To put patiostones around the house, is tarp needed?

[thesunlover]

Thank you for the helpful advice! I'll do something to the downspout to improve its function.

On more question: I don't have enough sand available to put above the layer of peastone gravel. Someone gave me some bags of powdery construction material. I believe it's lime or chalk something like that. Can I use it as sand for this purpose?

[davefrombc]

Don't use it . just use sand . If you need more , it isn't expensive .. Using your unknown powder could lead to no end of problems. It is likely lime, but unless the bags are marked, they could be anything from quicklime , to slaked lime ( for mixing cement ) to wallboard filler. None of it has any place in your walkway, and would make a real mess of it .

[thesunlover]

Thanks a lot, Dave.

It is probably slaked lime. See the picture attached. What can I use it for? Can I put it in the cold room of the basement to improve the moisture problem?

[davefrombc]

That looks like "ready mix" concrete... Just add water and mix to make concrete for patching small holes , setting posts or whatever else you would need a small amount of cement/concrete for . Slaked lime is a fine, white powder as is wallboard filler.. That picture shows a grey mix with pebbles in it .. Exactly what the concrete mixes look like.

[thesunlover]

You must be right. Then what can I do with it? I wasted lots of time and energy taking them home
The good thing is that I finally realized it might not what I need and then ask for help here.

[davefrombc]

If it is indeed ready mix concrete, you could use it to make planters; give to a friend who might be building a fence and need to set posts in concrete.
Do search on concrete planters, or concrete projects for the garden. Most hits will point to book sales , but there will be some youtube videos and "how to " projects among the hits that you might find interesting.

[thesunlover]

Thanks again Dave for your advices. Making planters by it is a great idea. I will try to find some online tutorials for the project as you said. It is not easy for me. I've put little amount of the material with water into a cup, to test if it's mix concrete. I'll keep posted.

[Eeyore]

Do you have children or grandchildren? You could make decorative stepping stones with them. You should be able to find instructions on-line for them.

[thesunlover]

I mixed water with the material, half and half, three days ago. Nothing has changed. The material settled at the bottom of the container like gravel.

Does this mean this material is not mix concrete?

[davefrombc]

You only add enough water to concrete to make a thick "paste".. too much water and it will not set. I'm pretty sure your half and half mix was way too much water. Try another test batch with just enough water to make a wet paste. It should be thoroughly wetted , but not have standing water on top of it when it is in a mold. Do a search on "concrete" to bring up so,e pictures of how the mixture should look .