How to Frame a Cement Border

Measure along the ground in the direction in which you want to build the cement border. At every turn in the path, hammer a wood stake into the ground with a mallet to represent the front side of the border.

Decide the width that you want to make the cement border. Measure this distance out from the first stake you placed, and place a stake there to represent the back side of the border. Then measure the same distance out from each of the other stakes along the path and place another stake to represent the back side of the border, so you have a line of wood stakes on both sides of the path.

Dig a ditch along the entire path where you want to install the border. Make the depth of the ditch equivalent to approximately half the height of the border aboveground. For a 6-inch-high border, for instance, dig a 3-inch ditch.

Cut down two pieces of sheet metal that measure the same width as the height that you want to make the wall, plus the depth of the ditch. For a 6-inch border with a 3-inch ditch, for instance, use a 9-inch piece of sheet metal. Cut these sheet metal pieces to fit the linear dimensions of the ditch. Depending on bends in the border, the lengths of opposing pieces of sheet metal might not be equal, so measure the length of each side of the ditch as you cut pieces.

Put paired, opposing pieces of the sheet metal directly against either side of the ditch. Tap the top of the sheet metal lightly to secure it in the dirt at the bottom of the ditch.

Pour cement into the sheet metal form. Allow the cement to set up for four to five hours until it starts to hold up on its own, then slide a thin file between the sides of the cement and the sheet metal walls. Pull the sheet metal walls out of the trench. Allow the cement to set up for roughly 48 hours, then fill in the sides where the metal walls were removed with some of the soil you removed from the ditch to close the gap.