Learning The Gardening Basics

Steps Involved In Building A Small Walkway Made Of Brick Pavers

15 October 2019 by Angel Kennedy

Building a small walkway made of brick pavers is a home improvement project you can probably tackle yourself if you enjoy building things and doing physical labor. If you'd rather hire someone else to do the work, you can still buy the supplies you need from a landscaping or garden store and control the cost of your project. This is an overview of the materials you need to buy and how they're used to make a brick-paver walkway.

The Supplies You Need For A Brick Walkway 

Whether you're buying supplies to build the walkway yourself or for someone else to use, you'll want to gather everything before you start. Make a plan to follow so you know every tool and material you'll need through the process so you don't have to stop and run back to the store. You might have some supplies delivered in bulk for convenience. The store where you buy the materials should help you calculate exactly how much you need based on the length, width, and depth of your walkway, so be sure to have those dimensions ready.

You'll need bricks, and you can choose traditional red bricks or bricks in a neutral color. In addition, you'll need sand for making the base and filling the cracks between the bricks. You'll also need a gravel or other stone mix that's part stone dust and part rock that you'll compact into the ground to create a firm base for your walkway.

The Preparations For Placing The Bricks

Since bricks are a few inches thick, you'll need to dig down several inches for your walkway. Allow for a few inches of gravel and sand beyond the height of the bricks. Take careful measurements if the brick walkway needs to be even with a patio or sidewalk. Remove the grass and topsoil to expose bare earth and then spread out the gravel mixture and tamp it into the soil. A layer of sand is added next and leveled off before the bricks are placed on top.

The Placement Of The Bricks

The bricks are pressed into the sand, staggering the seams with each row so the walkway is stable and has an attractive appearance. The final step is to dump sand over the top of the bricks, tamp it into the cracks, and then sweep the sand off the surface. This seals the cracks and, along with edging applied to the sides of the walkway, will help stabilize the bricks.

While the steps for installing a brick-paver walkway are simple, they require a lot of measuring and physical labor. Although it's difficult work, you'll be proud to complete your walkway, and you'll gain good practice for putting in a brick patio or driveway if those projects are on your list of home improvements to make.

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