Making Concrete Stepping Stones, Landscape - Horticulture - Lecture Slides, Slides of Botany and Agronomy

Download Making Concrete Stepping Stones, Landscape - Horticulture - Lecture Slides and more Slides Botany and Agronomy in PDF only on Docsity! Making Concrete Stepping Stones Docsity.com Concrete stepping stones are used to decorate gardens, walk ways, door steps, and many more places in and outside the home. Mosaic stepping stones add beauty and creation to any home garden or walk way. They can be used just for decoration or to walk on or for both reasons. Making concrete stepping stones are easy. Making the mosaic concrete stepping stones are also easy and also allow the maker to be creative and inventive. What are Stepping Stones? Docsity.com 1. concrete stepping stone kit 2. chicken wire 3. releasing agent 4. nails 5. measuring cup 6. tesserae; tiles, buttons, etc 7. tweezers 8. hammer 9. pencil, marker 10. plastic trash bag 11. box cutter 12. putty knife 13. foam brush 14. paper 15. scissors 16. paint stirrer 17. sponge 18. liquid concrete color 19. square pan/mold 20. mixing bucket 21. plastic bag 22. garden spade 23. wooden board 24. latex gloves 25. face mask Docsity.com Components of Concrete 1 2 3 4 5 1. Mortar mix 4. Medium grain Sand 2. Concrete mix 5. All purpose Gravel 3. Portland Cement Docsity.com To create your mosaic, there are many types of material to choose from. You can use glass, ceramic tiles, stones, sea shells, and other small objects like marbles. These pieces can be many shapes and sizes and colors and textures. The choice is up to you. If you do not have your shape, you can always break them up and file them down. The common term used to call these pieces that make up the mosaic materials is called tesserae. Tile Marble Sea Shells Buttons and Beads Broken Glass Choosing your mosaic material Docsity.com There are two templates that can be used to create the mosaic design. The design template is used to organize the pieces of tesserae and the look of the design. The mold template is used when the tesserae pieces are being placed into the wet concrete. First you decide on the design. Then cut out the picture or pattern. Save both pieces. The shape is your design template and the left over piece is your mold template. Making the Stepping Stone Templates Pieces of tesserae being arranged on the design template. (The bird cut out.) The mold template or the left over piece is placed on the wet concrete and the pieces of tesserae are placed on the concrete. Docsity.com First select the pieces of tesserae that will be used for the mosaic. Then position the key pieces on the design template according to shape, size, color and your personal preference. This is easily done by using tweezers. It is best to outline the shape first and then work your way to the middle. Be sure the pieces are spaced about 3 millimeters apart. Adjust any pieces to your desire. Now you are ready to begin setting your design in stone. Using the Design Template Docsity.com Concrete can be used to make just about anything such as concrete blocks, a sidewalk, a park bench, bridge footings or even skyscrapers. Concrete can be used for indoors or outdoors. But what is the difference between concrete and cement? Well, concrete, grout, and mortar are all made from cement. Cement is a very fine powder of crushed rocks and when mixed with water, the mix hardens making the concrete, grout, or mortar. A good way to remember this difference is cement is to concrete as what flour is to a cake. About Concrete Docsity.com Preparing the Concrete Mix cont. Mixing your own concrete mix is very simple. All that is needed is one part portland cement, one part sand, two parts gravel, and some water. It is important to use the least amount of water possible to begin with and as you work the concrete mixture add very small amounts of water. The concrete can not be too wet but yet it can not be too dry either. For the right consistency the Slump Test can be used. Docsity.com Preparing the Concrete mix cont. The Slump Test is very simple. The test involves filling an Styrofoam or paper cup with the concrete mixture insuring to pack the concrete several times. Then flip the cup filled with the concrete upside down over a plate. Docsity.com Preparing the Concrete mix cont. Cut the bottom out of the cup very carefully with a box cutter. Next, remove the cup very carefully by lifting straight up. Docsity.com Begin filling the mold with the concrete mix. Then spread out the mixture with the mixing tool making sure all the corners are filled. Use the putty knife to tamp down the mix and smooth the surface. Docsity.com If you know the stepping stone will be subjected to heavy foot traffic, it is a good idea to use reinforcement. This is easily done by using chicken wire folded up to the shape of the mold and placing it in the mold on top of a thin layer of concrete mix. Then continue filling the mold with concrete. Jiggle the mold to be sure to remove any air bubbles and to ensure the mixture has reached all the nooks and crannies. Finally, clean the materials that you used. Rinse them out but never dump the dirty water in a sink. Docsity.com In order to remove air bubbles from the mold, you can jiggle the mold or you can use a hammer to beat around the outside of the mold. It is important to remove air bubbles so there will be no weak places in the stepping stone. Using the hammer to remove air bubbles by hammering around the outside of the mold on the board. Shaking and jiggling the mold Docsity.com Embedding is tricky business. It is important to know the thickest pieces of tesserae from the thinnest. Embed the thickest ones first followed by the thinnest. However, if your design has a definite outline, it is important to embed the outline first and work your way into the middle. Leaving the mold template on while embedding can help ensure that the outline stays smooth and in line while embedding. Embedding the Mosaic Pieces Docsity.com To embed, use your finger or a pencil with an eraser to press the piece down into the wet mix. The pieces should be embedded deep enough to ensure that they will not fall out once the stone is dry. Also the pieces should be embedded evenly to prevent sharp edges from appearing that could cause injury when stepped on. Embedding the Mosaic Pieces cont. Docsity.com Now that you have your mosaic the way you want it, it is time to set the stone aside and clean up your work space. Jiggle the mold some to ensure the pieces are settled properly. Now set your stone out of the way to harden for two days (48 hours.) Move the stone with it sitting on the board so you won’t bend it and mess it up. Finishing up with your Stepping Stone Docsity.com