You don’t need to purchase expensive household items made from cement to use as decorative pavers, benches, or countertops. You can DIY many items using wood. Stay tuned to learn how you can create impressive concrete molds out of wood in an afternoon.  

Concrete Molds

Concrete molds are usually made of melamine, which you can find at a home improvement store in the shelving section. You can easily cut it down to size yourself or have an employee do it for you at the store. Melamine is relatively inexpensive, and you can sometimes reuse it to create a duplicate project if no pieces have been accidentally broken.   Here are the steps to making concrete out of molds.  

Step One

First, decide how long and wide you want your complete cement slab, as well as how thick you want it to be. Your home improvement or lumber store will have lumber that is as long as it is wide and thick, so get those ordered. (most home improvement stores have curbside pickup) Ensure that two of your boards are at least a few inches longer than the measurements for your finished slab. This is so you can attach the boards.  

Step Two

Next, divide the excess length of the longer boards in half and measure the distance from either end of each longboard. Mark these measurements using a pencil; they are points of attachment.  

Step Three

Next, ensuring that your boards are positioned lengthwise along the mark, line up the short edge of one of your boards with a pencil mark. Use a clamp to hold the two boards together and then with a hammer, plunge a straight row of three or four carpentry nails along the back of the longboard into the edge of the shortboard.  

Step Four

Now, attach the second shorter board to the other pencil mark on the longboard. Situate the remaining longer board so that the marks on it line up with the short detached edges of the smaller boards. Clamp it into place. Next, take a hammer and nail through the back of the longboard into the edges of each shorter board. Note, keep your lines of nails as straight as you can.  

Step Five

Nail a sheet of plywood over one open side of the mold, so the molded cement can be later removed — unless you’re pouring the cement onto a sidewalk or other site.    

Need Concrete Coating? 

Whether you’re using a concrete mold for paving stones or a sidewalk, for example, you’ll want to protect your concrete with some coating. Hard Rock Concrete Coatings has what you need to ensure oils, greases, and other chemicals can’t penetrate your concrete. Contact us to see your options that include colors to match your existing area of color or a new one altogether. Call us today to learn more.

Concrete Coating Services

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