Dry pour for walkway?

[cgilley]

As my intro says, I have some small masonry projects that need to be completed. One of them is a front walkway for my new porch. I have contractors insisting that going the dry pour approach will save time, labor and money. I've watched the prerequisite YT videos, read very comments and discussions and reddit (boy, that turned into a flame war), and am pondering my options. Having a truck show up is ridiculously expensive, renting a mixer is doable, and then there is the dry pour approach.

Opinions?

 

[wildcherries]

Since you’re handling your own home rebuild, you know how important itt is to get things right from the start. Renting a small mixer is the safest middle ground.

 

[speed fighter]

@cgilley It might seem easy to sweeep dry mix into the form and just spray it with a hose. But the water often doesn’t soak through completely, which can leave dry pockets buried in the slab.

 

[Alan]

Dry pour can work for small, light-duty walks but it’s very sensitive to prep and moisture control. For a front walkway, a traditional mixed pour is usually the safer, longer-lasting choice in real-world conditions.

 

[cgilley]

First comes my shed, then the walk. One of the issues I've been pondering is the entire front of the house. The porch covers a little more than half the front, so that side of the landscaping with the despised Japanese boxwoods went bye-bye. I've been struggling with the other front side of the house and have devised a landscaping solution there (and yes, the boxwoods are going as well there). Now I can plan the walkway.

This will involve all sorts of things I've not done before, so it's going to be a fun learning project. My 90 yo FIL offered to just pay someone to do it for me, because I'm old now. That man has never figured out I don't like him to meddle.... anyway, I'll follow up with the overall results. I appreciate the advice.