How to DRY POUR CONCRETE SIDEWALK 

After doing some research and watching some videos on dry pour. It doesn’t appear to be as strong as the old fashion way of doing it. It seems that it doesn’t incorporate all the ingredients of the mix so you get a more solid and structurally sound product.

In March of last year (2023) I wanted to pour a 3' x10' entry pad to my new garage. While searching RU-vid for various techniques, the dry pour technique from this channel came up. The process looked simple and effective so I decided to try it. Everything went exactly as Jim and Lydia explained. I am happy to report that a year and two months later, the concrete pad I poured using Jim and Lydia's method still looks as good as the day it first cured. Thank you Jim and Lydia!

Worried about cracks and chips but chose to do a dry pour? Good luck

Man your one lucky dude to have such a good helper and doesn’t even have a smirk on her face while helping.

Tried dry pour because of your videos and now, if I'm the one who is doing the job, I will never go back to the old way again. Thanks for adding all the improvements in techniques. And thanks for giving Americans something to agree about. 😊

I grew up on base in the jungles of Panama. Being a bold adventurer I spent a lot of time exploring in the jungles. Once I came upon a couple of 20' diameter waist deep flat bottomed what must have been W.W. I I anti aircraft gun revetments. The walls had the appearance of tightly stacked burlap bags but they were solid concrete. My father didn't believe me when I described them. Now the mystery is solved. This was in the dry pour family of techniques. I had just been keeping it in my unsolved X files. Just when you think you might know too much you find out you don't know something like this. I think I also learned I should have picked a Louisiana girl to marry ! Best wishes and Blessings to both of you, and thanks for the video. Now I'm trying to invent something I need to do a dry pour on for ! Haha

Your videos taught me how to do this on my own. Poured my first about 5x3 slab today. Followed all of your steps. Thank you! I'm a fan now!

PERFECT TIMING! I am about to tackle my first dry pour and it is a sidewalk!!!! Been thinking about it ever since the first dry pour vid you guys put out. Keep your fingers crossed. 68 Year old is about to make a heck of a mess. If it goes good - I'M crediting you guys. If it tanks - I'M blaming you guys :)

This is exactly what I needed even though at the time I didn’t know I needed it. I have an old flat rock sidewalk out front that just doesn’t mix well at all with my wife’s walker. This will be a perfect fix.

I used to dry pour fence posts for years. Recently I started mixing with water first and the difference in strength is profound. After one day it is hard as a rock. The dry set is basically gravel even after putting water on top.

I recently did this for a small pad for my outdoor grill and smoker.now im ready for a bigger project.i see many guys debunking dry pouring saying its not as strong yada yada but i dont plan on parking a tank or dump truck on it.perfect for my application. Good job guys.my back started hurting watching you guys pick up those pavers lol

Y’all are killing it!!

It was so cool to see you both doing a dry pour again. That is what led me to your channel years ago. The OG's in dry.pour. Great video, as always. Till next video.

years ago I wet poured a pad for my air compressor behind my shop and you can tell I poured it! Last week I used yalls method for my generac pad and it looks professional! only thing I did different is I used a small foam roller, instead of a nap roller. the finish came out slick and as I had to drill into it for the lag bolts I can say its very sound!

It is good to see that rain did not wash or beat spots into concrete. Looks amazing!

Thank you fir sharing . I can tell when a couple really like to give back . Blessing over yalls whole vision in both lives .

YOU TWO WORKING TOGETHER GREAT TEAM .GOOD LUCK BE SAFE

Exceptional work from The Dynamic Cajuns; Captain Croc and The Lovely Lydia!

That is one beauty of a sidewalk! Nice work as always.

Hey guys glad to see you’re back I’ve missed you👋🏾🙏🏾

You guys did an awesome Job. Steve Carney had actually commented on a dry poor we did last year for our 2 - 10 by 16 pads for our min barns and told us about your video's. Excellent work!! We were one of those situations where a truck wouldn't get to the location. Cheers ~ Bert & Cindy

Hey Jim and Lydia, I know y'all are in South Louisiana next to the Texas border and I hope those flood waters effecting Texas aren't effecting y'all. We're praying for the folks in Texas but saying a special prayer that our Cajun Country family is well and safe.

Thank y’all for showing this

THANKS FOR SHARING THIS TECHNIQUE!

What I love the most about y'alls videos, is how the two of you, work together.. I feel like you two could accomplish anything together.. no matter whatcha do.. truly appreciate all your shares 🙏🏻

The first starter dry pour project for me was a simple 3-slab pad for the RV. Just enough to keep the the tandem wheels and tongue out of the dirt and keep RV level. Two 5'x2' pads and a 2'x2' pad. I did add some wire mesh since it was going ot be holding over 10k lbs. Followed your plan to a T and had awesome results. I really appreciated the material calculator, which was spot on. Pads came out great and have had the RV roll on/off quite a few times since placed. No issues at all. Cajun Country Living for the win!! BTW, that new sidewalk will hold up just fine for the occasional "Rapid Projectile Bang Noise Making Hootis" storage container delivery.

