Concrere Mold DIY Sold 2 pcs Round Edge Stone Concrete MOLDS Log Edging Border Mould ABS Plastic #BR11

I'm writing this after making three batches of stones. 1. A 60-pound bag of Sakrete will make three of these stones. That's with the concrete mix not quite to the top of the form, down maybe 1/4" from absolutely full. Which is okay, they are landscape stones and no need for piano building precision. According to this, 20 pounds of dry concrete mix per form, an 80-pound bag of Sakrete would do four - but I don't want to handle the 80-pound bags. I'm not a spring chicken anymore, and while it would be convenient to make four at a time (I did buy four forms) that's just a bit more than I want to lift off the ground and into the wheelbarrow. 2. When you mix the concrete in your wheelbarrow it takes about 2.5 to 3 quarts of water to get a good flowable mix, for a 60lb bag of Sakrete. The thing about mixing concrete is it is super easy to overshoot with the water, so sneak up to it. Use 2 quarts at first and then gauge from there. Watch out though as it seems like one tablespoon too much water and suddenly it's concrete soup. 3. You want a flowable mix, but you don't want soup. The wetter the concrete is, the weaker it is. Less water is more strength. You want to find a balance between workability and strength, and for me that is just shy of 3 quarts to a 60-pound bag. An 80-pound bag would need just shy of 4 quarts. 4. These forms are made of durable plastic. The first few stones will pop right out of the forms because they are new and slick. After that the inside of the forms will start getting scratched up and over time will be harder to release. Spraying them with cooking spray before adding concrete is a good idea. It only takes a little and it helps the concrete release, giving you longer life of your forms and less hassle for you. 5. Concrete needs 28 days to gain full strength, that's industry standard for concrete construction. At a minimum I leave the concrete in the forms 3 days before removing the mold - but that depends on warm weather, in cold weather I leave them longer - and do not let wet concrete freeze, ruins it. That's, to me, is very bare minimum curing time, and if you aren't super gentle you can still get a broken stone. They will break in the center of the length. But that's okay too, they are landscape stones, and you can just put the broken ends together when laying them for that "rustic" look. If it's important to you mix up some masonry mortar and patch them together after laying them down. On the other hand, you can insert a piece of cardboard at the center of the length and deliberately make two shorter stones so that the "break line" isn't as jagged looking. The stones will come out of the forms a greenish color, kind of olive green, but with sun exposure they will turn a light gray, and if you get hot sun for a season, they can turn a very light grayish white. 6. If you want them to be super sturdy, add some reinforcing in. A bent piece of #3 rebar would be great for instance. Two would be even better. Depends on your desires. I am not reinforcing mine. 7. Immediately after moving the concrete from your wheelbarrow into the forms, wash your wheelbarrow out, and your tools. Concrete has ruined many a good wheelbarrow by leaving it in. It may seem like only a thin layer and no problem, but each time you mix concrete the new concrete bonds to the old concrete and that layer gets thicker and thicker, and brother let me tell you, it's a beast to get out of there when it has dried. Same with your hoe, shovel, and trowel. Clean them immediately before the concrete even thinks of getting hard. This goes for the forms as well, get them cleaned out completely and right away. Otherwise, the forms will go downhill very fast. If you happen to have concrete left over and dump it out, use the jet spray on your hose nozzle and break that pile of concrete up right away, or you'll have concrete cow patties to deal with. 8. This one is super important: As soon as the concrete is hard enough to hold the shape, take a nail and scratch the date and your name or at least initials in the bottom of each one. Time flies. Someday someone will pick those up to move then and see when they were made and by whom. If that is one of your distant descendants, they will treasure it. If a total stranger, they will be amused to see it. 9. As of this writing the cost of a 60lb bag of Sakrete at Home Depot is $4.50 per bag. So (not counting taxes) each stone will have a cost of $1.50. That is far cheaper than I've found them ready-made anywhere. The trade-off of course is the labor and time. If you have the time and the health, then it's a great deal. I could amortize the cost of the forms into that if I knew how many iterations I would get, but I'm sure it will be a negligible factor. If you don't have the time or health, you can buy any kind of landscape stone - but it's going to cost you. That also depends on how many you need and if you already have the tools for working the concrete. If you only need a few, and have no tools, then it's going to be less expensive to buy the ready-made ones. 10. These are good forms, and they arrived surprisingly quite quickly considering they came from Ukraine.

items arrived several days before expected deliver so seller gets an a+ from me. this mold is easy to use, unmolding them are easy, a few quick taps with the rubber mallet i use for cement molds does the trick, no coating of the mold itself is necessary, at least for me! the item does lose 1 star because they do not sit flush against the next. while is is a small detail it loses a star. also buyers should be aware these ship from the Ukraine. that fact does not bother me but that is why the shipping takes up to 30 days

These molds are fantastic, producing impressive results even when I made mistakes. I recommend using Pam Cooking Spray; it worked well, though the concrete did end up smelling like butter (an unintended outcome). Experiment with different ratios of concrete and water. I opted for 60-pound bags from Lowe’s for ease of handling, though 80-pound bags are also available. Aim for a wetter mix, but not overly so, to achieve a smoother finish. Once you perfect the mix, the process becomes quite straightforward.

These are very cost effective and workable molds. One 50lb bag of quickcrete or equivalent (I use fast setting Sakrete) fills three molds nicely, Mix your crete smooth, not runny and work quickly to fill the molds. Use spay vegitable oil to coat the molds for a release agent. I am very pleased with the end results.

These have saved us so much $. We add stain to concrete. Look beautiful!

I purchased these 4 years ago and they are as good as the day I received them. This last week I poured 10 sets for five new trees I planted.

Took my time and created the stone edging. I would recommend putting in a piece of rebar in each form for strength. Longer they dry, the lighter they get. Kept in the garage during drying. When all set and done, treated with a water sealer.

It came on time, very happy with the quality