How to refresh my outdoor cement pathways?

[tuckbox]

I would like to update my cement pathways apart from painting them, do you have any cost effective ideas?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @tuckbox. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about refreshing a cement pathway.

You might like to post some images of the pathways so our members have a better idea of their condition, allowing them to suggest ways to update them. Let me know if you need a hand uploading images.

Obviously, painting would be one of the most cost-effective and instantaneous ways of improving their look. Apart from that, we'd need to consider your budget. If the pathways are in good condition, you could add pavers over them. That would certainly improve their look.

Creating timber boardwalks would be an interesting approach. Check out this helpful step-by-step guide: How to build a decking boardwalk.

If the main issue is that the pathways are degraded, you could always consider resurfacing them with a thin layer of cement. That would restore their original look.

What about the surrounding area? Is there some complimentary screening that could be added to help update the look of the area and pathway? For some inspiration, have a look at these Ideas to revamp your side yard.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[tuckbox]

Thanks Mitchell, the pathway is in good condition with a brick wall on one side and a stone retaining wall on the other. I was considering paving and pebble look but wasn't sure you could add that onto the top of the cement. Thanks for the links they are great ideas.

[MitchellMc]

Adding paving over the cement is perfectly fine, @tuckbox. It just gets glued down as with any other concrete surface. If there has been some movement or the path has expansion gaps, it's important to observe those when laying the tiles so a flexible grout line can be added above the expansion gap. This prevents the grout or pavers from cracking.

Mitchell