How to Use Cinder Blocks

Create temporary or even permanent steps by laying the bricks, with the holes on the sides, in a staircase pattern. Lay the cinder blocks together permanently with cement or mortar and paint to match the exterior of your home.

Construct flowerbed borders with a short wall of stacked cinder blocks. Cover the cinder block borders with limestone caps to cover the holes at the top, or leave the tops open to use as flowerpots. Sit a few blocks near your back step, fill with soil, and use to grow herbs you use often for cooking.

Use cinder blocks to hold up shelving in a garage or storage building. Stack lengthwise and use the holes in the blocks to shelve smaller items. Paint the boards and the blocks and create lovely indoor shelving.

Construct a barbecue or fire pit out of leftover cinder blocks. Use cement or mortar to make the pit a permanent fixture. Use a paintbrush to coat the blocks in fire-proof lacquer and place a grill grate over the opening to place your meat, chicken or vegetables on to cook.

Sit a few blocks out in a row and top with concrete slabs or limestone caps to create a bench in your yard or garden or even on your deck or patio. Paint the bench to make your bench to match your other patio or lawn furniture.

Place cinder blocks in the trunk or truck bed of your vehicle during winter months to weigh down the rear end of your vehicle. This is recommended to prevent your truck's back end from spinning out if you hit an icy spot in the road.

Use broken pieces of cinder blocks to fill areas that will be filled in concrete. The pieces of cinder blocks take up space, requiring less concrete and saving you money. Use a sledgehammer to bust broken pieces into even smaller sizes to use for filling mud holes in gravel roads.