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General Directions:

Safety glasses and gloves are recommended when working with concrete. One 60-pound bag of concrete mix makes approximately 4-5 stepping stones. Never lift or carry a full mold by the edges. Always use a support board (½ or ¾ inch plywood about 16 inches by 24 inches or similar) when filling or moving full molds. Use approximately 9 dry level cups (2.6 liters) of concrete mix for one round stone. Approximately 18-20 oz. (568 ml) water per stone. Square stones require 1/3rd more concrete.

1. Oil mold lightly with concrete form oil or light machine oil before using. Use oil sparingly; there should be only a slight film on the molds and no pooling. Wipe out excess oil with a paper towel if needed. Clean your molds with mild soap and water after each use.

2. Place dry concrete mix in a bucket or wheelbarrow and add water a little at a time mixing thoroughly. Your mix should be very thick (similar to brownie mix). If color is desired, add powdered colorant after the concrete and water are mixed. Add liquid colorant before adding your water to your mix.

3. Place a support board between two chairs or sawhorses. Set your mold on your board and fill about a third full. Vigorously tap the bottom of the board with a mallet or hammer to remove any air bubbles trapped in the concrete. (Using a palm sander with the sandpaper removed also works well to vibrate the bubbles out of the wet concrete.) Tap until no new bubbles appear on the surface. Repeat filling and tapping until the mold is just about full. Leave at least 1/8 inch space at the top.

4. Using the support board to move your mold, slide the mold off someplace out of the direct sun and wind for drying. When the back can no longer be etched (scratched) easily with your thumbnail or a toothpick, it is ready to come out of the mold (usually about 24 to 36 hours).

5. To release the stepping stone from the mold, place the support board on top of the stone. Turn the board over while holding the stone in place. Push down gently on the mold until the stone is released onto the support board. Slide the stone back off of the support board and let dry for several more days before using..

What material are your molds made of?

Our standard molds are made of durable High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), which we have found to be the best choice to offer the consumer for both price and value. We expect you to get 18 to 24 uses under normal conditions.

The commercial grade molds are made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and are good for dozens and dozens of pours.

What is the thickness of the molds and how many times can I expect to reuse the molds?

The polystyrene is 048 or approximately 1/8th inch thick. The molds should be able to be reused with proper care and cleaning. We expect you to get at least 18 to 24 uses. Some people get a lot more, some don't.

These products are designed for the home handy man and are not designed for commercial use. We are trying to fill the retail consumer request for molds that can be used over a few times and are affordable to the average consumer.

The Garden Gator, Vine Man, Edgers, larger stones (like the fat cat, rooster, slate, kokopeli) and Wood Plank molds are considered commercial grade molds. The commercial molds are designed to be used dozens and dozens of times.

Do you have smooth molds (molds without designs) in round and octagonal shapes?

We do offer a plain 12" round mold and a plain 14" slate mold of irregular shape.

Do you make/sell yard ornament molds?

At this time, we only manufacture the stepping stones, Garden Gator, VineMan, and decorative patios.

Do you ship to Canada? What are the extra charges?

We ship to Canada fairly regularly. The only extra charges are those necessary for shipping fees. Currently, to ship 4 molds to Canada will run about $18.00 US (price subject to change without notice). We do require U.S. dollars for payment. There are no duty fees or tariffs on our end, but your postal carrier may have their own fees.

I would like to know more about the colorants. What tints are available? How many 60# bags of concrete can I tint with an 8 oz. jar?

Our concrete colorant comes in 3 colors: Red (Terracotta), Charcoal, and Brown. The 8-oz. jars are designed to color approximately 30 round stones. We recommend about 1/2 teaspoon color per stone mixture for a nice pastel finish. So you can use up to 3 teaspoons per 60# bag of ready mix.

If you want other colors, your local tile store should carry a wide variety of grout coloring. This will also work with concrete (just be sure you ask for outdoor colorant so it will not fade in the sunlight).

The color ratios are designed for average color depth, but they are not designed for real dark colors. If you add more colorant than 1 teaspoon per stone, we recommend adding more cement to your concrete mix to help offset the counter-reactions of the colorant in curing and strength. (Using too much colorant per cement ratio will cause the drying times to vary and the results may be streaked, leach a white substance (lime), cause cracking or actual breakage).

