How to Make a Cement Stoop

Dig up all grass from where the concrete stoop will be poured, using a shovel. Build a dirt shelf where the stoop will be. Make the shelf approximately 3 to 4 inches thick and 6 to 8 inches narrower than the finished stoop. Compact the shelf with a hand tamper. Check the shelf's top and sides with a level and make any necessary adjustments before tamping it down it again. Slope the shelf's upper front corner toward the ground at a 45-degree angle.

Pour gravel on the dirt shelf. Spread the gravel out into a level, 2-inch-deep layer and tamp it down with the hand tamper.

Lay concrete wire mesh on the shelf and allow it to extend down the sloped corner to the ground. Use a tin snips to cut off the mesh that extends past the shelf's perimeters. Place a chair -- a small plastic support -- underneath the mesh to lift it off the shelf. Use two chairs for each of the wire mesh's squares: one centered on the right side and one centered on the left side.

Build a wood form out of 2-by-8-inch boards. The form's size depends on the stoop's size. Cut the side boards to the stoop's length and height with a circular saw. The side boards must indicate the stoop's exact profile. Cut another 2-by-8-inch board to the stoop's exact width. Rip this board to the rise height. Secure this board to the two side boards' front end. If your stoop has a second step up, cut and rip a second board to the same length and height as the previous board. Nail this board between the two side boards, at the location where the second step starts, with the board's bottom edge level with where the first step's tread will be.

Position the wood form around the dirt shelf. Use short boards, angled from the ground to the side boards, to help hold the form in place. Mix cement, according to the manufacturer's directions, and pour it into the form. Tap the form's sides, with your hand, to help settle the cement.

Lay a straight two-by-four on top of the wood form, skinny side down. Drag the board from the stoop's back to the front to level the cement. While pulling the board forward, wiggle it back and forth slightly. If your stoop has two step ups, perform this step on each of them.

Run a darby over the stoop's surface. Move the darby in a sweeping motion from left to right. Hold the darby level while you sweep it over the surface. Perform this step twice for each of your stoop's step ups.

Wait for the water on the cement's surface to dry. Place an edging tool between the cement and the wood form. Move the edging tool along the stoop's edges, using the wood form as a guide, to round the edges.

Smooth the stoop's surface with an aluminum float. Move the float in sweeping motions from left to right. Drag a broom lightly across the stoop's surface to give it texture.

Cover the stoop with a sheet of plastic. Hold the plastic's edges in place with bricks to keep it from blowing away, but do not put the bricks on the stoop. Leave the plastic over the stoop for one week. Then, remove the plastic and the wood form.