Video:Build a Brick Patio

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Transcript:Build a Brick Patio

A brick patio design can be easy to build yet elegant, by simply laying the bricks in a striking pattern that requires no cutting!

Tools for Building a Brick Patio

Thing's you'll need are:

• shovel
• rubber mallet
• level
• crushed stone
• landscape fabric
• paving bricks
• mason's line
• plywood to kneel on
• broom
• garden hose
• one long two-by-four (2X4) screed

You can follow this simple design plan to make easy brick patios.

Measure the Area

Measure out the desired area. Rectangular design plans are easier to execute than curved designs. To ensure that you have a perfect rectangle, measure the 2 diagonals: they should be of equal length.

Dig the Area

Dig out the area, to a depth of 8 inches. Create a slope away from the house for drainage; that is ¼ inch deep per running foot.

Plan Your Brick Patio Design

Do a test run by laying your brick pattern to check your measurements. Bricks come in different types and sizes. Paving bricks, in the measurements of 4 inches x 8 inches, and about 2 inches thick, are the easiest to work with. For a design pattern, basket weave is elegant yet simple, and requires no cutting of bricks.

There should be about 2 inches extra all along the perimeter for the insertion of a rectangular brick edging. Stand the bricks on end, shoulder to shoulder. Remove the bricks that you laid as a test run, but keep the brick edging in place.

Fill the Framed Area

Pour crushed stone into this framed area, to a depth of 4 inches and lay landscape fabric down over the stone, to suppress potential weeds later. Cover the landscape fabric with 2 inches of sand and use a long two-by-four screed to level it out.

Lay the Bricks

Now begin laying the bricks, pressing them down into the sand. Strike the bricks with a rubber mallet to settle them into the sand. As you lay bricks, kneel on plywood atop the bricks. You don't want to make the sand uneven or dislodge the bricks.

Ensure the Patio is Level

To ensure evenness, run a mason's line across your forms as you proceed in laying your bricks. After layering the bricks, spread some sand over them and work it into the cracks with a broom. Then, with a garden hose, gently spray the bricks, so the sand will settle between the cracks. And you have your elegant brick patio ready!

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