DIY Network

Build a Better Backyard: How to Build a Brick Patio Brick pavers are a cost-effective choice for a patio. From "Sweat Equity" episode DSEQ-113

Kim Douglas chooses brick pavers for her patio. Brick is a cost effective choice and the expense is about half as much as a deck would cost. Brick is a strong material and is very low maintenance, which is a plus for Kim and a definite selling point for future homeowners and it’s a project she can perform herself.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H
	Figure I
	Figure J

Materials:

Bobcat
rake
2" x 4"
clay pavers (bricks)
plastic pave edges
tamper
sand
float
rubber hammer

Brick Patio Tip:

• To save time plan ahead and calculate the amount of bricks needed to build your brick patio. Measure your bricks and estimate the size of your patio and always buy about 5- to 10-percent more bricks than estimated to account for any breakage or partial bricks used in the construction of the patio.

• Always wear safety glasses when working with power tools.

• Before you dig, call 811. The Common Ground Alliance has set up a national public service number, 811, connecting you with your local utilities marking organization. Make the call two days before starting an outdoor project.

How to Build a Brick Patio:

• With a Bobcat, Jason excavates the patio area and Amy cuts away the old concrete path. When the area is clear, Jason plants stakes in the four corners of the patio and ties a string connecting the stakes (figure A) at the desired level of the bricks. Jason also installs the pergola posts at this time.

• After grading the area, Jason dumps road base (crushed concrete) on the area (figure B) and rakes it out.

• Amy screeds (a masonry term for making a surface level) the road base by shimmying a 2" x 4" back and forth across the patio area (figure C). Make sure the road base level is 3 inches under the line in order to allow for the height of the sand and the pavers.

• After screeding, Jason sprays the road base with a water hose to allow it to settle (figure D).

• Then, Jason uses a tamper to compress the base and to level it further (figure E).

• When the base is level, Kim and Jason install the plastic pave edges (figure F). The pave edges retain the brick and sand in the patio boundaries.

• Next, Kim dumps sand into the patio area and rakes it out (figure G).

• Then, Jason and Kim screed the sand so there is 1 inch of it on top of base and still 2 inches below the string line (figure H). Remove any excess sand at the edges with a float (figure I) and check level.

• After laying the border of the pavers first, Jason arranges the pavers in the desired pattern. In this case he uses a basket-weave pattern.

• As he lays the pavers, Jason uses a rubber hammer to make slight adjustments in the pattern (figure J).

• When the patio is filled with bricks, Kim covers the patio with sand to act as a grout. She sweeps the sand into the cracks between the pavers. Run a tamper over the patio to set the bricks.

RESOURCES :
Common Ground Alliance
Call Before You Dig "Call 811"
Toll-free: 811
Website: www.call811.com/default.aspx

Bobcat of the Rockies
Website: www.bobcatoftherockies.com

Brick Inc.
Website: www.thebrickinc.com

GUESTS :
Jason Yocum, ASLA
Landscape Architect
SunStone Design LLC
Denver, CO
Phone: 720-273-8488
E-mail: sunstonedesign@att.net