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Installation Guides

Step-by-step how-to for the projects our calculators size. Order materials with the calculator, build it with the guide.

Drainage

Move water away from foundations, lawns, and hardscape so it stays predictable instead of finding its own path.

Guide7 steps

How to Install a French Drain

Plan the route and outlet, excavate with slope, wrap with filter fabric, lay perforated pipe, build the rock envelope, and backfill. For yard and foundation drains.

Pairs with the French Drain Calculator · also uses Drainage Rock Calculator

Guide8 steps

How to Install a Dry Well

Locate the well at least 10 ft from the foundation, excavate 4–6 ft deep by 4 ft wide, line with non-woven filter fabric, drop a precast chamber or perforated drum, surround with 1–1.5″ drainage rock, cap with fabric, backfill with topsoil, and verify outflow with a hose test.

Pairs with the Drainage Rock Calculator · also uses Gravel Calculator

Concrete & Hardscape

Slabs, patios, and paths that stay flat, drain right, and don't crack the wrong way.

Guide8 steps

How to Pour a Concrete Slab

Plan dimensions and reinforcement, set forms, compact a gravel sub-base, place rebar or mesh, pour and screed, float and groove control joints, and cure. For 4- to 6-inch residential slabs.

Pairs with the Concrete Calculator · also uses Gravel Calculator, Rebar Calculator

Guide8 steps

How to Install a Paver Patio

Plan the pattern, excavate, compact a crushed-stone base, screed sand bedding, lay pavers, install edge restraint, and sweep polymeric joint sand. The sequence pro hardscape crews use.

Pairs with the Paver Calculator · also uses Gravel Calculator, Sand Calculator

Walls & Structures

Walls that hold back grade without tipping, leaning, or staining.

Guide8 steps

How to Build a Retaining Wall

Plan height and setback, excavate and compact a base, level the first course, stack with setback, install a drainage envelope, backfill, and cap. For segmental (SRW) walls up to 4 ft.

Pairs with the Retaining Wall Calculator · also uses Gravel Calculator, Drainage Rock Calculator

Fencing

Posts set straight, plumb, and below the frost line — everything above them depends on that.

Guide8 steps

How to Install Fence Posts

Call 811, mark the line, dig below the frost line, set corner and gate posts first with diagonal bracing, set line posts to a string, pour concrete with the post elevated on gravel, and trim tops. For wood and round posts in concrete.

Pairs with the Fence Post Calculator · also uses Concrete Calculator

Comparisons & Reference

Decision content and quick-reference answers for choosing materials and sizing common projects.

Compare

Asphalt vs. Concrete Driveway

Cost, lifespan, maintenance, climate fit, and repair — pick the surface, then size materials with the calculators.

Compare

6 Types of Gravel for Driveways

Crushed stone #57, #67, #411, pea gravel, river rock, and decomposed granite — how to pick the right driveway gravel.

Reference

How Many Bags of Concrete Per Fence Post?

Quick reference tables by hole size and post type, with 40lb / 60lb / 80lb bag counts and the math behind each number.

Why Guides?

Every AceCalc calculator answers the “how much” question: how much concrete, how much rock, how many pavers. The guides answer the other half — “how do I install it correctly so it lasts.” Each guide is paired with the calculator that sizes the same project, written by someone who has actually done the work rather than rewritten a Google SERP.

More guides ship as each calculator's paired install content is written. If you're looking for a guide that isn't here yet, the underlying calculator almost certainly is — start there and come back when the guide lands.