The weather is starting to get warmer and people are going to be having more gatherings with friends and family. You don’t want everyone talking about how they had to walk across the mushy grass to get to your cabana, or how they scuffed up their shoes getting to the backyard festivities. Here is a perfect tutorial to solve those problems, a fantastic DIY walkway made of concrete in just a few days!
The Before..
This is what my backyard looked like before. Not bad, but lots of plants and lots of maintenance.
Uh.. Can We Get A Truck Please?
I did all of this without a truck. Here’s a load of pea gravel and paver base that I used for the sub base.
Cheapest Way To Lower Your Vehicle
It pretty much stanced my car.
Let’s Get To Work!
I don’t have any pics of my plans for this, but basically I framed out staggered concrete sections with old 2x4s. I liked how staggered wood floors look so I tried to copy that. The pieces are 14″ by 4ft. They didn’t need rebar since they’re so small. Used about 6″ of paver base sand and pea gravel. I hand compacted the base.
Have A Puddle? Use A Fan
The first section was easy and it let me know that each piece wood take 2.5 bags of 80 lb. Quikrete. Ignore the fan, I used it to wick up a puddle that was forming at the bottom because of the slope.
First Section : Complete
Here’s what the first piece looked like finished. I knew I liked it at this point and I decided the whole project would look like this.
What’s A Cement Mixer?
Ignore the cement mixer. I bought it 2 years ago from Harbor Freight. When I finally wanted to use it, it didn’t even spin. So I didn’t even use it once. For below grade I used 6 inches of tamped paver base and pea gravel. Should hold it in place in the winter.
Cutting Some Angles
Second section is complete. I decided that any direction changes should be at hard angles.
Looks Like A Creature Liked The Forms
Woke up one morning to find raccoon prints on the form. I knew I had to cover wet pieces at night.
Imprints Left From The Suspect!
I found these prints just in time to screet them off.
Mixing By Hand Is Tough Work
From there I just kept going. Again, ignore the cement mixer, it wasn’t used. All of it was mixed by hand in the wheel barrow.
Tarps Are Crucial When Weather Doesn’t Look Promising
Another section done and I used tarps to cover the concrete when it was raining.
Time For A Step Up
On the last section, It had to go left so I made 2 hard angle turns. I like the geometric look of it. It was also a large slope so I decided to make one section a step. This is the only section that I used rebar. The individual pieces didn’t need rebar but I wanted to make sure there was a solid connection between the lower and top parts of the step. I poured the lower part with rebar sticking up into the top form. They’re pretty much bonded with both concrete and rebar now.
Movin’ Along Smoothly
So here’s what that step looked like finished
A Different View Of The Step
So here’s what that step looked like finished
Not A Good Time To Put Grass Seeds Down
I finished this in October. I decided I wouldn’t do any more landscaping until the spring because grass wouldn’t grow in the joints that late in the year.
Starting To Look Like A Walkway
Doesn’t Look Too Shabby
Proud Moment When Things Start To Come Together
Let There Be Grass!
Sorry for not taking pics of the landscaping and moving dirt around but it’s pretty self explanatory. Just sloped the dirt downhill, compacted and laid grass seed.
Different Angle Of The Grass Grown In
I really love the grass in the joints. I always thought grass spaced concrete was classy.
Cheap Isn’t Good, And Good Isn’t Cheap
A good landscaper told me to use expensive grass. Scott’s sun and shade mix is $60 for a big bag but it’s worth it.
Not Bad For A One Man Job
Almost Done! Little Spots To Fill
Gotta fill in some small spots.
Time To Party!
The Landscape’s Complete
The Complete Look
