DIY Network

Landscaping: Patios, Driveways and Walkways From "Be Your Own Contractor" episode DBYC-112

Alan Sain incorporated shaped walkways that curved to avoid his trees.

In this segment of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor, the do-it-yourselfers talk concrete as they discuss their experiences with building patios, driveways and sidewalks.

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Patios, Driveways and Sidewalks

• For his home in Hillside, Colorado, Andy Beasley incorporated an impressive concrete walkway around the perimeter of the house. He describes the process of that installation as painstaking and labor-intensive. Initially, string-lines and wooden forms had to be laid down (figures A and B). There was also a tremendous amount of work involved in simply excavating the dirt from the site.

  Figure A

  Figure B

  
  
• For his expansive driveways (figure C) and slab foundation, Andy was faced with the challenge of estimating the amount of concrete he would need. The same was true for his large brick patios (figure D). He emphasizes the need for accurate and thorough estimates and calculations for these materials in particular.

  Figure C

  Figure D

  
  
• Andy initially wanted to undertake the installation of his driveway slab himself, but ultimately decided to contract it out to professionals because of the size of the job (figures E and F), and because he wanted assurance that a solid, durable driveway would be built. But by observing the installation of the driveway, he was able to learn enough to do some of the prep work for his patios and sidewalks that were installed later. That preparatory work included excavation, compacting the soil, putting steel supports in place and placing the support forms. Andy's prep-work was inspected by a concrete professional before the concrete was poured for the patio and sidewalks.

  Figure E

  Figure F

  
  
• When working pouring concrete it is, of course, essential to plan in advance for water or electrical lines that may need to be accessed in the area. Andy's project involved structural plans for installation of water lines and electrical lines underneath his patio (figure G). Also, be prepared for dealing with problems that come up. Concrete cracking and shifting (figure H) may occur due to such factors such as poor drainage, improper setup or soil erosion.

  Figure G

  Figure H

  
  

  	Figure I
  	Figure J

• Concrete is not something to be taken lightly. Even devoutly independent do-it-yourelfer Michael Buchtel confesses that there is nothing easy about laying concrete. Though he personally installed flooring, walls, electrical systems and many other major elements of his Williamsburg, Virginia home, he states that putting down concrete is "all manual labor" and "probably one of the hardest jobs to do." Nevertheless, he undertook this phase of construction himself in order to save money. He and his daughter brought all of the concrete from the rear of his property to the front by wheel-barrow in order to create a concrete front-porch (figure I).

• For pouring the concrete for the long driveway at the front of his house (figure J), Michael relied heavily on the technical experience of friends who worked in the concrete business. His friends provided the initial set-up while Michael himself served as both contractor and laborer on the installation.

In the segment that follows, some of the do-it-yourself contractors talk about the role and installation of retaining walls.