How to Create a Stone Path or Sidewalk

Simple steps to designing and creating an attractive stone path or sidewalk

Things You'll Need

• ready mix concrete
• garden hose
• wheelbarrow
• shovel
• concrete form
• trowel

Instructions

1. 

   First, decide where you want your path or sidewalk to begin and end. Then take a garden hose long enough to cover this span. Garden hoses are good for this , because the can be bent and shaped to any layout.

2. 

   Once you have the look or layout you like, take your stone concrete form (pictured)and center over hose. Mark the ground with spray paint or chalk the width of the form. Do this all the way along your garden hose. These forms are relatively inexpensive and can be found at Lowes or any garden center. Check my resources below for links to garden supplies.

3. After marking you path layout remove the hose and using your spade or shovel dig out the topsoil and dirt just wider than your lines and about 1" deeper than the form itself. Level off this area and i like to spray with weed killer to ensure no weed growth around your stone.

4. 

   When all the dirt is removed, you can begin the laying down the concrete pathway. Using your wheelbarrow mix your concrete(no more than two bags at a time for ease of use.) An 80 lb bag will fill about 3 forms, so use this calculation in figuring your purchase of ready mix. Follow mixing instructions on bag, you should need about 3/4 gal of water per bag.

5. 

   Mix concrete thoroughly and place your form into the prepared area and fill with concrete, using your trowel level of to top of form, lift form and move ahead and repeat all along your pathway until complete. Back fill with gravel, or dirt if you want grass to grow between stones.

Tips & Warnings

• keep your batch quantities to 1 or 2

• no need to let form sit , once filled lift and move on

• get a helper, one can mix while one fills

• shouldn't take more than a day for am average size path

Resources

• garden supplies