Making Concrete Stepping Stones

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Making Concrete Stepping Stones
Created by Tiffany Prather, Joan Jackson, and Dr.
Frank Flanders Georgia Agricultural Education
Curriculum Office Revised June 2003
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What are Stepping Stones?
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.
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Getting Started with your concrete mosaic
stepping stones
The first thing to do is to plan your stepping
stone. Decide on the mold shape, the design of
the mosaic and where the stone will be placed
once the stone has been created. Shapes can vary
from round, square, hexagon, octagon and so on.
Designs for the mosaic are unlimited. A
butterfly, bird, pear, dragonfly, flower, and a
leaf are just a few examples. Now that you have
decided on what you want your stepping stone to
look like, you need to gather your supplies.
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Tools and Materials needed to create your
concrete stepping stone
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• concrete stepping stone kit
• chicken wire
• releasing agent
• nails
• measuring cup
• tesserae tiles, buttons, etc
• tweezers
• hammer
• pencil, marker
• plastic trash bag
• box cutter
• putty knife
• foam brush

• paper
• scissors
• paint stirrer
• sponge
• liquid concrete color
• square pan/mold
• mixing bucket
• plastic bag
• garden spade
• wooden board
• latex gloves
• face mask

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Components of Concrete
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• Mortar mix 4. Medium grain Sand
• Concrete mix 5. All purpose Gravel
• 3. Portland Cement

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Choosing your mosaic material
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
Sea Shells
Buttons and Beads
Marble
Broken Glass
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Choosing Your Mold
The size and shape mold you choose is up to you
and what you want for the project. There are
manufactured, makeshift, and made-from-scratch
molds to choose from. Craft stores carry many
shapes and sizes of molds that are reusable or
disposable. Molds can be made of plastic,
flexible vinyl, or even a tin cake pan. When
using molds that do not bend or flex, a releasing
agent such as cooking spray or oil can be used to
coat the inside of the pan to prevent sticking.
You can even make your own made from scratch
mold.
plastic store bought mold
Made from scratch mold
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Breaking up Tesserae
Wrap the ceramic, glass, or the tesserae of your
choice in a rag or towel. Feel around to find the
location of the tesserae and take your rubber
mallet or regular hammer and start smashing.
Peak under the towel and see how the pieces look.
Smash them some more until they are the
desirable size or shape. It is a good idea to
sand the sharp edges of the pieces off,
especially if the stepping stones will be used to
walk on. When smashing and sanding, be sure to
use eye protection and gloves to insure safety.
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Making the Stepping Stone Templates
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.
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.
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Using the Design Template
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.
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About Concrete
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.
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Preparing the Concrete Mix
There are several different types of concrete
mixtures that can be used to make concrete.
There is stepping stone concrete mix that is
available at craft stores and garden centers.
Ready-to-use concrete mix that comes in heavy
bags, used for walk ways or other small projects,
is another type and is available at home
improvement stores. And finally you can make
your own concrete mixture using Portland cement,
gravel, and sand.
Stepping Stone Concrete mix
Ready-to-use Concrete mix
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Preparing the Concrete Mix cont.
It is possible to have different colors of
concrete. Your local hardware store or home
improvement store will more than likely carry
concrete coloring. Depending on if you buy
liquid or powder coloring determines how you mix
the coloring in with the concrete. Read the
label for directions on how to mix the coloring
in with the concrete.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Preparing the Concrete mix cont.
In order for the concrete to be workable or to
have the right consistency, the pile of wet
concrete should be about ½ to ¾ the height of the
Styrofoam cup.
Height of cup at the beginning
50 of original height- workable
100 of original height- unworkable
25 of original height- unworkable
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Preparing the Concrete mix cont.
Once the mixture is just right, empty the mixture
into the mold. Remember that if you are using a
metal or non-flexible mold that the mold should
be sprayed with cooking spray or oil so the dry
stepping stone can be removed.
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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.
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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.
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Using the hammer to remove air bubbles by
hammering around the outside of the mold on the
board.
Shaking and jiggling the mold
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.
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Transferring Mosaic Pieces to the Wet Mix
Now that the wet mix is ready to decorate and you
have already planed out the design, the next
thing is to set it in stone. First, place the
mold template on the wet mix so that it is flat
and smooth. You are just placing the tesserae,
not embedding them. Embedding comes later.
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Transferring Mosaic Pieces to the Wet Mix
Then begin transferring the pieces of tesserae to
the stone. Start with the outside working around
the design and then finish up in the middle.
Make any adjustments of the pieces at this time
to ensure they are where they should be. Also be
sure the outline is smooth and the spacing is
consistent between the pieces. Use tweezers to
move the pieces to their final destination.
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Embedding the Mosaic Pieces
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.
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Embedding the Mosaic Pieces cont.
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.
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Finishing up with your Stepping Stone
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 wont bend it and mess it up.
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Finishing up with your Stepping Stone cont.
Now that your stone is dry, it is ready to be
removed from the mold and to be cleaned up.
Gently scrub the surface with a sponge, foam
brush, or paper towel to remove any hardened
concrete from the mosaic pieces.
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Finishing up with your Stepping Stone cont.
Finally, to finish up the stepping stone, take a
hammer and use it around the edges to knock off
any sharp points or rough places. This is
extremely important if the stone will be used to
walk on.
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The End