How to Construct a Cement Driveway
- 1). Clear the area where you will be pouring your driveway of any debris, grass and other plants. Assemble your pour frame where it will be used; it is not stable enough to be moved after it is assembled.
- 2). Measure 1 foot in from each end of one of the longer boards, using the measuring tape, and mark these measurements with a pencil. Hold one of the shorter boards so that its short edge is against one of the pencil marks and runs perpendicular to the long board.
- 3). Clamp the two boards together and secure them by hammering a row of nails through the flat backside of the long board into the narrow edge of the short board. Place the second short board against the other pencil mark on the long board as you did the first, then clamp and nail it into place with wood clamps, duplex nails and a hammer.
- 4). Mark the second long board one foot in from each end as you did the first. Line this board up so that the pencil marks are against the unattached ends of the short boards. Clamp the board into place and then nail it to both of the shorter boards.
- 5). Place one of the 2-by-2-inch wooden hold pins every 2 feet around the outside perimeter of your finished frame, pushing them into the ground by hand, them hammering them until they are sunk halfway. Cut the top off each pin with a hacksaw so that it is even with the top of the frame and the entire frame is level. Now your frame will be steady while you pour.
- 6). Dampen the soil inside of the frame, using a garden hose. Use a long-handled tamp to flatten and level the soil.
- 7). Apply form release oil to the inside of your pour frame with a paintbrush so that the cement does not stick.
- 8). Fill 1/2 your frame with your prepared cement. Smooth the cement with a shovel so that it fills the frame well. Run a metal screed along the top of the cement to make sure it is level. Allow the cement to cure until the surface moisture has evaporated.
- 9). Fill the remainder of the frame with prepared cement. Carefully tamp the surface of the cement, then run the metal screed along the top of the driveway from one side of the frame to the other.
- 10
Cover the driveway with a plastic tarp and allow it to cure for a week. Once a day, remove the tarp and lightly spray the cement with water from a garden hose with a fine mister attachment, then re-cover it. This process ensures that it will cure evenly and be strong. - 11
Remove the tarp after the week is up, and disassemble the pour frame.