Quikrete 6921-34 Concrete Walk Maker Path Mold - DIY Garden & Patio Stepping Stone Paver for Outdoor Landscaping Projects | Perfect for Sidewalks, Driveways & Backyard Pathways

I have done concrete before, and if you haven't the first thing that you should know is that working with concrete does to your body something like what a professional boxer does to a punching bag. It is a lot of lifting, kneeling, being on your knees, and generally feeling like you've been thoroughly pummeled. If you have never done it before, seriously consider asking an experienced friend for help. If you can afford to hire this out to a pro, you will probably be glad you did!That said, with careful planning or doing a little bit at a time, you can make this work. As others have said if you are doing many of these, either borrow, rent, or buy a concrete mixer. They are not that expensive and are well worth it for making the job more tolerable. If you are just doing a handful, a shovel and wheel barrow will do fine. I already own a cement mixer, and I am putting 80 of these in, so you know what I am using!Concrete will set up differently based on the amount of water you put in, and the amount you "work" the concrete. While I have put in several slabs of concrete, I have never poured it into molds, so this is a bit of a new one for me. The molds work great, although they are not super strong. We broke one before I poured the first square, fixed it with a piece of duct tape which is still working fine!If you follow the directions on your concrete mix it will probably be too dry and look very rough. You will likely need to add a bit more water, but go easy on it, it should be wet but not soupy. If it is too wet, it will not hold up on its own once you pull out the mold. If you are doing many of these, I suggest that you start in the place where the look is least important and make a few till you get the technique down, then go gangbusters. I find that I can do about six of these in 90 minutes, if someone else is helping.When we are done we will acid stain and then seal them. They should look very nice and last many years. My only regret right now is only buying two. I wish I had at least three if not four, but I am making a lot of squares!Update: October 15, 2014So we are done with the project now (except the final acid staining and sand). It went pretty well, but there is definitely a learning curve here! The ones that I liked the least it turns out are the squares that were a little on the dry side. It was hard to get them to finish right and I had to redo some chunks that crumbled. By the end of our project I was pretty good at this and could usually get the look that I was going for.Figure out a process that allows you to be productive and quick. I did the following:1. Level my molds (stick an old piece of tile or something flat underneath the edges of two or more molds, so that they are level.2. I would mix two bags, pour them out into the molds and spread the concrete.3. Mix two more finish filling the first mold.4. Mix two more, flatten the tops with a trowel, take the first molds off, and set up for the next set of molds.5. After your concrete is starting to setup I would use my trowel to smack the molds to give the concrete some texture.6. Repeat until you are done pouring for the day.7. About 20 minutes after I was finished pouring I would use a broom to lightly wipe the tops of the concrete to give it a little broomed texture. This looks nice and decreases your chance of slipping when they are wet.Pro-tip: If you are doing a lot, have your local home store deliver the concrete. It doesn't cost that much and will save you MANY trips to load and unload the concrete yourself. I had two pallets worth dropped in our front yard and wheel barrowed them in three at a time.I bought these in March of this year to make a walkway from my back porch to back fence gate. I finally was able to get to it this past weekend, after finishing my new fence. I really wanted a concrete walkway, as I can never get grass to grow by my gate to the ally. It also made for a nice mud hole after a good rain or snow. I definitely didn't want cheap pavers, so I thought a walkway using these would be perfect.I used the Quickrete Fiber Reinforced concrete, along with their Buff concrete color. I highly recommend using a cement mixer if you decide to use color, as one bottle is used to color two 80 lb bags. It would be very difficult mixing the color evenly by hand, though not impossible. The forms were really easy to use. After my dad shoveled the concrete into the form, I used a trowel to smooth it off. I left them in there about 10-15 minutes, depending on how wet/dry the mix was. It is definitely better leaving it a little dry. I just had a couple of batches that I got a little too wet. After pulling the form, I used the trowel again to smooth it off. As you can see in the pictures, I think it turned out well. It's not perfect by any means, but that was due to the environment. It just happened that the weekend I chose to work on this we received a lot of rain. Yes, it was in the forecast. However, this was the only weekend I could get to this project before November and when it starts freezing. Therefore, I decided to move forward and use some tarps. I don't mind it not being perfect. Its a walkway with some character and a little more grip.I will definitely use these again. I'm sure I'll come up with another use for them next year. It's worth noting that I did buy two of these, even though I think the price is a little high. I highly recommend two if you are going to use color. As mentioned earlier, it takes two 80 lb bags for one bottle of color. I didn't want the other half of the batch to sit in the wheel barrow until I could pull the form. I also used some landscape paper under the concrete, to help keep weeds and grass from coming through the spaces between the pavers. I spaced them about an inch apart. I did that because I plan on using paver sand to in between the cracks. Finally, make sure your ground is level using the forms. If all 4 sides of the form are not touching the ground, fix it. Concrete will spill out if you are not careful. I had that happen a couple of times.I used the non-square wall makers in front of my smoker and front gate to change the style up. I did not buy that template at Amazon, as I was able to find it locally but still wanted to show it. The concept is the same.After getting several estimates for having a paver patio professionally installed we decided a diy was our only option. We watched many yt videos for inspiration and decided to purchase the mold and get to work! And it was WORK!! There are a bit of a learning curve with mixing the concrete and pouring it in the mold, smoothing it and releasing the mold. But once we got the hang of it, we were successful! The mold is sturdy and held up through the whole job. It is still in good shape and can be used again. I highly recommend for the motivated diyer. But caution it's not as easy as it looks! If you're willing to work and learn using this product will yield impressive results!We bought our own cement mixer because it was cheaper than renting.. also buy 4 wheel cart with high hauling capacity for not only hauling bags of concrete but also the made concrete. This saved our backs and muscles for the long haul..... I recommend order 2, 2 people laying forms and 1 person making concrete. If you have more people they tend to get in the way. Pour your concrete a little thick so you can form and pull rather than waiting 5 min for it to set. Have 1 person go north south and the other go east west. Do not try to connect them or link them together, they are designed to pour like pavers. We used paver base pads made by brock to link them together... expensive at 13$ a piece but worth it in long run. Our plan is to make it rough, wait for it to cure. Then we will acid stain it, seal it, and then use paver sand that hardens in between the cracks. Make sure you have a good small square trowel that fits between the plastic layout. Trowel it smooth before you remove form. 1 hour later broom the squares lightly to give texture.....