It's officially August and it's still the midst of summer, which means outdoor DIY projects are still in the thick of it! People are flocking to their backyards, front porches , gardens, and lawns to do some serious DIY work while it's sunny and dry out. With this, we have been seeing a lot of people pouring concrete slabs and patios to elevate their space and make it more usable.
A concrete patio is ideal for longevity. The perfect surface for patio fireplaces, late-night summer hangouts, and home BBQs with friends and family. The only downfall is that concrete patios are expensive to replace and look old and dingy with cracks and wear. One woman thought up a genius idea for bringing life back to her old cracked concrete patio, and we are left swooning over the results, check it out below!
@hauz.and.co Replying to @doughev Crazy Paving Tutorial ~ I can't believe how different this space looks! We went from a cracked, stained concrete slab under our gazebo to this natural stone masterpiece ✨️ To get started on your patio deck dreams, when in doubt & on a budget, source on offerup or FB marketplace, I found these 18” x 18” travertine stone tiles for $150 for over 300 pieces . In the end, I only used about 40-60 pieces, and I ended up selling the rest. If you want it to be, it can be really cost effective! In total I spent under $400 for this 144 sqft. space, probably less knowing now that I would sell the rest of the tiles. To get the look, you’re going to have to break them into a variety of sizes depending how you want the final look. I’ve seen so many color & types of stones used that you can really make it match your home aesthetic. For supplies, I’m going to link everything on Ltk. Check my bio link for a shortcut 🔗 What do you think of the final result? Would you give it a try? Frequent Q&A’s ~ • The stone used is 18” x 18” Tumbled Travertine, color unknown. • Normally you should backbutter your tiles, not just laying mortar on the surface. Why I didn't?, I can't remember, maybe to save time. Just know, it's doable, but you might have a few not fully set and it will come undone the next day. We had a few like that, but we laid it again & it didn't budge. • Sealing your design is important for future cleaning, especially with light colored grout. If you want to keep your work pristine, use it. • The total cost was just under $400, perhaps less since we sold the rest of the tiles that we didn’t use, it’s very cost efficient. • You can also do this ontop of leveled dirt! Normally, a heavier stone like flagstone or similar is used & concrete is used for the joints. • Another alternative vs. traditional grouting is polymeric sand to fill the joints. I wish I knew about it back then. It will save you so much time & less back breaking. #crazypaving #crazypave #patiomakeover #exteriordesign #patiodesign #backyardprojects #diyprojects #backyarddesign
♬ The Kite Live by Luisa Marion - Luisa Marion
How To Pour Your Own Concrete Patio
Water to concrete mix is like sugar to chocolate chip cookies, without it, it just doesn't work. Concrete is made of three simple things; cement, which is a fine soft powder used as a binder that through chemical reaction hardens when wet . The second material needed for concrete is an aggregate, such as sand and gravel to help make concrete more compact while adding stability and strength. The last material needed and the most important is water, without it the chemical reaction wouldn’t happen and concrete just wouldn’t be concrete.
But as of recently people have been testing the normal method of pouring concrete and swapping over to the “dry pour” method where you lay down your powdered concrete, spray it with water every so often, and then let it cure a while before using it.
For homeowners with little DIY experience, the dry pour method seems to be the easiest option to test out. There are tons fo tutorial videos on how to do it online to make the process easier.
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