DIY Patio Stones: Home Improvement Project on a Budget
With the rising cost of literally everything, landscaping is just about the last thing on the list of my financial priorities. However, after 3 and a half years of staring at the blank dirt lot in our backyard, we’ve finally started to tackle it piece by little piece.
One of our first major projects is building a path from our back porch out to the garden. The patio stones alone were going to cost $1,000. That’s almost a mortgage payment! Lol no.
Luckily my husband is a DIY king and doesn’t mind tackling a totally new type of project. He saw this idea on Reddit (Literally the only social media he uses. He’s a different breed y’all, I swear.) and after a bit of trial and error, we’ve figured out a process that’s efficient and yields strong, beautiful stones. So far, we have spent about $200 to make 100 stones but that includes $100 for the molds. We plan on reusing those to make more stones and eventually resell when we are done. The more stones you make the more money you save!
This project is definitely a labor of love. It requires quite a bit of strength to thoroughly mix the concrete and shake the bubbles out of the molds. Mixing and setting a batch takes 20 minutes from start to finish with 2 people and we are both dripping sweat by the end. Just look at it as a bonus workout!
One batch produces 10 stones, and we only do one batch per day. We are limited by the fact that the stones have to set in the molds overnight. But slow and steady wins the race, especially when you’re on a budget.
Keep reading for step-by-step instructions on how to make your own patio stones! It’s easier than you think.
Supplies needed (This recipe is for one batch=10 stones):
One-half bottle of Quikrete Concrete Color Mix (We used terra cotta for our stones) ($4)
Cheap cooking spray- one can lasts a few batches ($1)
Total cost= $10.10 a batch or $1.01 per stone
Equipment needed:
Molds in your desired shape (All instructions and amounts are to make 10 stones using these particular molds)
Wheelbarrow
Hoe
Shovel
Empty gallon jug
Water hose
Shaking Station‒ we’ll talk about this more below
Step 1: Set up your shaking station.
This is one of the most important steps because you need to vibrate the wet mix very thoroughly in the molds to get all of the bubbles out. This ensures that you capture all of the beautiful flagstone detail and that they will be strong. Our setup is literally just a piece of plywood balanced off the ground by railroad ties. You basically need a flexible surface that you can pound on.
Once you have something set up, try it out by setting the empty molds on tops of the wood and hitting your fists to see if they jump around. If not, adjust it until you see vibration and movement.
Step 2: Prepare the concrete dye.
Pour 5 oz. of dye (half a bottle of 10 oz. Quikrete concrete color linked above) into the empty milk jug. Use the hose to add more water to the jug until it’s halfway full. Put the lid on and shake to mix.
Step 3: Mix the concrete and dye.
Dump the dry concrete into your wheelbarrow. Wear a respiratory mask and be careful! ‒ concrete dust is dangerous to inhale. Pour dye from the jug over the concrete and begin to mix using the hoe. Gradually add water from the hose to the mix in batches while mixing continually. It’s easy to add too much water so pay attention and go slowly. The final mix should have the consistency of thick waffle batter. Lumpy, not runny. It should be liquid enough to settle into the details of the mold but thick enough to provide strength.
Step 4: Clean molds and spray with cooking oil.
Use a cloth to make sure the molds are free of any big pieces of dust or debris. Then lightly spritz the molds with cooking oil. Feel free to use the cheapest spray you can find for this step.
Step 5: Scoop the mix into molds and SHAKE!
Use a shovel to scoop the wet mix into the oiled molds. Tamp down the mix into the molds as you go by gently dropping it from a short height and/or shaking it. Fill until there is a ½ inch gap from the top of the mold. Once all the mix is gone, level the full molds out on the board and start pounding your fists on the board. You should see bubbles start rising to the surface of the mix. You know you’re done once you start seeing the dye and concrete separate on the surface (not noticeable in the final product). This is usually after 5 minutes of shaking for us.
Step 6: Level the molds and leave to dry.
Make sure the molds are level and then walk away! They should be left in direct sunlight so avoid this project on a day with even a chance of rain. We just leave them on the board out in the open because it’s extremely dry in Albuquerque (average 30% humidity in the summer). Those in more humid climates might have varied results.
*Make sure to rinse concrete off hoe, shovel and wheelbarrow immediately!
Step 7: Turn your stones out of the mold and admire the results of your hard work!
I’m not going to lie, the first two batches of stones we made were crumbly and fell apart. It took a bit of trial and error to figure out the right consistency for the mix but all the stones we’ve made since then have been stepped on, laid out, dropped and stacked up without even a crumble. If you fail, try, try again!
So far, we’re a little over halfway done making the stones we need for our garden pathway. We have gotten into such a rhythm with this project that we are going to continue making stones‒ perhaps even with different types of shapes and molds‒ for our entire yard.
We undertook this project to save a little money, but it has been massively rewarding in so many other areas along the way. For example, it’s been wonderful spending quality time talking, laughing, working and problem-solving with my husband while we bust our asses. I rarely get the chance to do hard manual labor (literally what a privilege!). It feels really good to work hard and see the results of that work.
Don’t be intimidated by this project. While the process is much easier with two people, it can definitely be done with one. Ben has made a couple of batches on his own.
When I first learned about this process it seemed daunting, but I promise it’s really not. Just do what you can when you can. And I’ll be doing the same, 10 stones at a time.