Home and Garden Guidebook

How to Lay Concrete Kerbs Along a Driveway

Author avatar Eugene Brennan Eugene is an engineer with a BSc(Eng) degree in Electrical, Electronic, Control and Instrumentation Engineering. He's passionate about DIY, gardening and cycling.
Click for more info. October 27, 2026 • – min read
Row of rounded concrete edging stones along a dirt border beside brown bushes, with an orange string line and overlaid title text How to Lay Edging Stones
Laying edging kerbs is a simple DIY job with this guide!
© Eugene Brennan

Give Your Driveway a Crisp, Clean Look

Edging a lawn or driveway gives it a crisp, clean look and helps the eye to define the boundary between lawn or flower beds and the harder look of the concrete, stone or tarmac (asphalt) surface of your drive. There are lots of options, including brick and cut stone, but in this guide, we’ll look at an inexpensive method using concrete edging stones. These are reasonably easy to install if you have basic DIY skills.

Tools You’ll Need

  • Shovel for mixing concrete
  • Cement Mixer (optional) for mixing concrete quicker and more thoroughly
  • Level for checking edging is plumb
  • String line and canes, bars, or pegs for supporting line
  • Mallet or alternatively builder’s hammer for tapping stones into place

Materials You’ll Need

  • Kerb stones
  • Ballast (mixed aggregate) or alternatively small stone and building sand
  • Portland or flyash cement

As an alternative to making your own concrete, you can buy ready-made drymix.

Close-up of two abutting concrete edging stones with a wet concrete blob at the joint base, orange string line above, and dirt ground with small stones
© Eugene Brennan

Overview

Kerbs are supported by a bed of concrete on the underside and haunching or supporting concrete at the rear. Since most of the pressure will be from vehicles and human traffic on the driveway surface, this prevents the stones from being pushed backwards into flowerbeds or the lawn. You can also use concrete at the front for added support or back fill with stone.

I deal with 2 inch by 7 inch edging in this guide. Thicker kerbs with a wider base are normally used for a driveway, but in my case the stones are under bushes at the edge of the drive and unlikely to be driven on. You can also use thin edging stones like these as a trim on the boundary of a lawn.

Procedure

Follow these steps to lay your stones

Step 1: Dig a Trench

Dig a trench about 8″ (200 mm) wide by 7″ (175 mm) deep. A 2″ to 3″ (50 mm to 75 mm) bed of concrete is sufficient for laying light edging kerbs, so that allows 2″ to 3″ of the edging (for 7″ edging” to project above the surface when placed on top of the bed. However you can adjust the depth of the trench to modify this.

Long trench dug in soil along a gravel driveway edge next to green and brown bushes, with an orange string line stretched the length and a large tree stump in the foreground
For 2 x 7 edging, dig a trench about 8 inches wide. Adjust the depth so that the underlying 2″ to 3″ bed of concrete will expose the desired amount of kerb above the surface.
© Eugene Brennan
Gravel driveway surface with a freshly dug trench running beside dense bushes and hedges, tools including a shovel, hammer and wheelbarrow scattered about, and a tree stump
Some stumps had to be taken up when digging the trench.
© Eugene Brennan

Step 2: Place a Line the Length of the Trench

A string line acts as a guide for laying stones which are placed so that the back edge of a stone just touches the line along it’s whole length. The line also acts as a height guide. You can make a line with a couple of iron bars, wooden stakes or similar and some string. Tie the string loosely onto each bar so that it can be moved up and down the bars when they’re hammered into the ground, rather than pushing the bars in or out of the ground to adjust height.

  1. Push or hammer the first bar into the ground.
  2. If the trench is straight, pull the line tight and hammer the bar at the other end of the line into the ground.
  3. Adjust the height of the line at each end so that it’s at the height you want your edging stones (2″ to 3″ above the surface). If the ground is sloped, usually you want the edging stones to follow the slope, so don’t level the string.
  4. The string will sag along it’s length just like a clothes line or electricity wires. So you need to support it every 6 feet or so with additional bars/pegs. Instead of tying these to the line, just twist the string around each bar. The easiest way to do this is by holding the bar horizontally and wrapping a single turn of string around it. Then twist the bar into a vertical position and push into the ground.
  5. By sighting along the entire length of the line, if necessary adjust the position of the bars from front to back of the trench so that they all line up.
  6. Again by sighting along the line, adjust string up or down on the intermediate pegs so that the line is straight along the full length and doesn’t dip on any peg.
Simple diagram of brown uneven ground with four vertical brown posts supporting a slightly sagging yellow string line
Keep the line at the same height above the surface on sloping ground. Use intermediate bars every 6 feet or so to stop it sagging
© Eugene Brennan
Close-up of orange string twisted around a smooth metal rod pushed into dark soil, surrounded by green leafy plants and dry leaves
Twist string around intermediate bars. This is an old stair rod. These were nice and smooth, so I was able to slide the string up and down to get the string straight over the full length of the driveway.
© Eugene Brennan
3D diagram showing a grey gravel surface in front, a brown soil trench with vertical posts and orange string, and green grass behind
© Eugene Brennan
3D cross-section diagram of grey gravel driveway, brown soil trench containing posts and a sloping orange string line, with green grass on the far side
© Eugene Brennan

