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Furniture & Furnishing & Decorations House Safety
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Pouring a Concrete Sidewalk
Concrete Sidewalks
Overview:
Concrete sidewalks are the most
It is not for the light at heart, it is hard work
and you should have a helper. I suggest that you
pour the
Concrete is very heavy and once water is added to
the sand, gravel and Portland cement at the
concrete plant or when the truck arrives on site, a
chemical reaction starts whereby the concrete
begins to get hard. You have a limited amount of
time to pour the concrete and finish it once the
delivery truck arrives. Remember that the drying
and curing time decreases as the air temperature
increases.
The form for the sidewalk should be in place before
the delivery truck arrives. The
soil where you intend to pour the concrete
must be well drained and compacted. A hand tamping
tool is adequate to compact the soil. Add two
inches of small rounded gravel or tone to the bed
where you intend to pour the concrete to help
improve drainage.
Concrete sidewalks should be poured at least three
to four inches thick. The thicker it is the better
it will drain and increase the durability of the
sidewalk. Installing reinforcing steel is an option
that will strengthen the concrete. Use ½ inch
diameter steel bars placed two feet on center in
both directions forming a grid like in a crossword
puzzle.
The ideal concrete mixture strength for a sidewalk
is 4,000 pounds per square inch.
Do not add
water to the concrete once it arrives at your home.
Any added water will weaken the concrete. You may
have to sprinkle a little water on the concrete as
you work it to form the finish.
As you place the concrete in the sidewalk forms use
a concrete rake and a 2x4 to smooth out the
concrete so it is flush with the top of the forms.
Start to pour at the far end of the sidewalk and
work your way to the delivery truck.
Once the concrete is poured you must work the top
of the concrete with a wood float or a magnesium
float immediately. Us a swirl motion to sink the
stone aggregates down into the slab and bring the
sand and cement components of the mixture to the
top. When you are finished the stones should be
about 1/4 inch below the finished surface. Use a
broom to create a nice finished texture. Pull the
broom lightly across the smooth concrete to get the
desired look.
Create control joints at even intervals to avoid
random cracks across the sidewalk once the cement
is cured. These control joint lines are installed
with an edging tool that cuts a line in the wet
concrete. Run the tool along a board that crosses
the forms at a 90-degree angle to keep the line
straight. The depth of the cut should be a minimum
of 1/4 inch deep and a line should be cut
approximately every two feet.
When the concrete is dry carefully remove the forms
and backfill the gap with top soil. It will take
several days for the concrete to cure enough to
walk on.
That is all there is to pouring a concrete
sidewalk.
Brick Pavers | Concrete Pavers
Installing Brick Paver Walkways
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concrete in cool weather. Concrete goes
from a pourable mixture to a hard compound in a
very short time. If you pour it during cool weather
you have more time to finish it before it hardens.
It must be poured wet enough to allow you time to
do the finish so insure that the delivery truck
pours a wet or loose mix.
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