Entries Tagged as 'Basic Home Improvements Ideas'
Building concrete steps.
Concrete steps can help to beautify your home and they are your best choice when it comes to reliability and durability. They are fairly easy to repair and cost effective if they get cracked and in need of repair. This project takes about a week to complete and it takes days to completely dry. When you plan the project, you should make sure you have a week available to work on them.
First off, figure out how many steps you will need and where you want to build them. Be sure to measure and mark where the dirt and grass need to be removed and dig the dirt out that is soft at least 6 inches deep.
Place the stringers which are the outside of the steps. This will assist in eliminating any figuring out how wide the steps should be and how much space is needed between each step. Once the stringer is in place, support it with 2 x 4 inch stakes. If you are making three steps, you should have a total of three stakes, one at each step.
The number of steps you choose to build will determine how much plywood you will need. If you have three steps, you need two pieces of plywood. The plywood should be cut into 2 x 6 pieces. You will need to nail the plywood horizontally to the frame where the front step will be.
Place gravel with frame area which will fill in the area and take less cement to build the steps. Mix only the concrete you will need for each step.
Shovel concrete into each step area and use a hammer to hit the side of the frame once full of concrete to help with it not cracking later. Use a trowel to smooth and even out the concrete.
You can use a broom to sweep each step to help them in not being so slippery once the job is complete and the cement is dry. It will take approximately five days for the concrete to completely dry.
Concrete walkways
Laying a concrete walkway going to your house, it can make you home look more elegant as well as raising the property value of your home. It can give strength and durability as opposed to other walkway types.
Decide if you would like a large or small area to put the walkway in. You need to know the length the walkway will be in order to know how much concrete you need for the project. Figure out what height you would like the concrete to be. One thing you will want to consider doing is cutting the grass before you choose the height with the minimum being 3 inches.
You need to place wood edging to brace where you will be pouring the concrete with brackets to brace the boards in front and back.
Next, multiply the height by the width by the length so that you will know how much concrete to purchase. Level off the concrete once it is poured and use a straight edge to figure out if it is even and level. You will want to use a squeegee to give your walkway a smooth finish and a broom for a surface that is not slippery.
You can prevent cracks and give the walkway a rounded edge by using an edging tool, once the concrete begins to harden.