How to Lay Large Cement Slabs

Decide on the length, width and depth of each slab. Multiply these three numbers together to find the total pour area. Add all of the total pour areas together to decide how much cement to purchase.

Choose a cement that is appropriate for your project. Request to have the cement prepared at your local hardware or home improvement store and placed into airtight containers.

Clear all of the areas where you will be pouring your slabs. Remove any grass in these areas, since you cannot pour cement on top of it.

In the planned location of each slab, build a frame out of appropriate-size coated 2-by-4 lumber using duplex nails and a nail gun. Place the edges of each shorter board equidistant inside the longer boards so they can be nailed together. Position each frame into place as it is completed.

Around the outside of each frame, place wooden stop pins that are a capable size to hold your frames. Position a stop pin approximately every 2 feet, and use a sledgehammer to secure them halfway into the ground. Cut away the top of each stop pin using a saw so that the tops of the pins and the top of each frame are level.

Dig trenches around the inside perimeter of each frame. Use a shovel for smaller frames and a small backhoe or other digging tool for large frames. Make each trench approximately 4 inches deep.

Spray the ground inside each frame with water so that it can be easily shaped. Use a long-handled, hand-held tamp to tamp the ground and pack it tightly until it is flat and level in every area inside of each frame.

Wear clothing and safety equipment to protect your skin and eyes.

Beginning with your first slab, fill its frame with a layer of cement that covers the ground entirely and is about 1 inch thick. Use shovels to spread the cement around, if necessary. Position a reinforcing rod that is 1 foot shorter than your frame is wide at least every 3 feet, beginning at most 3 feet in from one end. Wrap a piece of #3 rebar around the perimeter of the slab, 2 inches in from the frame. Secure together any metal that overlaps using tie wire so that the pieces do not rub together and corrode.

Fill the rest of the frame with cement and knock the outside of the frame with the sledgehammer to settle the material.

Run a metal finishing screed along the top of your first slab to ensure that it is level. Finish the top of the slab by smoothing it with a rubber float three times, waiting thirty minutes between each smoothing. Allow all of the surface moisture to evaporate off of the cement.

Carefully hold a clean metal trowel perfectly level and run the flat side along the top of the slab to finish it a final time.

Pour the rest of your cement frames as needed following steps 9-12.

Allow all of the slabs to cure for three days. During this time, mist each slab lightly with water to maintain an even curing. When all of the slabs have completely set, remove the pour frames and proceed as desired.