Use Saran Wrap To Make Budget-Friendly Pavers That Rival Cobblestone

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With the right features, your front yard can easily kill two birds with one stone: boost curb appeal, while providing a functional space for recreation and relaxation. Among the many low-maintenance ways to landscape your front yard available, one way that's particularly popular among many homeowners is the use of pavers. These solid concrete blocks are a versatile hardscaping element that can be used on driveways, patios, walkways, and even in garden beds. And guess what? With a simple DIY, you can make your own pavers, and it'll cost much less than going the store-bought route. TikTok creator @lisakamtansy shows how she uses Saran Wrap and concrete mix to create uniquely-shaped pavers that rival cobblestones.

Sure, there are different ways to make DIY pavers. However, the big advantage of plastic wrap is that it'll save you the cost of store-bought molds. Your creation process will also be much faster because Saran Wrap offers an abundance of "molds" you can use all at once. That means you can create several pavers at once instead of working in batches with only a handful of molds. And because it's malleable, plastic wrap lets you shape the pavers to fit neatly next to one another before they dry and cure, resulting in a truly custom walkway.

Besides quick-setting concrete mix and Saran Wrap (or any other heavy duty plastic wrap), you'll need basic tools including a trowel, shovel, a power drill with a paddle attached, a utility knife, and a bucket plus water for the mixing. Gather together all the materials and let's get to work.

To start things off, mix the concrete with water in the bucket using the power drill. Follow the instructions on the packaging for accurate measurements. But if you're making your own from scratch, use the 4-2-1 rule for mixing concrete. Note that the amount of concrete mix needed will depend on the size of your walkway or the area to be paved. Next, set up a simple production line so you can lay the Saran Wrap out on a flat surface. This could simply be a long wooden board leftover from your last woodwork project placed on the ground. This will help you wrap several cobblestones at once, saving time and effort.

@lisakamtansy

Prefabricate your own cobblestone for a creative walkway 😁 #concrete #saranwrap #cobblestone #walkway

♬ original sound – Lisa Kamtansy

Proceed to roll out a long sheet of Saran Wrap over your working area. Next, use your trowel to heap small mounds of wet concrete on the Saran Wrap with some spacing in between. Size them per your preference. You can mix both small and larger stones for a more creative pattern, and for extra large pavers, use garbage bags instead of the plastic wrap.

With a utility knife, cut the Saran Wrap to separate each individual heap of concrete mix. You'll then wrap each bundle by gathering the edges of the plastic and twisting them together to secure the concrete inside. The last step is the process of laying down the wrapped bundles of concrete.

To properly lay the pavers, first excavate the soil where you want the walkway. Compact and level the soil using a hand tamper. You can spread a layer of sand about an inch or so to make the base even more level. Now start packing the pavers closely together one by one. This is the fun part as you are free to arrange the Saran-wrapped bundles as creatively as you can to form unique shapes. Whatever layout you choose, make sure you flatten the tops before the concrete sets so they're comfortable to walk on, especially barefoot. Then leave everything to dry.

The original creator burned away the plastic after the concrete mix dried. However, we would recommend just peeling off the plastic from each paver to avoid releasing potentially harmful fumes from the burning plastic. Finally, fill up the spaces left in between the pavers using sand. This will allow for easy drainage of rainwater which will prevent pooling.

Now that you've fabricated your own one-of-a-kind, inexpensive paver cobblestones, don't stop here. You can take things up a notch by dyeing the concrete (at the concrete mixing stage) using Ninesung's Concrete Color Pigment Powder. Alternatively, paint the DIY cobblestone pavers once they're completely dry, draw interesting shapes, or write something on them to add a fun personal touch to your yard. Another fun idea is to put hand or foot prints on the cobblestones before they dry.