If you want really dark colors, please see our antiquing instructions below.

Antiquing and Darkening:

Mix = 1/4 teaspoon colorant with 1/2 cup water.

To Darken: Paint on surface of stone using a foam paintbrush. Let dry. Repeat as necessary until desired darkness is achieved.

To Antique: As soon as you paint on the dye (see above), wipe it off with a wet cloth or rag. Continue applying new dye and wiping it off until the desired antiquing effect is achieved.

I only want to make 1 or 2 stones, what do I do with the left over concrete?

First, do not mix up the entire bag of ready mix if you are not prepared to use it all.

One 60 lb bag of ready mix will pour:

5 Round Stones: 9 dry cups per stone
2 - 14" Irregular 14" Stones: 1/2 bag per stone
3 -16" Wood Planks: 1/3rd bag per stone

We do recommend mixing a little more than you think you will need especially if you are going to add colorant. The variations involved when coloring concrete have taught us that having a small amount left over (to throw away) is better than trying to match the color to make up the shortage.

Have an old cake pan or pie pan (pizza boxes work great too) ready to put the leftovers in and customize your own stone using small rocks, your child's handprint, or just write you favorite saying in it with a stick. Just remember to oil your mold before each use.

What is Mold Release?

Mold release is a lubricant that primarily helps keep the concrete from sticking to the mold after it is dried (cured). It also helps prevent air bubbles on the surface of the finished product if the proper solution is used (heavy oils retain air and may cause more bubbles).

How will my stones turn out if I don't use Mold Release? Can I use a substitute like vegetable oil instead of Mold Release?

Although some manufactures even suggest using vegetable oils (such as Crisco), we have found that diesel oil works even better and does not cause adverse reactions with the concrete. The mold release is designed to help release the cured concrete from the mold and to help eliminate air bubbles and pockets. Thicker oils (such as mineral oil, baby oil, or some vegetable oils) may actually cause air to be trapped in the concrete more than usual. They may also leave an oily residue on the surface making painting or antiquing later virtually impossible.

Sometimes I lose some of the design detail when the mold is released. What causes this? I think it breaks off. Would leaving it in the mold longer help?

By leaving the wet concrete in the mold for thirty hours or more, the curing process will help eliminate the loss of the smaller detail parts. If you can leave it in the mold even longer, the better it will come out. If you can scratch the back surface with your thumbnail or a wooden toothpick, it is not ready to be removed from the mold. Also, maybe you are not getting the mold release all over to help ensure non-sticking.

If I use standard Quikrete, there is gravel in the mix which would settle in the bottom of my mold where the pattern is. Am I missing something about how to pour and get the imprint of the mold without gravel in the bottom?

Our instructions specify that you pour the wet mix in until the mold is about 1/3rd full, bounce the molds to remove all the air bubbles, and repeat this filling and tapping process until nearly full.

The tapping or vibrating process moves the larger pieces of gravel and rocks towards the center of the mold and the fines (small rocks and sand) move down into the design. If enough tapping is done, there will be no rock pockets showing in your stones. (The big boys ---heavy construction-use vibrators to "flow" the concrete mix into tight spaces and eliminate rock pockets along the edges of their forms-check out your foundation wall or basement wall.) Our molds work using the same principle.

Can I add bits of colored glass or stones in the designs to get a different more colorful finish?

Only if you glue them down first. The tapping process to remove air bubbles also moves the rocks up into the concrete, so your glass or stones would disappear along with the concrete gravel. Use some sticky shelf or contact paper (two-sided tape also works), cut it out to fit the molds designs where you want the stones or glass, and then stick the glass or stone to the paper. After your stone has been removed from the mold and dried, then peel off the sticky paper to expose your colored glass. You may have to wash it off gently to remove any concrete residue from the extra pieces.

Concrete 101:

Concrete is made of sand, gravel, and cement. Cement is the glue that holds the sand and gravel together. The gravel (or aggregrate) is what provides the strength in concrete. Almost all local concrete contains Portland Cement (a specific brand of cement).

Mortor mix is just sand and cement. No gravel = no strength. It is generally used just to "glue" things together like bricks and stone.

If you want to make wall hangings or fence art, mortor mix is great.

If you want to actually walk on your stones, please use concrete mix.

Let us know if you have any other questions.