Creating A Perfect Brick Patio
Having a large backyard is a positive when owning your own home. It gives room for the children to play and it allows you to make it your own. One of the best thing you can do with your backyard is to add a brick patio. You want a patio that you can grill out on and have a nice table so that everyone can enjoy a nice dinner in the fresh air every now and then.
Building a brick patio with sand as the foundation, instead of concrete, can save hundreds of dollars and lots of time and effort. Homeowners Marta Savic and Dragan Podlesnik had a small backyard with a narrow strip of concrete and some grass, and the paved area wasn’t large enough for entertaining. They wanted a large brick patio, so they enlisted the help of landscape designer Scott Soden of Artscapes.
Soden’s design expands the patio and places plants between the patio and the house to give the illusion of a larger backyard. He incorporates curves and pathways to the side yards to create a visual flow to balance out the right angles of the house. In addition to saving hundreds of dollars by using a sand foundation, homeowners can save about $4,000 in labor costs by building the patio themselves.
A professional would charge about $5,000 for a large curving brick patio on a sand base, but a do-it-yourselfer can build it for only $1,000. This project is rated a 3 on a difficulty scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (difficult), but it’s time-consuming and laborious, taking about three weekends.
Start by removing anything large in the patio site, like an existing patio or deck. To remove concrete, rent a jackhammer for about $78 per day. Next, outline the shape of the patio using landscapers’ spray paint. Dig up any remaining plants or grass within the patio outline. This is a good time to lay any irrigation pipes or wiring for lighting.
Estimate the height of the patio (about 6 inches) by pulling string lines across the length and width of the site. Dig out additional depth, if needed, to make the patio level with the house or steps. Make sure that the site is level and that the string height is consistent. To establish the curved shape, use flexible edging , which is made of recycled, flexible plastic with removable tabs that enable further adjustment. Edging costs about $15 per 8-foot piece. Place the edging along the outline of the patio and drive 10-inch galvanized spikes through the edging holes and into the ground.
Create a stable foundation by filling in your patio site with road-base material, which costs about $34 per cubic yard at landscaping supply stores. Rake it out to about 3 inches thick and level, and wet it down to keep dust at a minimum. Compact it with a vibratory plate compacter, which rents for about $60 per day.
An easy way to spread sand to a depth of 1 inch is to lay 1-inch-diameter PVC piping on top of the road base, spaced about 4 feet apart, and fill in with sand. Use a scrap piece of lumber to screed, or scrape, the sand until it’s level with the pipes. Slide the pipes out of the sand, fill in the grooves with sand, and spread it level. Continue this process over the rest of the site.
Soden chose brick that has rough edges and looks old. (Prices for bricks range from 50 cents to $1.50 per brick.) Soden designed the patio in a herringbone pattern, a traditional look with a rich texture. However, you can choose from many varieties of bricks and patterns to fit the style of your house and yard. Start laying the brick near the house and work your way out.
To make the herringbone design, set the bricks diagonally in an alternating pattern. Work in small segments and leave space around the edge for a border, at least the length of a brick. Use string lines to help keep the bricks lined up as you work. Tap them into place with a rubber mallet for a snug fit. Continue this process to expand the herringbone pattern over the entire patio site. Check the patio’s level periodically. Next, set the bricks for the border. Around the curves, leave some space between bricks to add cut bricks later.
Curves and pathways to the side yards create a visual flow and balance out the angular house. Rent a wet saw (about $70 per day), and be sure to wear eye and ear protection when operating it. Measure the gaps along the border by placing a brick on top of the gap, and mark the edges where it meets the adjoining bricks. Feed the brick into the saw at a steady rate and follow your markings for clean, precise cuts.
Set the bricks into the gaps along the border, tapping them into position with a mallet. Then cut bricks into pieces to fill in between the border and the herringbone pattern. Tap them in place and fill all remaining gaps. To lock the bricks in place, spread dry sand on top of the bricks. Use a broom to gently work the sand into the joints, sweeping at an angle so you won’t dislodge sand from the cracks.