Step 3: Mix the Concrete for Bedding the Edging

Use a C20 general purpose mix which is 1 part cement to 4 parts stone and 2 parts sand. (These proportions are by volume not by weight). A single mix with a small cement mixer will produce about a wheel barrow full of concrete, sufficient to bed three, 3 foot long (approx 1 m) kerbs. Concrete should be mixed stiffly with as little water as possible so that it will support edging stones without being squeezed out from underneath. You can learn how to mix concrete using either of my two guides:

Metal wheelbarrow filled with a large mound of stiff wet grey concrete, parked on a green lawn with a rusty red cement mixer nearby
Concrete should be stiff so it doesn’t squeeze out from underneath stones and they don’t sink into it.
© Eugene Brennan

Step 4: Lay a Bed of Concrete

  1. Lay enough concrete in the trench to bed two or three stones and extend it just beyond where the last edging stone in this group will be placed. I’ve found a garden spade is the most convenient tool, but you can also use a brick laying trowel. As shown in the diagram below, concrete should extend backwards 2″ to 4″ behind the the line and stones so that it acts as a base for the haunching added later and also extend a couple of inches forward into the trench. The depth of the bed should be about 2″ to 3″ (50 mm to 75 mm).
  2. A short piece of timber (e.g. 1 foot of 2 x 7) the same height as an edging stone, is useful for checking the bed is sufficiently deep. Allow 1/2″ to 3/4″ (12 to 18 mm) or so of concrete for sinking/ tapping a kerb into place. Therefore when the top edge of the timber is this distance above the string line, the bed is the correct depth.
  3. Smooth off the bed with a piece of timber or trowel to make it roughly level.
Hand holding a wooden-handled trowel depositing wet grey concrete into a soil trench under an orange string line, with plant roots and small stones visible
Use a shovel, spade or builder’s trowel to lay a bed of concrete for several stones.
© Eugene Brennan
Long continuous bed of wet grey concrete laid in a soil trench beneath a taut string line, with exposed roots and green foliage above
Hand in a blue sleeve using a wooden-handled trowel to smooth and level a bed of wet concrete inside a trench under a string line
Smooth the bed with a trowel or piece of wood.
© Eugene Brennan
Short wooden board the height of an edging stone resting on a wet concrete bed against an orange string line to check depth, set in dark soil
Using a piece of board or similar as a guide, the same height as a stone, check the bed is deep enough so that stones can be hammered down about 1/2 to 3/4″ (12 mm to 16 mm) into it.
© Eugene Brennan

Step 5: Bed the Edging in the Concrete

  1. Lower a stone gently into place. If concrete is a bit on the soft side, plonking it into place can result in it sinking too much. Ensure it butts tightly up against stones previously laid. Align it so that the back of the stone lines up with the string line.
  2. Using a mallet or the end of the handle of a builder’s hammer, tap evenly along the top surface of the stone to bed it into place so that the rear top edge is barely in contact with the line. This can be a bit tricky to judge with curved top edging stones, so use a level from the front, extending back to the line. The level should barely touch the line when a stone is sufficiently bedded down.
  3. If the stone is too low in the concrete bed, lift it back out and add concrete in the low spots. If your mix is too wet, concrete can squeeze out from under a stone, so allow a little extra time for it to stiffen and pull it back into place.
  4. Check the vertical face of the stone is plumb using your level and adjust as necessary.
  5. If you intend to lay further stones later after concrete has set, smooth and taper the bed of concrete that extends beyond the last stone downwards so that it doesn’t obstruct laying the next stone.
3D diagram of a grey concrete edging stone standing on a concrete bed with rear haunching, posts and orange string, gravel surface and green grass
The top of the edging stones should be level with the top of the string. Plumb the vertical face also with a level.
© Eugene Brennan
Grey concrete edging stone with rounded top placed into a wet concrete bed inside a soil trench, orange string line running alongside
Extend the bed beyond the end of the last stone you intend to lay so that when you add more bedding concrete, it will merge with it.
© Eugene Brennan
Hand holding a black rubber mallet with wooden handle, tapping the top of a grey concrete edging stone already set in wet concrete
Use a mallet or the handle of a lump hammer to tap stones down into the bed. Don’t use the hammer head itself to avoid chipping or cracking concrete. (Sorry this photo is out of sequence taken after haunching added at the front!)
© Eugene Brennan
Overhead view of a straight row of concrete edging stones in a trench, person's brown work boots and blue jeans on the gravel side, plants and leaves on the other
Stones should line up with the line.
© Eugene Brennan

