The amount of water which is added to make the mixture of concrete should not be too much. It should be of such a quantity that the mix is mushy but not watery, even when it is to be poured into forms. _Sidewalks and Porch Floors_ [Illustration: Concrete Sidewalk] It is generally recognized that one-course concrete sidewalks are the most successful when built by the average workman, for the slab is of one uniform body and not two layers, which might not have knitted together properly. For porch floors and walks these slabs should be 5 inches thick and laid on a good foundation. It is best to excavate 4 inches for the depth of the walk, tamp the ground, and pour water over it, to note whether it is absorbed or stays on top. If it is not readily drained off, it ought not to be used as the foundation of the walk, but should be excavated to a depth of 10 inches to 12 inches. In this excavation should then be tamped gravel or cinders, and some provision should be made by which any water that would seep through this gravel may be drained off. The timbers used for the forms along the edges of the walk may be 2 by 6’s, held in position with pegs. Slabs should then be determined for length. Usually they should not be in excess of 6 feet in any one direction and ¼-inch expansion joints should be placed in the walks every 25 feet. If alternate slabs are laid, the forms can be removed, so that the intermediate slabs can be poured between them. Of course, a partial bond will be developed between slabs in this way, but these joints will be the weakest point in the walk, and if settlement takes place unequally and one slab breaks from the other, the crack will develop at this joint and not appear on the face. The expansion joints should, however, be real separations, made with strips of asphaltic felt set between slabs. The usual mixture for concrete walks should be 1 part cement to 2 parts sand to 3 parts of gravel. The mixture should not have too much water in it, and when poured into the forms the top should be levelled off with a straight stick stretched across from one side of the form to the other. Too much trowelling should be avoided, since this is apt to draw excess water to the surface and also cement, which will show hair cracks when hardened. It is best not to use a metal trowel but a wooden one, so that a partial sandy surface is made. After the walk has been laid it should be protected from drying out too quickly by laying over it 4 inches of earth or two or three layers of burlap, which should be wet down about twice a day for a week. All walks and porch floors should have graded tops, so that water will run off of them. This is usually ¼ inch to the foot.