How to Install a Concrete Walkway

Creating the Concrete Form

• 1

  Plan the path design you desire. Drive stakes into the ground to mark its layout, then run a string between stakes to give you a visual reference.

• 2

  Dig out the area where your concrete walkway will go, making it a few inches wider to provide room for your forms. Excavate about 8 inches deep. Consider the ground while digging; on very level, flat ground, you will want to create a slope of up to 1 inch per 10 feet of walkway length. Measure down from the grass or yard surface to determine how deeply you are digging. As you work in the direction you wish the water to run, dig slightly deeper, maintaining the new depth each 10 feet in length.

• 3

  Pour a gravel base in the excavated walkway area. Lay the stones about 4 inches deep. Compact and level the gravel, making sure it maintains any slope you created. Lay a 2-by-4 board across the gravel, lengthwise, to verify that there is indeed a slight slope.

• 4

  Drive additional stakes into the ground just inside the excavated path, placing one every 3 feet. Sink the stakes into the ground and allow them to stick out about an inch above the level of the surrounding ground.

• 5

  Nail or screw either 2-by-4-inch boards or hardboard siding to the stakes to create the concrete forms. Make sure the boards are slightly higher than the stakes, to allow you to work the concrete more easily. Use hardboard when you wish to create curves in your path, bending the board to make the shape desired.

• 6

  Place steel mesh inside the concrete forms. Use bricks or rocks to elevate the mesh above the gravel base, so it will provide structural support midway through the concrete's depth.

• 7

  Glue an expansion strip, using construction adhesive, to any spot where the concrete walkway will touch an existing concrete surface such as another sidewalk or a driveway. Use it against a house foundation as well.

• 8

  Spray the inside of the forms with water. This will help the forms remove more easily from the concrete.

Pouring the Walkway

• 9

  Pour concrete into the forms, directly over the mesh. Use a shovel or rake to spread the concrete as needed, using a pushing motion rather than a digging motion. Make sure the forms are completely filled to slightly overfilled. Tamp down on the concrete with the back of the shovel to compact the concrete and eliminate air bubbles as you work.

• 10

  Screed the concrete with a 2-by-4-inch board, set across the width of the concrete form. Use a back-and-forth motion to work the concrete surface with the board, both smoothing and making it level with the form top. Work the board down the length of the walkway.

• 11

  Float the concrete surface to further smooth the concrete and cause the concrete ingredients to sink properly. Hold the float at a slight angle and push it across the surface, then pull it back again while holding it level. Lift the float completely between strokes, moving it to the next spot you wish to float. Continue working the entire surface in this manner until it is smooth and you see water starting to rise to the surface of the concrete. Wait until the water begins to disappear before proceeding.

• 12

  Slide an edging trowel between the concrete and form to help release the concrete and finish the concrete edges. Run the edger down the length of the form, taking care to not gouge the concrete. Use back-and-forth motions as you go, to ensure a good edge.

• 13

  Use a jointing trowel to cut expansion joints in the concrete. Place joints depending on the total length of the walkway and width. Use, as a rule of thumb, the width of the walkway to determine the length of jointed sections. Cut the concrete with the jointing trowel, dragging the trowel across the concrete and digging about 2 inches deep.

Completing Your Path

• 14

  "Sweep" across the concrete with a broom. Take care to not use too much pressure, while using sufficient force to create a slight texture. This will provide a non-slip finish to the concrete.

• 15

  Cover the concrete with a sheet of plastic to allow it to cure. Wait at least a week, avoiding any pressure on the walkway, before continuing.

• 16

  Remove the forms carefully, using a pry bar and hammer as necessary. Replace the dirt around the edges of the concrete. Seal the concrete to finish.