Landscaping can sometimes seem like a costly overwhelming project. It doesn't have to be, you can change the look of the front of your home with this easy Do It Yourself project that takes less than half a day. Revamp the walkway to your front door in under $40! Items Needed:
- Rock
Form- these can be found at Home Depot, Lowes, etc for about $9.
- 60# bag of Concrete (not Cement!) You'll need approx. 1 bag per "Square"
- Water or garden hose
- Bucket or Wheelbarrow
- Trowel or Block of Wood
- Pea Pebbles or Sand or gravel
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Step Level the area that you would like to create a walkway on. This can be done by digging down into the existing soil, or by adding a filler such as gravel. In this case, we wanted the walkway to appear more rustic and chose Not to level the area at all. |
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Step#2: Mix your Concrete according to the directions. We mixed about 3 bags at a time to make it easier to handle. |
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Step #3: Lay your form down where you want to begin your walkway, we started close to our stairs to be sure it fit correctly. The fill your form with the concrete. |
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Step #4: Using a trowel or smooth Block of wood, fill out and smooth over the form, making sure that it is completely filled and smooth. Let sit a couple of minutes. |
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Step Gently tap the edges of your form and carefully lift it off your new "slab". |
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Step Repeat until your walkway is of desired width and length. |
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Once Your walkway is completed, it will take several Once your walkway is dry, fill in the "cracks" between the stones with tiny pebbles, sand or gravel, etc. |
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In this case, we decided to use pebbles, available at Home depot for $2.45 a bag. Simply dump the bag on and sweep the pebbles into the cracks. Cost of Concrete $1.89 per bag Cost of Pebbles $ 2.45 Cost of Form $9. Total Hours for Project: 3 hours Total Cost of our new fancy Walkway: $36.00  |
Tips- if you have leftover concrete, consider making your own stepping stones for the garden! Simple pour the remaining concrete into a disposable 8" cake pan, add some smooth pressed stones into a design, or "carve a design" with a pointed pencil. Once it's dry, you can Paint your design.
Dragonflies, Froggies, Flowers, children's handprints all work quite well.
Be sure to coat your children's hands liberally with hand cream prior to pressing the stones and then wash immediately with warm soapy water. Concrete does a number on skin.
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