Hi All Building a Patio, Brick by Brick As one of the oldest building materials, brick combines a classic style with exceptional strength. Many brick homes built hundreds of years ago are still standing today, making brick an excellent material choice to ensure lasting value for your new patio or sidewalk. Brick boasts color and texture, offering a superb, decorative surface that can add both beauty and value to your home. As an exterior material it resists harsh weather and pests, and it's conveniently fireproof for those outdoor grilling aficionados. With just a little sweat and know-how, your new patio could be ready for parties in no time.
Brick Picks Before you begin shoveling up the earth, you'll need to determine your bricking material. Brick patios and sidewalks require paving brick, a special brick that is sufficiently hard to resist years of foot traffic and often motorized traffic. In addition, the brick must have a high skid or slip resistance. Look for a brick with a rough or wire-cut surface that will allow ample traction. If you live in a cold climate, make sure the brick is graded for severe weather. Do not purchase brick without this guarantee. Paving brick is usually available in two sizes, both of which are solid with no inner voids. Many prefer using a 1 1/2-inch-thick brick, but if you expect heavy vehicle traffic, a 2 3/8-inch paving brick may be your best option. There are two primary material types for paving brick: standard clay brick or fine-grained concrete brick. Clay paving brick is available most often in 4-by-8-inch rectangles. Concrete paving brick, however, is available in a broad range of shapes and sizes, and is often available in five or more colors. Concrete paving bricks are usually available in only 2 3/8-inch thickness. Sizing Up The next step is to determine the size of the patio you'll need. At some point you've probably experienced an outdoor patio that was simply too small; the walkway was cramped, and the furniture was awkwardly huddled together. A small, ineffective patio can be avoided with just a little planning. Start your design plan by walking into your living, dining or family rooms. Do these rooms currently seat the number of people you plan to seat on the patio? Is there enough room between existing pieces of furniture in these rooms? If so, these may be the patio dimensions you'll need. Assuming you have chosen a patio size similar to one of the existing rooms in your house, use your tape measure to determine that room's dimensions. When designing the layout, don't forget to leave 2 to 3 feet of space behind the areas where furniture will be placed. Forgetting this is a common mistake, which can lead to your patio furniture teetering on the edge of the brick. Installation Options There are two primary brick installation methods that will best suit your new patio or sidewalk: a flexible-base system and a rigid-base system. The bed of the flexible-base system consists of a combination of crushed rock, or gravel, and coarse sand. Keep in mind that you can only use mortarless brick with this system. The rigid-base system employs a concrete slab beneath the paving brick. This can be a steel-reinforced slab or one with no steel. Both types of brick can be used on a rigid base. The Flexible-Base System To begin your flexible base, first determine what will be the dimensions of the project's finished surface, and then plan in reverse to account for the excavation that will be necessary to place the patio. Knowing the height of your finished patio surface, accounting for all the material layers to be included, allows you to calculate the depth of dirt removal needed before you place the first wheelbarrow of crushed rock or concrete. Consider each of the following steps when precalculating the patio's finished dimensions. A flexible-base system requires a minimum of 4 inches of crushed rock as base material. Some interlocking brick manufacturers may suggest 6 inches. Once this has been placed in the excavated bed for the patio, smooth it and compact it. Compaction is best achieved using a walk-behind, mechanical, plate-type vibratory compactor, which can usually be found at your local rental outlet. Once the gravel base is in place, you should top it with 1 1/2 inch of coarse sand. Smooth the sand to the exact profile and slope you wish the final patio to be. Once this is complete, simply set the concrete brick onto the sand. Don't press or hammer them into place. They should fit snugly, with about a 1/16- to 1/8-inch gap between each brick. Interlock-ing bricks will easily mesh together. Undoubtedly, you will have to make cuts where the brick rounds corners or intersects border brick. Saws, cutters and chisels will accomplish all the necessary cutting tasks. As mentioned, the trick to planning your patio is to calculate all of these steps prior to beginning. With this scenario, you have 6 inches of gravel, 1 1/2 inch of sand and 2 3/8 inches of brick. This equates to about 10 inches and involves a lot of digging. If digging is not one of your favorite pastimes, you might consider a rigid-base system, which requires about 20 percent less digging if using standard clay paving brick. However, the placement of the concrete, brick and mortar in rigid-base systems requires more labor and skill. Appearance is another factor when choosing an installation method. When using a clay paving brick with a rigid base, you can create a surface that has the look of a brick wall. You will actually have mortar joints between each brick. The mortar can be colored or standard gray. Explore all your options before deciding on the right system for your patio or sidewalk. The Rigid-Base System Again, begin your rigid-base system by determining what will be the height of the finished surface. In this case, excavate the ground to 8 inches. Install the necessary wooden or steel forms for the concrete to create the shape of the patio. Use 1/2-inch plywood to make rigid or tight curves. The top of the forms should be 2 inches below the anticipated finish surface of the patio, assuming you are using 1 1/2-inch-thick brick. Note: When creating a rigid base, you should allow enough slope so the patio will drain water away from the house. A slight slope of 1/8 inch every 2 feet is undetectable when walking across a patio surface. Once the forms are set, install 2 inches of pea gravel. The pea gravel allows water to escape from beneath the slab. This will prevent water under the concrete from freezing in wintertime and causing frost heaving, which can damage the slab. Next, lay the 1/2-inch-diameter steel reinforcing bars. Create a grid by positioning the bars at 2-foot intervals in both directions, with the bars intersecting at roughly 90-degree angles. Elevate the steel bars on small pieces of brick so the steel is positioned in the middle of the 4-inch-thick slab. Pour the concrete over the base, using a mix with minimum compressive strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch to resist damage from winter temperatures. Screed or strike off the surface of the concrete with a board to remove any high spots. You don't have to worry about the concrete finish, just eliminate the high spots that may create a hump in the patio. Take your time and wiggle the board from side to side across the forms you've built to create the shape of the finished patio. Low spots can easily be filled with mortar. After the concrete hardens, it is time to lay the brick. Make all necessary cuts to the brick before setting the brick in mortar. Begin by installing all of the perimeter brick first. The brick should be laid in a 1/2-inch-thick bed of Portland cement mortar (3 parts sand to 1 part cement). Do not use standard bricklayer's mortar mix, because it will not offer the necessary durability. Let the edge brick dry for 1 to 2 days. Using this perimeter as a reference, stretch a taut string line across the front of the laying edge (about every 2 to 3 feet) to help maintain alignment. Fill in the rest of the patio, laying one course at a time. Use a torpedo level to make certain the bricks are not tilted. Save the cut pieces for the last day, and don't forget to scrape out excess mortar from where the cuts go; if it dries and hardens, you will have problems. Once the cut pieces are laid, it is time to finish grout. Here you will fill the space between each brick once they're all in position. Use a grout bag that resembles the cake-icing bags that bakers use to decorate cakes. Mix up a soupy combination consisting of 1 part sand and 1 part cement. The mixture should flow out of the bag with little or no squeezing. It is important that there are no small rocks in the mix; they will clog the nozzle. Overfill each joint by 1/4 inch. After 15 to 20 minutes, you will be able to scrape off the excess mortar without smearing the brick. Use a small triangular brick trowel for this job. It may be helpful to create a small test pad to see if you're up to the task of constructing an entire patio. But your hard work is sure to pay off. A brick patio can be an attractive addition to your home and a fun, new place to kick back and soak up some fresh air. ********************************************************************** This message and its attachments may contain legally privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the e-mail. Any content of this message and its attachments which does not relate to the official business of Eraring Energy must be taken not to have been sent or endorsed by Eraring Energy. 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