add texture, then cover it with a plastic sheet for 24 hours. After this, your walkway is finished.