Creating a Curved Concrete Walkway

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hile he work mighseem inimidaing,insalling a curvedconcree sidewalk is

a surprisingly easy projec ha mosanyone wih a few friends and a dayof good weaher can handle.

the firs sep is preparing he base.In general, he base needs o be freeof organic maerial, well compaced,and free-draining. For his walk, Iexcavaed he opsoil, hen placed andamped down a layer of gravel anddir so ha he op of he base maerialwas 4 in. below he final elevaion of he walkway.

I also piched he secion near he

house abou1

⁄ 8 in. per f. o direcwaer away from he house. lhoughhe minimum widh of a sidewalk is3 f., I made his walk 4 f., which ismore comforable o use. Because his

BY RICK ARNOLD

Form, pour, and stampa concrete sidewalk foran inviting path toany front door

Curved ConcreteWalkway

Creating a

Continued on p. 66

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COPYRIGHT 2011 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.



Wet the ground. Concrete ne

adequate water to cure propePrevent water from being drawout of the concrete by thorougwetting the ground just beforestart pouring.

Add reinforcement. Place sections of rein-

forcing mesh so that the panels overlap by 6 in., and cut away the excess so that thewire is about 2 in. away from the sides of the form. Then put in rows of 3 ⁄ 8 -in. rebar spaced about 1 ft. apart. Overlap the barsby 1 ft., and tie them together at both endsof the overlap.

Drive the stakes. Spacethe stakes every 1 ft. inthe curved sections and every 2 ft. in straight sections. Then, using arotary laser equipped with a receiver (a water or spirit level works, too),mark the stakes no lessthan 4 in. above finished grade. Once they’remarked, cut them off witha circular or reciprocatingsaw so that the screed board can pass easily.

LaY uT a fmA curving walkway starts with a stable subgrade of well-compacted, free-draining

material. The design is planned either with a garden hose or by eye and is trans-

ferred to the soil with marking paint. Curving forms are made from 4-in. strips of 3 ⁄ 8-in. plywood screwed to stakes so that the tops of the plywood and the stakes

are flush. Straight forms made from 2x stock are placed similarly. Inside the forms,

a grid of reinforcement helps to prevent cracks and control shrinkage.

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The main worker screeds the concrete level with the forms while helpers rake

out the concrete and raise the reinforcement so that it’s in the center of the

slab. Finishing starts with a magnesium bull float to bring up bleed water and to

force the aggregate into the mix. After the bleed water has evaporated, start

troweling, first with a magnesium float, then a steel finishing trowel.

Pu a fsh

Bull float first. Take two or three passes with a magne-sium bull float to level the surface and to push the aggre-gate into the mix. Raising the leading edge of the float will prevent it from digging into the surface. Additional handle sections provide extra reach on large pours.

Edge the corners. Afterfloating, use an edging ton the slab corners. Rouedges resist weather bethan sharp corners.

Bring up the cream. A smaller float made of magnesium, aluminum, or wood brings cement particles and fine aggregate to the surface.The resulting cream fills small voids and smooths the surface.

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rder concrete like pro

Plce yor order two or tree dy ed

tie or better cnce o getting te co

wen yo wnt it. Be prepred to give te

ptcer direction to te job nd nwer

qetion below. Wen yo’re done plcin

order, k te diptcer to red bck te

nd to give te totl price. Te totl o

inclde te price per yrd well ny e

or el, strdy deliverie, or ll lod

k bot te tndrd nlod tie. soe

plier crge extr wen teir trck re o

longer tn norl.

Wt trengt nd lp?Residential concrete is generally rated from

2000 psi to 3000 psi. Used for exterior flat

a 2500-psi air-entrained mix is common in

walks and patios, but check with your buil

inspector for local requirements. Measured

a scale from 1 in. to 10 in., slump describe

stiffness of wet concrete. The lower the nuthe stiffer the mix. Walks and patios shoul

placed at a 5-in. slump, while steps should

a 3-in. slump. Water weakens the mix, so p

concrete as stiff as possible.

how ny cbic yrd?Dispatchers often help you to figure out h

much concrete you need, but this should b

way to double-check a figure you’ve alread

come up with. For sidewalks, multiply leng

times width (in feet) times thickness (4 in.

ft.), and divide by 27. For curving walks, u

50-ft. or 100-ft. measure (they’re more flex

to follow one side of the walk’s curving fowork. Double-check your math, and add 10

compensate for spillage and an uneven gra

how c tie between trck?If your order requires multiple loads (a full

mixer holds between 9 yards and 11 yards

sider how long you need to empty each tr

Because the concrete will start to cure, you

want a truck waiting, and you’ll also have

time to pour and finish. If you’re using a w

barrow to move wet concrete, plan to hav

three or more going at once.

ti ir order?When the weather is iffy, some suppliers t

a will-call order, meaning that the concrete

be sent only if you call ahead of time (usua

two hours) to confirm. This contrasts with

order, which means that your concrete wil

delivered at the agreed-upon time unless

cancel. If you need to postpone, call the d

patcher right away.

Pull up the reinforcement. You can place rebar and rein-forcing mesh on small metal stands called chairs ahead of time, or you can raise them as you spread the wet concrete.

Finish with a steel trowel. The final finish-ing tool is a large steel trowel that forcesthe cream back down into the surface for asmooth, durable finish. Trowels with curved corners are less likely to leave tracks.

