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Down to Earth home

Dry Laying the Brick

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All right, you just got your pallet (or two) of brick delivered and you'll ready to construct your patio.  Have a design in mind, such as "Soldiering," "Basket Weave," or a wealth of others.  For this chore, we are going with herringbone.  And don't be afraid to mix things up a little, either with patterns or with different brick colors.  Sometimes adding some subtle change adds charm to a patio.  If it doesn't work out, take 'em out.  That's the beauty of dry laying.  It's now just a matter of grabbing your brick (or talking a friend into doing that task) and start hammering them down into the sand with a rubber mallet.  Now's a good time to break out the radio at this point because it gets tedious from here on out.

brick cuttingYou'll want to start on one side and work your way across.  When you reach an edge, you may have to cut the brick(s) to make them fit and retain your chosen pattern.  We used a brick cutter on this job, but if you don't want to buy or rent one, and good old-fashioned chisel and hammer work just fine.

 

 

 

sweepingOnce you have the patio completed, you'll want to secure it in with a nice layer of sand, filling all the cracks between the brick.  Just dump an good-sized pile over your brickwork and sweep it across the bricks with a broom.  This will really lock it into place.

 

 

 

brick walkwayThen, Bam!  Your yard has instantly become the talk of the neighborhood.  Add a table and chairs, maybe a BBQ, a few potted plants and you're set.