We did 12 4x4 pads for our Patio and everything still looks beautiful. Thanks guys saved us a lot of money 💰

Found your channel from your original dry pour videos because I want to do exactly this! Putting in a sidewalk myself. Thanks!

The sidewalk looks great. I am sure Jim's parents appreciate it. Thank you for showing our dry pour. Have a great week.

This method seems to be a time and money saver for the diy community…would love to see a strength test of a cured 3.5 inch thick section compared to a wet pour concrete similar to other tests I’ve seen on RU-vid to see if you’re watering technique improves the strength compared to the the brittle nature of the dry pour concrete in other test videos. If you could do like a 1sqft and 3.5 inches thick test slab of each and let them cure and then cut them in half and do some strength tests that would be a great video to see if your dry pour technique produces stronger strength concrete.

Thanks for the info.

Awesome! Thanks for your time and the video

Im glad i found u guys. Never heard of dry pour until your channel.im looking for a reason to pour concrete now lol.hard work but i like the look of fresh concrete.

Yaa! More Concrete! Exposed aggregate looks so nice!

You two have some real skills. Another great video

What you guys do is amazing. Appreciate your knowledge and you sharing.

Thanks for another dry pour. Always makes it easier to do it myself in the future. -- Cheers

Just learned something new. Thank you guys. I’m going to put that process to work for me. Thanks again ✌️

You guys really mastered this technique. Impressive!!

Great job, and enjoyed as always!!

You guys are the OGs of dry pour concrete. Love it!!

Tku 👍 Now i know i can do my Back yard myself ❤🎉 You answered all my questions About doing this project I really appreciate you both 🤝🌿🕊👍

Y’all made a believer out of me! Can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks guys!

As always great video!!!

New sub here hello from down under remote rural off grid , have started concreting my workshop floor never though that I don't need to add rebar as only I will be walking on it and it will only take the weight of tools like table saws and non bench mounted tools ect. Have been making batches up in wheel barrow so basically laying by hand no mixer, 2 day I learnt something new dry pour thank you Jim and Lydia much appreciate your time and effort not just laying the walkway but the time you took to edit and upload. @ 24:49 you have picked up a shovel like that before , thought I was the only one 2 do that , rakes are more dangerous lol. But I digress have been told I do so occasionally, being this far off the grid delivered concrete truck cement is as dear as poison like most other things out here, like yourself and your lady we think outside the box.

Have an awesome day guys love to watch each new project you BOTH work together Keith from Canada

Thank You. The presentation is very informative. You guys are a great team! Stay Safe!

Another great video. Thank you, guys. Love the shoval pick up at the end. 👍👍

I dump a couple of bags in post holes with the posts. The dry mix wicks enough moisture out of the soil that even in the driest conditions they’ll set in just a few days.

Works good for putting post in the ground, I add water into the hole just to moisten the soil and then add post, and of course dry concrete. Works really good, nice video!

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing

Once again, a great dry pour!❤

and yet another fine job you two rock i have done several of these pours since i watched your first vid so easy and they last i live in nebraska so we have heat and cold from 100 degrees down to -30 still no problems thank you so much for teaching me this idea

Wow yall worked hard on that,bet yalls parents will enjoy it for years to come. I want to do that in an area thats 4x4. I was going to put ornamental rocks in but when I saw ur old video on dry pour I was so amazed how it could be done. I haven't done it yet,but will in near future. When it comes to posts for fencing I pour water in the hole of the posts,then dry cement then water again. Pack it down get rid of air bubbles,and add dirt on top. I've done it for years and are so sturdy and strong. Anyways,cost so much cheaper than wet,time and muscles. Great video!

Great informative video!

Sidewalk looks great! Thanks for the great dry pour videos! Cant wait to get another couple dry pour projects done here at our homestead! Thanks for showing off our job ❤❤ :D

thats the way to do it,i have a long driveway in the woods with rock and it gets washed away so instead of mixing concrete in a wheel barrel then taking it and filling in the holes and low spots i waited till it rained a ton and then just dumped a bag of dry concrete in my wheel barrel and went out there with a small bucket to skoop it up and sprinkle it in the holes and 3 bags went a long way.i have 3 more bags and waiting for ti to rain when were not going to be driving for a few days.super easy and you get a lot more holes filled in.

came here for the pretty girl, was not disappointed! and learned about dry pour concrete! so a win win for me! ty from Holland

Looks great. Nice video thank you.

You guys are so awesome. Your parents will love this.

you guys turned me on to dry pour last year, and thank goodness!! I've saved so much money doing it myself and I thank you !!!

