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Has anyone done the following:
Dig out 18 rectangle-ish cuts from the lawn, 2 inch deep, tap down the bottom, then pour concrete in the hole. The stones have to be in level with the ground surface, not with the grass top.
I am planning to install stepping stones, but I want to avoid dangerous rocking stones. trying to level the surface under a single paver seems harder than pouring fresh concrete that should not be rocking and horizontal on top. On youtube I could not find any reference to this method. Everyone seems to be either buying stones, or pouring on the surface then filling the sides with gravel to level it (instead of digging a hole for the pouring).
Has anyone done the following:
Dig out 18 rectangle-ish cuts from the lawn, 2 inch deep, tap down the bottom, then pour concrete in the hole. The stones have to be in level with the ground surface, not with the grass top.
I am planning to install stepping stones, but I want to avoid dangerous rocking stones. trying to level the surface under a single paver seems harder than pouring fresh concrete that should not be rocking and horizontal on top. On youtube I could not find any reference to this method. Everyone seems to be either buying stones, or pouring on the surface then filling the sides with gravel to level it (instead of digging a hole for the pouring).
I've done that several times with 6mil plastic over the dirt and a paver-mold form. Works just fine.
Pour concrete just on top of the exposed soil? Disaster waiting to happen.
Exposed soil, but a dug out ditch in soil, not on flat soil. The ditch would serve as mold form, so the concrete stone would fit in and not rock while someone is standing on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seguinite
I've done that several times with 6mil plastic over the dirt and a paver-mold form. Works just fine.
What do you mean? Was the plastic remaining there after pouring the concrete?
If I understand correctly you want to use the soil as a form (dig out the trench/path to a depth of X below the surface, place concrete within that form, then place the stepping stones on top of the concrete?
I’ve seen it attempted; but it usually doesn’t work very well because either the soil is not compacted enough, it’s too moist, or the concrete is too wet. The stones start to settle and the walking surface becomes too uneven- trip hazards. Doing it the old fashion way- dig out the path, add “crusher run”, and use a lightly watered mortar mix to set the stones- on your hands and knees!
Exposed soil, but a dug out ditch in soil, not on flat soil. The ditch would serve as mold form, so the concrete stone would fit in and not rock while someone is standing on it.
What do you mean? Was the plastic remaining there after pouring the concrete?
Yes. Dig the area you want, put the plastic down, add concrete. I've done several sidewalks with the paver mold forms, some without the plastic and some with. No issues for me either way. Either way, it might cost you $5 for a bag of Quikrete and an hour of time to do a couple tests for yourself.
I've poured concrete on soil, gravel, or rock fill without problem.
Were the edges chipping away over time? I'm concerned about how the edge or boundary will look like. it shouldn't look like snowflake, but rather like a solid line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
If I understand correctly you want to use the soil as a form (dig out the trench/path to a depth of X below the surface, place concrete within that form, then place the stepping stones on top of the concrete?
I want to use the dug out ditch in the soil as a form. Then pour concrete in it. No need to put hard stone on the concrete, the concrete itself will become the stepping stone.
I am thinking on tapping the ditch down by foot, then adding powder quickrete, tap it in too, check with a torpedo level, then use a hose to water it, then wait for it to set.
Anyone can share a picture of a stepping stone poured into dirt without form?
Everyone seems to be either buying stones, or pouring on the surface then filling the sides with gravel to level it (instead of digging a hole for the pouring).
Yes, because just two inches of concrete in an earth form will not yield good results. They will probably crack since un-reinforced concrete has no tensile strength and raw surface finish won’t look to good trying to trowel concrete that’s flush on all sides with the earth.
K’Bldr gave you the right info. You could always build a form and re-use it to cast your own stones but will there be any savings?
Basically your trying to cast concrete pavers in hand dug earth forms, good luck!
So much depends upon the area. Much of south Florida is compacted sand as the "soil." That soil is remarkably stable, and although I might embed some hardware cloth just to be ornery, I wouldn't anticipate any more problems (ficus roots) than the sidewalks down there, which are made in exactly that same fashion. Fiber can also be added to concrete for some tensile strength.
As a side note, the footers under my home are fiber reinforced concrete sitting on a chert ledge. There has been zero cracking, despite loads much heavier that those on a walkway.
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