DIY Pathway of Cedar Stepping Stones and River Rock
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| Wood and stone path over old sidewalk, cedar stepping stones and river rock |
The old concrete path across the front of the house to the backyard is seldom used. It was in need of decoration.
To make the stepping 'stones' of wood, we used 2 x 6 cedar, cut into 11.5 inch boards. This made 2 stepping stones per 8 foot plank. Each of the four cut boards was attached to each other with wooden dowels and wood glue for external use. This created a square. The stepping stones were protected with a wood penetrating oil based stain in a natural cedar tone. They were placed flat directly on the old but very level concrete sidewalk and then surrounded by 1.5 inch round river rocks.
Before laying the river rock, we placed landscaping fabric at the edge of the sidewalk and onto the garden, and covered it with rocks that met the cedar bark mulch.
The main sidewalk to the house from the street is newly poured concrete. We also have a back alley garage and entrance. So...this stepping stone pathway is almost never used. The wood and pebble combination would not be practical in a high traffic area, in my opinion.
Problems: - a lawnmower won't transport over the path easily, without moving the rocks around.
-the pebbles move around and are not easy to walk on (maybe rocks are too big?)
-don't know how durable the wooden stepping stones are - will the dowels hold? (Might have to re-enforce them somehow)
-don't know about traction and safety in winter, or ease of shoveling snow (might have to put something non-slip under them)
-the stepping stones took a long time to make (maybe flagstone would be better?)
Pros:- easy and fast to lay down over an old concrete sidewalk
-beautiful to look at - zen, natural feeling.
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| DIY pathway from stones and wood |
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| the old, seldom used sidewalk to the backyard |
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| A cedar platform under the child's bench |
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| Cedar wooden stepping stone |
