Concrete Pavers Guide

Everyone knows the value of concrete pavers – it has been well discussed on numerous pages on this site, for example. However, the expense of buying these pavers may be prohibitive for some homeowners. This is especially true for those who need a small amount for a small project, not enough to buy an entire pallet and have too much to spare. Luckily, for these homeowners and contractors there is a solution: paver molds.

If you purchase or make your own concrete paver molds, you can make your own pavers at a price lower than if you bought! In addition, if you add coloring to the paving stones as you make them, you can have a variety of colors to match or rival those that you can buy commercially. Thus, you can get the benefits of pavers – strength, durability, design options, and beauty – without having to buy a huge amount and take on the expense.

Note, before we continue, that making pavers is viable for small projects only. If you are doing a large project, such as a patio, walkway, driveway, and the like, you will be better off buying the pavers, as you know you are getting quality, regularity, and volume for a good price.

Concrete Paver Molds for Sale

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of making the molds yourself, you can buy them pre-made. This is especially useful if you want funky or unique molds that would be difficult for you to make yourself. Look online for the paver molds available through both companies and individuals selling them. Sites likes craigslist and Ebay are a good start, and you can also check out dedicated paver mold sites. You can also look at home improvement stores and  masonry supply stores. The cost of these molds will depend on the material they are made from and their complexity. You should expect to spend $5 to $40 per mold, or more. If you buy multiple packs of molds so that you can mass produce your pavers, expect to pay more total, but you’ll also pay less per mold. You can also get the tools, colors, and other materials you’ll need at these sites, or you can buy them at home improvement stores or mason supply yards.

How to Make Paver Molds

No matter what you use the pavers for, the same mold will work for all. Thus, if you want to make a patio, a patio pavers mold will also make pavers suitable for driveways, walkways, pool decks, and so on. Making them is also cheap and rather easy, but you’ll have to be careful to do the job right. You’ll need to get half inch thick wood planks and 1 and 1/4 inch screws to assemble the molds. The length of the wood strips will depend on the dimensions of the pavers you want in length, width, and thickness. Calibrate your molds based on the specifications of the pavers. Its best to match the specs of pavers from manufacturers, just to be sure of their strength and durability, so get your hands on a sample to match.

Let’s say your brick will be 6″ by 6″ and 2″ high. Cut two strips of wood 6 inches long and two inches wide and two strips 7″ long and 2″ high. Then assemble the four strips into a ‘square,’ almost like a 2″ thick picture frame, with the 6″ x 6″ measured on the inside of the square. Use screws to hold the square together. Mass produce these and you’re ready to go! Use spray lacquer to make sure that the pavers will not stick to the inside of the square when they are done.

Simply lay the molds on top of  a bed of sand, fill them with concrete, and allow them to dry as explained on the instructions on the concrete. Don’t forget to add concrete to the mix before you pour the concrete if desired. When they are done, remove the mold, and then lay them as you’d like!

Don’t forget that you can experiment with different sizes once you get good at making squared cement paver molds. Note that if you have access to the material, you could try making silicon molds that will let you get many different unique shapes and styles of paver.

Using Paver Molds

Note that making tons of pavers will take a long time due to the wait time between first pouring and drying – which could be 24 to 48 hours. Thus, if you can only make 24 6″x6″ pavers at a time, this means you can only create enough material to cover 6 square feet in a 24 hour period. This is why if the project is large, you’re better off buying pavers unless you have the patience and resource to make them yourself. However, making your own pavers is viable for smaller projects that only require a few pavers, such as for garden applications.