UGUt/EtEMBE 2011




walk needed o urn 90° oward he house, Iincluded a curve for exra ineres.

Pln te pt

If you’re working around esablished land-scaping, you can srech ou a garden hose orwo o visualize he pah. Because his simpledesign was buil on bare soil, I oulined oneside of he pah wih a can of marking pain

and hen used a 4-f. sick o space and markhe oher side evenly. Wih convenional3 ⁄ 8-in. plywood forms, a 2-f. radius is heighes urn you can make, bu igher urnsare possible wih plasic forms, which areavailable a concree-supply houses.

einorceent i t

ll concree needs reinforcemen o prevencracks. For his sidewalk, I used 6-in. wiremesh and #3 (3 ⁄ 8-in.-hick) rebar. to bendhe rebar o fi he curves, have a helper lifup he end while you walk down is lengh.

When placing i, be sure o overlap he barsby a leas 12 in., and secure he join wih iewire (or plasic zip ies) in wo places. theseel should be near he middle of he con-cree deph (abou 2 in. from he boom).You can eiher place he reinforcemen onsuppors (called chairs), or you can pull i upas he concree is being placed.

Get extr elp or te por

When i’s ime o place he concree, i helpso have a leas hree people on hand. themos imporan job is geing he concree

fla wih a screed board. screed board is a2x4 long enough o span he formboards onboh sides of he walkway. I scrapes awayexcess concree and highlighs low spos soha he forms are filled o he perfec level.You also need one or wo people wih rakeso move he concree around. their job is oplace jus he righ amoun of concree infron of he screed and o lif he wire andrebar ino he middle of he concree as hepour progresses.

Concree has a limied working ime.When emperaures are in he high 70s

or warmer, you may have only 30 minuesbefore he concree is oo hard o finish andsamp, bu in cooler emps, especially below65°F or so, you may have o wai an exrahour or wo before you can sar finishing.lso keep in mind ha projecs in direc sunwill se up faser han hose in shady areas.

s you samp he concree, i will geharder. Bu be careful no o pound oo

heavily, which will creae small cracks inhe surface. Once you’ve finished samping,

which should ake 30 minues or less, checkhe edges and ransiions for any places haneed o be ouched up.

apply eler

fer abou 24 hours, wash off he releaseagen (phoo above) wih a garden hose.Once he surface is dry, apply a good sealerwih a hick-nap pain roller or a garden

sprayer. I like o use enew-Cree (www.renewcree.com) because i u

covers in a single applicaion. wahis coss abou $8 per sq. f. in mywhich is a bargain compared o he $sq. f. a walk wih real cobbles would

Contributing editor Rick Arnold is

the author of Working With Concre

(The Taunton Press, 2003). Photos b

John Ross.

Apply release agent. Before stamping,

cover the entire surface with a releaseagent. Shaking it on with a broom is fast and easy, but be careful not to hit the wet concrete with the bristles.

After finishing with a steel trowel, cover the surface with a powdere

release agent (www.advancedsurfaces.com), which allows the stamp

mats to be removed without damaging the textured surface. Arrang

the mats in running-bond pattern, and start stamping. At first, stam

is easy, but it gets more difficult as the concrete firms up. Stamp ma

are expensive, costing between $100 to $200 each, but they can be

rented at many concrete-supply yards.

sTamP Th sufa

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1. Pln or te weter Hot, dry, and windy conditions mean the slab

will set up more quickly. In cool, damp condi-tions, it may take hours for the slab to firmup. In either case, start early, and have extrahelp to finish the job.

2. ue ini o wterWhile wet concrete is easier to work, it alsohas less strength and shrinks more, leadingto cracks. Get extra help instead of relyingon soupy concrete to make the job easier.

3. on’t leve te lbIt may be tempting to run for lunch while the

bleed water evaporates, but don’t do it. Youcould return to a slab that’s too hard to fin-ish. Have a helper get lunch while you keepan eye on things.

4. a low cre i betFew things weaken concrete as much as havingit set too quickly. Cure finished concrete slowlyby spraying on a curing compound or by cover-ing the surface with wet burlap or straw. Don’tuse plastic because it can discolor the surface.

5. strt iniing rigt wy You can start finishing fresh concrete w

you step on the wet surface and your leaves a 1 ⁄ 4-in.-deep depression. Wait land you’ll have less time to do the job

6. len yor toolWash your tools as soon as you’re donusing them. Dirty tools leave a rough fand cleaning off crusty residue is a pa

sX TPs FOR KEEPING UP WITH CONCRETE

Transition at curves. A stripewith a simple con-trasting patternprovides a conve-nient place to hidecontrol joints and to eliminate odd transitions wherethe walk changesdirection.

Arrange the stamps. Placethe first row of stamp matsparallel to the form’s end board, and stagger sub-sequent rows to create arunning-bond look. Tampthe form straight down. Be

careful not to overstamp,or you may leave small cracks in the surface. Youmay have to vary the order you stamp, depending onthe pattern.

FineHomebuilding.com members

can learn more about the stamping

process in an online video series

featuring this project.

UGUt/EtEMBE 2011

COPYRIGHT 2011 by The Taunton Press Inc Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted

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Creating a Curved Concrete Walkway