Using concrete to help you with a landscaping project in your yard is a good way to balance your vegetation with pavement and provide a usable surface to improve your property and its value. Do some research to help you utilize tactics to make your concrete work more simple and your finished work look its best. Here are some recommendations for you to make your concrete installation job easier and more successful.

Know How to Mix Your Batches

When you are handling your own concrete work in your yard, buying bagged concrete dry mix can make your project pretty simple. You can purchase as many bags as you need to pour your concrete product so you can mix it up as much as you need without creating too much waste or giving the concrete time to start curing before you can pour it into the forms. So, with your bags of concrete, use a five-gallon bucket or a wheelbarrow to use as a mixing container. 

If you are using a bucket method, place the concrete into the bucket and add the right amount of water, combining the mixture together with a trowel until it is all fully mixed up. If you use a wheelbarrow, place the dry mix on one side and add the water to the other. Using a garden rake, slowly pull sections of the dry mix into the water to combine it into a smooth mixture.

A concrete project where you are using concrete forms to mold the product into blocks or stamped stones, add a plasticizer to the concrete when you mix it up. This additive will make the concrete flow more easily into all the areas of the molds you are filling, which will ensure you don't end up with bubbles or voids in the form.

Order Ready-Mix Concrete

When you have a larger concrete job for your yard or you don't want to worry about getting your concrete mixed to the right consistency, you can hire a professional concrete order. They will mix your concrete appropriately to avoid too wet or too dry of a mixture, which can lead to your concrete cracking prematurely or including air pockets.

One of the hardest parts of ordering your concrete ready mix is determining how much concrete you need exactly. But a concrete professional can help you calculate your needs to accurately estimate the right amount for the project. Just be sure you keep an eye on the weather and prepare for any extra protection you need to apply to your curing concrete or additives to the mixture to help it cure.

Contact a supplier of ready-mix concrete to learn more.