Lets walk through the process.

1 – Buy or make a mold. 3 or 4 would be better, you will finish quickly and not loose momentum.

2 – Estimate the amount of concrete you will have to mix to fill the mold. I fill the mold with water and pour it into a 2 liter container to do this. You can use sand if your form will not hold water.

3 – Set up your mold so that it will be level and secure when you pour.

4 – Coat the inside of the mold with release agent. This is a trick way of saying oil. I use 10w engine oil. Buy the cheapest you can get. Don’t use to much. If it puddles you may get pitting on the surface of your paver.

5 – Mix your concrete. I would use a 1 – of cement, 2 – of sand, 3 – of 1/2″ aggregate mix for this. This is called a 1 2 3 mix, and is the mix most often used for these types of jobs.

Another way would be to buy redi-mixed concrete, but if you need a lot of these that would be expensive.

You should your concrete mix heavy enough that it will just pour. If you have to help it out of the container that is ok. You do not want a pourable mix like you would use for making decorative castings.

6- Dump the concrete into the mold and Wait at least 48 hours. De mold and place in a cool area to cure for another week. Keep the casting damp during this time. At the end of the week the paver can be set out to dry and use.

7 – Start to build your pathway! Brag to your friends about how you made the paving stones yourself!

Copyright © 2005 Delmar Germyn All Rights Reserved.