How to Install a Rounded Sidewalk

Outline the sidewalk with garden hoses laid out on the ground. Place stakes on both sides of the hoses at several points to hold them in place.

Dig out the grass and dirt between the hoses. For a ground-level sidewalk, create an 8-inch deep cavity. For a raised sidewalk, dig less.

Rake the bottom until the bed is level and pack the soil by hitting it with a hand tamper.

Pour 4 inches of crushed rock into the cavity. Tamp the rock layer.

Line the sidewalls of the cavity with 4-inch wide strips of bendable hardboard.

Hammer stakes at several points outside the strips and nail the strips and stakes together.

Place a long level or a shorter level on top of a board across the tops of the two hardboard strips. Check and adjust for evenness.

Mist the insides of the strips and the gravel with water.

Pour in concrete and spread the concrete with the back of a rake until it sits flush with the tops of the strips.

Scrape the concrete even by seesawing a board across the tops of the strips, down the entire length of the sidewalk.

Smooth the surface by skating a float across the top in gentle, arcing motions.

Wait for about an hour when the concrete starts to stiffen then run an edging trowel along the insides of the strips to round the upper corners.

Create expansion joints. Every 4 feet, place boards across the strips then create straight grooves by running a groove trowel along the boards.

Add traction by sweeping the surface of the concrete with a broom, using successive strokes all running the same direction.

Cover the concrete in plastic and let it cure for several days, misting it regularly with water.

Remove the form boards.