10 Easy Concrete Projects You Can Do in a Day

Stylish, strong, and versatile, concrete excels in household projects ranging from exterior walkways to sleek, modern furnishings. And yet, even handy homeowners are often intimidated by DIY concrete projects because they fear a demanding installation process or prolonged curing time. Rest assured, not all concrete projects move at the pace of molasses! In fact, when you enlist a fast-setting Quikrete product in your next home project, you can achieve beautiful and lasting results in as little as one day. Click through to view the endless project possibilities—then whiz through your own Quikrete creations in record time!

This content has been brought to you by Quikrete. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com.

By Manasa Reddigari | Updated Aug 25, 2017 03:44 PM

Sitting Pretty

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Sitting Pretty

Who knew? When you pour Quikrete 5000 Concrete Mix into a five-gallon bucket, add water, and insert three precut wooden dowels, you'll end up with a compact backless stool with a concrete top—an undeniably stylish seating option for any room—in just 20 hours. After the concrete top has been freed from the surprisingly simple mold, sand the edges for comfier seating and a more polished appearance. Even out the legs, if necessary, by slipping copper pipe caps and a few washers onto the feet of the stool. If you're feeling really adventurous, you can even dip the legs of the stool in your favorite shade of paint to lend a punch of color and visual variety to your sitting area. You can craft your own custom stool pretty quickly by following this project tutorial.

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You've Got Mail

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You've Got Mail

Whether you're replacing an old mailbox or installing a brand-new one, setting the post in Quikrete will keep it standing steady in rain or shine. Even better? With this fast and fun curb-appeal project, you can altogether skip the ordeal of mixing cement. Simply drive the mailbox post into a hole filled with Quikrete All-Purpose Gravel, then top with Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete and water. Allow four hours of drying time before attaching the mailbox. See for yourself how quickly this project comes together by watching the video walk-through.

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On the Hook

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On the Hook

Faceted shelf brackets and hooks are grabbing attention everywhere for their striking geometric design. Fortunately, you don't have to be a modern Michelangelo to re-create these mod-art brackets in your own home. First, print out the template, glue it to cardboard, and fold it into a mold. Mix up some Quikrete 5000 Concrete Mix, fill the mold, then let it cure for 20 hours. Remove the hook from the mold and mount it to the wall to hang coats, hats, or scarves, or use it as a picture ledge for artwork, or rest a shelf on a pair of brackets. Watch the stunning storage solution take shape here.

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It's a Cakewalk

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It's a Cakewalk

Have you been shying away from building the walkway of your dreams because of the time and labor required? With Quikrete Walkmaker, you can create a perfect patterned walkway or garden path without buying or laying a single brick or stone paver. Just position the reusable plastic form on level ground, fill its openings with Quikrete Crack Resistant Concrete, then lift the form and move on to the next section. Because the mold doesn't need to be in place during the curing process, you can continue building out a path until it's complete. Plus, Quikrete will automatically mold to the surface contours of the ground below it, leaving you with a stunning, impact-resistant patterned walkway—no do-overs or touch-ups required!

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Raise the Bar

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Raise the Bar

Nothing weathers everyday spills or holds steady under the weight of your favorite bottled brews quite like a concrete-topped bar. Re-create this entertainment essential for a fraction of the cost of a store-bought design. The concrete countertop requires just a DIY form made from melamine boards, Quikrete Countertop Mix, and rebar for reinforcement. While the concrete cures, follow this comprehensive tutorial to assemble a sturdy base for the bar using iron pipe flanges and plywood. Even though the concrete countertop itself takes at least 48 hours to fully cure, you can complete all of the work in a day! When the concrete is ready, you can simply remove it from the melamine form, secure it to the plywood, and start serving up drinks.

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Home-Court Advantage

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Home-Court Advantage

Doesn't your little LeBron James deserve his own basketball hoop out by the driveway or back patio? If you use Quikrete All-Purpose Gravel, the project takes just an afternoon—with zero mixing required. Start by digging a hole for the pole, and filling up to six inches of the hole with gravel. Set the pole into the hole, fill it with Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete (as with the mailbox project), and saturate the concrete mix with water. In four hours, you'll be ready to string up the hoop and start your game.

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Inner Light

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Inner Light

With Quikrete and this creative how-to, you can grab a few plastic bottles from the trash and use them to make luminous (and low-cost!) pendant lamps that will spice up any interior. Nestle a smaller water bottle inside the top of a two-liter soda bottle to construct the form, then thread a metal tube through the caps of both bottles to create room for the wiring. Mix up some Quikrete 5000 Concrete Mix, fill the cavity between the bottles, and let the concrete cure for 20 hours. Then, all that's left to do is wire the lamp, and you'll have brightened up your home—and your day.

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Borderline Beauty

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Borderline Beauty

Skip the call to the landscaper and create professional-quality poured concrete landscape borders with your own two hands, a bag of Quikrete, and this project tutorial. Recruit a garden hose to lay out the desired contour of the border, then excavate the border with a shovel, and anchor hardwood or plywood curved forms along the outer edges of the border. After that, it's all easy going: Trowel Quikrete Crack Resistant Concrete into the cavity between the forms, and your afternoon of work is done. Give the concrete a chance to cure on its own for the next few days, then unveil your pristine landscape border and instantly boost your home's curb appeal.

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Melamine Makeover

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Melamine Makeover

Turning a chintzy melamine-topped end table into a playful concrete-topped accent piece is simple when you mobilize Quikrete for the job. Start by making a mold for the concrete by attaching vinyl trim around the edge of the melamine tabletop using screws. Prepare Quikrete Countertop Mix, pour it into the mold, then let the concrete cure for at least 20 hours before removing the vinyl trim and lifting out the concrete tabletop. Once you've finished up the instructions in this video, just swap out the old melamine top for your new concrete creation.

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Concrete Jungle

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Concrete Jungle

Whether you're after increased backyard privacy or simply want an enclosed bed to protect your delicate plantings, a garden wall offers an elegant and economical solution. With Quikrete, constructing this exterior feature can be a one-man job that requires only two steps: stacking blocks, then applying stucco. Simply lay a base row of blocks on a foundation of Quikrete 5000 Concrete Mix, then stack the remaining rows of the wall with dry blocks. (Add a couple of extra rows of cinder block in front, and you can even turn your garden wall into a garden bench—it's that easy!) Dampen the wall, then trowel on Quikwall Surface Bonding Cement to each side of the wall and add some decorative texture. To perfect your technique, check out the video demonstration.

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