HOW TO MAKE A CEMENT STEPPING STONE | Easy, step-by-step DIY

circumference oh math isn't my thing in today's video i'll show you how to mix and pour cement for a stepping stone it's perfect for mosaics or whatever you want to do with it you ready to get your hands dirty let's get to it welcome back and if you're new here my name is julie and on this channel we discuss tips tricks tools adhesives materials and specific mosaic projects all to shorten your learning curve when it comes to creating mosaic art so if that sounds like something you'd be interested in please consider subscribing i know that working with cement can seem a bit intimidating but in small doses like what we're gonna do today it's actually quite easy and doable there are a couple reasons why i wanted to tackle today's video topic for one i'm going to be making a mosaic stepping stone in a future video and i'll link it here only i need it to be round to match the existing stepping stone already in my garden the problem i couldn't find a round stepping stone already made in my area another reason for today's video is that by learning how to mix and pour cement it opens up a whole new world as far as the type of stepping stone you would like to create and the shape all you need is a mold lucky for you there are plenty of them out there or you can create your own with lumber i'll include a list with links for the materials down below in the description in case you'd like to pour a stepping stone of your own there are advantages and disadvantages of pouring your own stepping stone and we'll quickly go over them however i think you'll see that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages but let's start with the advantages because like i said they far outweigh the disadvantages good news always before bad news i don't know the first advantage is that by pouring your own stepping stone you can decide what shape and thickness you want the stepping stone to be from a simple round stepping stone like the one today or this butterfly stepping stone that i made a few years ago the second advantage is that you can color your cement to whatever color you want and there are a wide range of colors this is especially helpful if your cement is going to be exposed like my stained glass butterfly a third advantage and this is for those who are going to mosaic on their stepping stone pouring your own stepping stone allows you to choose what style of mosaic stepping stone you want to have are you going to tile on top of your cement stuffing stone are you going to put your design inside the mold first and then pour the cement on top of it or are you going to embed your tile pieces into the freshly poured cement you have options now for the disadvantages they really aren't that bad it will cost you more to pour your own stuffing stone you'll need to buy the cement the mold the gloves etc plus your labor all of this can add up to more than you would spend on just getting a stepping stone at your local store or nursery center however one bright spot in this is that you would own the mold and could make more another disadvantage is that once you pour your stepping stone it has got to sit for a while it goes through a curing process and even though you can get it out of the mold within a few days it then needs to sit and fully cure for another 28 days so this is not a project where you can pour your mold tile or paint or put it outside for quite a while so this is a project where you've got to plan ahead but like i said i think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages as long as you plan ahead so let's get started i'm working with cement today which is incredibly drying to the hands just as thinset and grout are so i'm going to be wearing gloves before i start anything i want to make sure that my work surface is level so i'm going to be working here on my work table and once i've filled my stepping stone mold with cement it's going to sit here for the initial curing process which is about three to five days so if you're not in that situation you may want to start off by putting your empty mold on top of a board you can fill it and then when you're done and you need to move it somewhere else somewhere safe for the curing you've got it on a board and you can pick it up and you can move it to a secure area for the final curing process before i mix up the cement i'm going to spread a releasing agent all over the inside of the mold now i'm using petroleum jelly but you can also use vegetable oil or cooking spray it's real easy it's kind of like when you grease the inside of a cake pan i'm using a paper towel and i'll just spread the petroleum jelly all over the sides and bottom of the mold making sure i hit every surface and spot that will come in contact with the cement now i'm ready to mix up the cement but before you start measuring out you'll want to mix up your cement while it's still in the original bag and that's just to make sure that you get an even mix of sand and concrete in every scoop you'll want to follow your manufacturer's instructions to the letter the cement i'm using has a handy guide on the side of the box which tells me how much dry mix and water i need for a 12 inch round stepping stone it's pretty handy since the cement and mold are coming from the same manufacturer it also gives specific measurements on colorants if i wanted to color my cement so this guide says that i need 12 cups of cement and 28 ounces of water i've got a bucket and a trowel for mixing so i'm ready you should always wear a dust mask and protective eyewear when mixing cement grout or thinset so i'm going to start by pouring a little bit of water into my bucket and i'll slowly add some of the dry mix and i'll stir [Music] then i'll add a little more water and cement then stir and i'll keep doing this process until everything gets mixed thoroughly and it gets to the consistency of pancake batter [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] so [Music] okay this looks good although the manufacturer's instructions said that reinforcements aren't necessary i did go ahead and cut out some metal mesh so that you can see how to do it in case the cement you're using suggests it [Music] [Music] i made sure that it fit and so that it didn't touch the edge sometimes before cement is poured you may see in construction that there's some metal and they pour the cement over that it's rebar and this sort of acts as that same thing it just reinforces the concrete and makes it even stronger i'll pour a layer of cement into the mold about half of my bucket making sure it gets all over and is somewhat level next i'll add the piece of metal mesh on top of the cement making sure it's just slightly wedged into place i also want to make sure that it's in the center of my mold then i'm going to pour the remainder of my cement on top of it i'm going to smooth it out and spread it around [Music] okay this looks good with a hammer or you can use a mallet i'm gonna gently tap around the sides for a couple minutes just to get any air bubbles out [Music] [Music] the final step before curing is to cover the stepping stone with plastic not only does this keep the surface area clean but it also prevents cracks during the curing process by trapping water inside which regulates the cement's temperature and ensures gradual curing ideally you should keep the cement covered for a minimum of three to five days but if you can keep it covered for longer then even better so now that our cement is poured you're going to want to clean your tools immediately because cement can damage and ruin them okay it's been five days and i'll check to see if there's any heat radiating from the surface there isn't so it's ready to be removed from the stepping stone you should gently pull the mold away from the dry cement do this all the way around your stepping stone [Music] okay once you've done that get a hold of it and gently turn it upside down onto the table and it should pop out this looks great it takes a while for cement to fully cure so it's advisable that you leave it indoors for at least 28 days before you seal it paint it mosaic it or move it outdoors and that's it i can't wait to see this stepping stone with a mosaic design and remember there's a complete list of materials down below in the description so you can make your own stepping stone question of the day let me know in the comments if you've poured a cement stepping stone i'd love to hear thank you so much for watching please give this video a thumbs up as it really does help my channel and subscribe if you haven't already click the bell notification so you never miss a single upload and let me know in the comments if there's something you'd like me to cover in a future video i'll see you soon bye if somebody's doing a beer drinking contest and every time i say stepping stone they take a drink they're going to be drunk by the end of this video oh my goodness circumference oh math isn't my thing if you're looking for more mosaic inspiration you can check out one of these two videos until then see ya

Channel: Julie Weilbacher

Views: 27,280

Keywords: Julie Weilbacher, Mosaic Madness, how to mix cement for craft, how to mix cement, cement stepping stones, cement stepping stones diy, mosaic stepping stones, mosaic stepping stones diy, how to pour cement, how to prep stepping stone mold, craft, cement for beginners, garden art ideas, garden art projects, crafts, garden art for beginners, art for garden diy, stone art for garden, art for garden, stepping stone mold, outdoor cement, stepping stone, diy, cement tutorial, how to

Id: Ea6gBYqFjUw

Length: 12min 6sec (726 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 15 2021