Step 6: Add Support at the Front and Back

I found that using blobs of concrete at the front and back at each joint helps to keep stones in place until haunching is placed at the back. A pointing trowel is small and useful for doing this. Press the blobs tightly against the stones to give a buttress effect. Continue to lay stones, adding blobs of concrete at each joint.

Close-up of two concrete edging stones joined with a wet concrete support blob at the base, orange string line above, dirt and small stones in foreground
Use blobs of concrete back and front of stones at joints to keep them in place pre-haunching.
© Eugene Brennan
Long view of rounded concrete edging stones with wet concrete support at the front, orange string line, and dense bushes with exposed roots behind
© Eugene Brennan

Step 7: Place the Haunching Concrete

  • Once concrete is sufficiently stiff, place haunching concrete at the back along the full length of edging. Use a spade, shovel or if the space is narrow, a trowel.
  • In general, haunching should extend at least half way up the back of a stone but you can finish it 1″ to 2″ (25 mm to 50 mm) below the top edge. The width of the haunching bed should be at least the width of an edging stone. (For my edging project the stones were 2″ wide, but I made the haunching bed 4″ wide).
  • Pack the haunching with a piece of 2 inch board. You can slope it slightly to aid water run off.
  • Most pressure will come from the front of a driveway as vehicles push gravel downwards and outwards to the side. So haunching is necessary to prevent edging stones from moving backwards relative to each other. You can also add haunching at the front. I just used three blobs per stone, extending up to about 3″ below the top of a stone and then back filled in front of the stones with a mixture of sand and small gravel. I can’t guarantee this is adequate though, so you can haunch along the full length of stones with concrete to be totally certain they won’t move. Front haunching doesn’t need to extend up the stones as far as at the back, a couple of inches being adequate.
Labeled 3D diagram of a concrete kerb showing haunch width, haunch height, bed width and bed depth dimensions on the concrete base and support
Haunch and bed dimensions
© Eugene Brennan

Bed and Haunching Dimensions

Dimension Guidance
Haunch height At least half height of stone minium, but ideally up to 2″ (50 mm) below top edge of stone
Haunch width At least width of stone, but ideally about 4″ (100 mm)
Bed depth 2″ to 3″ (50 mm to 75 mm)
Bed width Haunch width + width of stone + 2″ to 3″ (50 mm to 75 mm) in front of stone
Hand holding a metal trowel placing wet grey concrete behind a row of concrete edging stones next to soil and dry leaves
Use a trowel to place concrete at the back of edging.
© Eugene Brennan
Hand pressing a short wooden board against wet concrete behind concrete edging stones to pack and shape the haunching
Pack the concrete with a short length of board.
© Eugene Brennan
Overhead view of concrete edging stones with a continuous bed of wet grey concrete haunching along the back side, string line visible
© Eugene Brennan
Finished straight row of grey concrete edging stones bordering a gravel driveway beside dense green and brown bushes, with a road and concrete post in the background
Finished result. A couple of the stones at the far end were a bit off line vertically, but this was my first time doing this. The last stone in the foreground slopes downward at a gap in the row of shrubs.
© Eugene Brennan

Can I Use a Laser as a Guide When Laying Edging?

You can of course. Auto-leveling lasers are available, but not all of them allow you to set them up so that they can shine a beam off the horizontal on a slope. You can use a non-leveling laser and adjust it so that the beam is sloped. Many cheap lasers have beams that aren’t visible outdoors, so this is something you need to check when buying.

In Retrospect

My kerbs are 2″ above the level of my drive. In retrospect maybe I should have raised them an inch or so higher to prevent soil in the raised flower beds from spreading over them if there’s any movement over time or I get a new layer of gravel for the driveway.

Disclaimer 

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualised advice from a qualified professional.

© 2020 Eugene Brennan

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