This sidewalk is in the drainage path so we are fixing the slope while working. The groud on either side will be lowered to match it in the fall or winter when I get a chance to move the monkey grass (the plants on both sides of it). We used to have holly bushes here but Adam had to take them out to fix the flooding problem we kept having. The bay window was rotting and the windows, window frames and the siding all had to be replaced. It hasn't been painted to match yet...partially because we don't have paint to do that but mostly because we just aren't too concerned about it until we go to paint the whole house and that's not in the plans just yet. We're using this cement mold. I like the looks but Adam likes it for water drainage since it's sitting where it is.
Adam mixed the water into the cement. That was quite the workout! I did it for one bag to give Adam a break and my abs still are sore when I move just right. (The yellow hand truck behind/beside Adam is one of his recent projects. He painted it yellow...he loves yellow. It looks nice and he only spent 25 cents on the paint.)
You fill in the mold and push the cement into the corners of the "stones" and lift it off right away.
There is a dye you can buy to mix into the cement but it was almost as expensive as the cement so we didn't bother. Adam had an idea though. He sifted some of the dirt we had just moved and we sprinkled it over the top. We really liked it. You can see it in the pic below. Most of the cement had already gotten sprinkled but the two closest to me have not. Shortly after we went inside, it started pouring rain and it moved the dirt around into the nooks and crannies. Oh well, we tried.
We got 9 blocks done, 3 more than the instructions said we'd get. We'll have to continue it another time when we have the cement.
3 comments:
Your yard is so pretty and that new walkway going to the gate! I love that mold. My husband has used bags of cement and he tends to fill in the extra cement here and there, but only has done blocks. I'm not sure if he'd have the patience of a mold. Very nice! House projects never end, do they! love,andrea
I am amazed at the number of projects you two are getting done! The sidewalk/ walkway looks really good! Good work!
Looks really good! When Adam put the photos on Facebook, the kids and I were trying to figure out how you got the cement the brown color. Never thought of dirt. :)
Post a Comment