How to Pour Your Own Concrete Patio and Walkway with Patterns

Creating patterns in concrete is not as difficult as it sounds. The best way to do this is to purchase a premade form at the local home improvement store. Constructed out of plastic, all four sides of the form link with each other to create different pattern variations. When you are ready to do the job, rent a cement mixer from the home improvement store or equipment rental yard. This makes the process much simpler and cuts down on the manual labor. Pour each section independently, but purchase extra frames to make the project go faster.

Tape measure
Shovel
Crushed limestone
Garden rake
Tamper
2 or more plastic pattern forms
Concrete
Mixer
Two 5-gallon buckets
Powdered chalk or spray-on landscape paint

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the area for the patio and walkway.
- 2
  Mark the measured area with powdered chalk or spray-on landscaping paint to identify the borders.
- 3
  Dig out the grass from within the borders of the measured section. Dig down approximately 4 inches deep into the soil. This provides a nice amount of space to place the crushed limestone base.
- 4
  Spread the limestone out to a depth of about 2 inches and level it with the back of the rake. Tamp it down with the tamper.
- 5
  Place the plastic premade frame on the ground at the beginning or end of the planned walkway. Where you start depends on the size and shape of the patio and walkway. It is best to start in a corner and work your way out.
- 6
  Mix the concrete and pour it into the 5-gallon bucket. Fill the form. Wait about five minutes, pull the form from the concrete and place it in the next spot. Fill the form again and repeat the waiting process. Continue this until you are finished. Use two or more frames and multiple bags of concrete to pour more concrete at one time.

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