Materials you'll need:

· Cement
· Sand and gravel OR concrete mix
· 2m square board (or barrow)
· Timber for formwork
· Rubble· Heavy plank
· Wooden pegs
· Plastic sheets or sacking

Tools you'll need:

· Cement mixer
· Surface roller
· Wheelbarrow
· Wooden float
· Shovel
· Steel finishing float
· Larry Hoe
· Stiff broom
· Hammer
· Finishing tools
· Saw
· Garden hose

Concrete contains four ingredients: the grey powder we call cement (now also sold in white and pigmented forms) the aggregate which gives the material bulk and strength, sand, and water which blends with the concrete to form a sort of glue which binds the pieces of aggregate into the mix. Aggregate consists of coarse particles. For small jobs, you can buy bags of concrete mix to which you just add water.
For most purposes, a satisfactory mix is a 1:2:4 recipe, which contains one part cement, two parts of sand and four parts of aggregate.
All the materials must be kept separate until needed and stored in a clean, dry place. Store bags of cement or ready-mixed material off the ground on a board' across bricks. Only order cement when you are ready to do the job as it does not store well for long periods.

How to mix concrete.

For small jobs it is economical to use bags of ready mixed concrete, which only need the addition of water. It is still important to mix the dry ingredients thoroughly so that the sand and aggregate are well coated with the grey cement, before adding water as directed on the product.
If mixing your own concrete, make a mixing board out of an old piece of plywood about 2m square, or use the tray of a wheelbarrow.
Measure the aggregates first, then sand and measure the cement on top. Mix very thoroughly until the colour is even all through. Make a well in the centre of the pile and gently sprinkle water on then shovel some of the dry mixture on top. Keep mixing until the cement is fairly stiff. It should retain the marks of a shovel drawn over it. If the marks level out quickly, the mixture is too wet. They will be indistinct if the mixture is dry and crumbly.
You can save time and work by hiring a concrete mixer from a hire company. If mixing by machine, use the same proportions of dry ingredients but you will generally need less water. Add and mix the dry ingredients in the machine, then add some of the water by hose into the machine. Mix for about two minutes then check the mixture and add more water until the mixture is workable as already described.
If you have a large amount of concreting to do, you are probably better to prepare the foundations yourself and have the concrete delivered to the site in a concrete mixer. It is then poured into your formwork and all you have to do is level and finish it.

Laying concrete.

Concrete can be laid straight onto the ground, provided the soil is well compacted. Remove any grass and weeds and roll or tamp the soil well down to compact it. If the surface is soft, put down a layer of rubble first and compact it­. If only parts of the surface are soft, fill these sections with rubble and compact the whole surface to the desired depth.
Now you will need Formwork timber framing to keep the concrete in shape until it sets hard. This can be made from old timber boards held in place by wooden pegs driven into the ground. If laying a large area of concrete, you must also allow for an expansion joint compound in the concrete every three metres.
Once the forms are in place, pour the mixture in as accurately as possible to cut down handling. Spread the mix evenly using a flat shovel or hoe. Once spread, the concrete is tamped down with a heavy plank or screed pulled across the surface. Use a plank, which spans the work from side to side. Start at one end and pull the plank across the surface with a back-and-forth sawing action.
The concrete will now have sheen on it from water on the surface. When this disappears, use a wooden or metal float to smooth the surface. Move the float in an arc-like motion across the surface. This levels and pushes down, any aggregate at the surface.

If even smoother finishing is desired, wait until the sheen disappears again then work the surface again with a steel-finishing float. Hold the tool at an angle to avoid digging the edges into the new surface.
For a rougher surface that is also nonslip, instead of finishing the surface with a float, pull a stiff bristled broom across the surface.

Curing.

Cover the new concrete with sacking or plastic sheeting and allow to cure for at least a week to 10 days. Each day, remove the cover and hose the surface with a fine mist of water then cover up again. After about 10 days, the concrete can take light loads but should not be used for heavy loads for up to three weeks.