I absolutely love watching these dry pour projects. I'll bet Jim's mom is happy. Kudos to all the people who did this, and posted their project photos. Especially Ted & Jenna, and Cody & Summer. I follow them too. I have yet to get my helpers to devote a day to get my walk to the shed, but maybe one day soon this summer. Thanks for another great video! Hugs!! 😊

Hi Lydia and Jim, great to see y'all again. I really enjoyed this video and appreciate the instruction is provided. I have always poured wet concrete and finished it on my projects and look forward to doing a couple of projects at my son's house using this method. I noticed Jenna instantly in the pics, in fact I saw the video when Jenna and Ted did the project. I love watching you two working on various projects and always seem to pick up something. I'm well past my prime and have had total replacements in both knees (one twice) but they are never like they were when new. I have always admired how you both are able to squat right down while working and get up with ease. Especially you Lydia, with your lean athletic build, you are almost able to sit right on the ground and still be on your feet which always amazes me. Actually, I'm more like Jim so really never could do that 🤪 I missed seeing your peeshwank today. Have a great week and I look forward to the next update from my Louisiana friends!! Larry, Central Valley, Ca.

Great job guys!

I live in Ohio and I've been dry pouring since 1989. My first dry pour was a sidewalk with flagstone steppingstones in it.

Thanks again! Always a pleasure to find you two doing projects.

You guys are so inspiring.

About to try this today!

Lotta haters. Thanks for showing us a good way to dry pour.

The older folks, will greatly appreciate, your hard work.

We completed a few days ago a 3 ton or 80 x 80lb bag dry pour of a shed base. First time dry pour. It went really well . A couple of minor spots that are already patched . I followed the water curing process carefully , added covering the hardened concrete pour with tarps to improve cure. After only 4 days it is not porous , water pools on the surface as it should on cured concrete. I would suggest that before smoothing/screeding the surface walk on it to compress the dry mix. I think our friends here do that but don’t pointing that out. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 Very happy , thanks everyone . Cheers Warren 11x17 x3+” shed base. 48 cubic ft of concrete.

The King & Queen of Dry Pour does it again. Great job. I know your parents must be happy. Thanks for sharing your processes. My sister is very interested. So I showed her the videos. Did you think the first time you showed this technique that it would make such an impact.

I’m here to watch two people working in harmony. Good job on the teamwork!

Okay, after this video, I think you have given me enough ammo to try this myself…been a little in-nerved but y’all make it look easy!!

They at it again! 💪🏾

What a great idea and outcome!

Well... At first I thought this wasn't gonna hold up because I didnt see the lil 3 ft. supervisor out there, but I did catch a glimpse of at the end so job well done. Not gonna lie, when I saw the title of the video, I thought to myself.... well, Jim and Lydia are stirrin up the haterade today 🤣🤣 I just cant understand why people have to hate on a process just because its not how they would have done it. I think yall do a great job and I truly believe that has contributed to your rapid success on youtube. Thanks for another great video and cant wait to catch yall in the next one... Have a fantastic week, yall!!

Yep you're exactly right. Concrete outside doesn't need plastic or a pea gravel or any gravel. If there was excavating and you had to add dirt the a compactor would be needed. But you guys did it perfect by just removing sod. That was all that needed done. Great job you two ❤

You folks do a really good job. Much appreciated! 👍

Awesome guys thanks

That was a great looking side walk project. Thanks for showing our project, and thanks for showing us and the world that there is more than one way to get a job done. Have a great day.😊

Thanks for sharing neighbors, Kirk sending prayers and positive vibes to yall and your family! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻🙋🏼✌🏻✌🏻✌🏻 looks great!👌🏻👍🏻

Thank you for this video

Thanks so much for this video! You made it look so easy! Being able to do areas by my self is Great!

Make sure to do a review on that sidewalk in 6 months and then 1 year so we can all see how dry pouring really holds up

Absolutely awesome video. Been looking at pouring a 10x10 slab and never did it because of cost. This is definitely the route I’m going take. Thanks again for the info and video.

Amazing!

I love when you guys pour a dry concrete 😊

Amazing you guys! It looks absolutely phenomenal! And the wood grain where the form board was!? 😍 LOVED seeing the other dry pour projects that people from all over have done! The wheels are spinning now for what our next one will be! Such a great video and what a special thing for you guys to be able to do this for Jim’s parents! Xoxo

Great work as usual guys! Keep up the good work and thanks for giving everyone the tips to get it done!

OUTSTANDING!!!

Really got inspired to do a sidewalk on the side of my house off our driveway. Awesome job guy's! 💗

225 sq. ft @ 3.5” thick figures out to 2.5 cubic yards of concrete. I haven’t priced concrete this spring yet but I poured my garage pad last fall for $170.00/yard. I’m not seeing any cost saving. This also doesn’t save on the labor end of it either. I would argue that it actually adds a substantial amount of labor verses backing a concrete truck in and pouring this as he drives ahead. Anyway, you do you. I wouldn’t use this method but I’ve also done a lot of concrete finishing over the years so wet concrete is not intimidating to me, I understand that it is for a lot of people.

Looks great and you guys are motivating me to do my own. just wondering about the lack of contraction joints on your walkway and if they are even needed.

Ahh getting inspired...will try this tomorrow

Wonderful! Cajun fam, there’s always something to do. I thoroughly enjoy the journey.

No relief joints?

Great job and great explanation of how you laid out this dry pouring project 🎉🎉

That was a beautiful job! I'm especially impressed with the ramp end. Well done 👍

Totally inspired me thank you! I’ve been building our own walkway from the parking pad to the workshop and it’s going great.