Concrete is one of the most popular, versatile materials used in home construction. Naturally, when you think of concrete, you're probably only thinking about how it's used to construct walls or pave driveways (from local outlets such as Masterlink Concrete Pumping). Even though concrete works great for these purposes, there are so many other ways you can utilize concrete in your home and backyard, especially concrete blocks. If you have concrete blocks lying around from an old project, or you're just looking to do some do-it-yourself projects, consider these four uses of concrete blocks to spruce up your home and garden.
1. Make vertical planters. You'll want to use a mix of cellular and solid concrete blocks for this project to ensure nothing falls through the spaces of the cellular blocks. When you start stacking the blocks, attach them to each other using a caulking gun filled with landscape adhesive so that the blocks are stabilized. When your blocks are stacked into your preferred design, fill the open cells with your favorite potted plants. What's great about this project is that you can make your vertical planter as short or as tall as you'd like.
2. Create a garden bench. To make the base of the bench, you'll want to create a wall of concrete blocks that is three blocks long and eight blocks wide; you can use solid concrete blocks or cellular concrete blocks. To make sure the bench is stable, attach the blocks to one another with a landscape adhesive. Find a nice cushion that matches your garden and place it on top of the concrete block base; add some decorative throw pillows and you have yourself a garden bench.
3. Make an entertainment center. Place three solid concrete blocks on the floor about two feet apart from one another, then place a piece of wood on top of the concrete blocks. Next, place three more solid concrete blocks on top of the wood. Lastly, place a piece of wood on top of the second row of solid concrete blocks; make sure to use a construction adhesive to attach the pieces of wood to the blocks so everything is stable. Now you can put your television on the top piece of wood, and use the space below for storage.
4. Prop your bed up. If your bed is sitting just a little too low, but you don't want to get a new one, try propping it up with cellular concrete blocks. You can put at least three concrete blocks down horizontally under the base of the headboard and footboard to lift your bed a few inches. You can even use the open cells in the blocks to store some of your shoes.
It's important to note that you should use solid or cellular concrete blocks for these projects instead of cinder blocks; cinder blocks are a combination of concrete and stone, but concrete blocks are pure concrete, which makes them stronger. By using concrete blocks in your home and garden projects, you're not only saving money, but you're also adding a rustic, stylish touch to your home and garden decor.
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