Build a Brick Patio

By Daniel Taverne


The most difficult part of any home improvement project is finding someone honest who will do the job right. If you ever undertook hiring someone for a project at your home, then you probably know what I’m talking about. I say this because all too often I hear nightmare like stories of shoddy work that left the homeowner both angry and disappointed. There is good news however most people are capable of handling many of their own home improvement projects with minimal coaching.

Take patios for instance. When you are familiar with the basic procedure involved, and if you’re willing to sacrifice trading perfection for the knowledge that you did it yourself and saved a bunch of money, then it’s my contention that you indeed can do-it-yourself. The procedure for brick patios is fairly simple, however you must obtain certain tools that you can purchase from either your local hardware, or masonry supply store.

For a very simple brick patio, the required tools include, masonry line, brick trowel, level, a brick set (a wide bladed chisel like tool), and a hammer. In addition, a couple of strait 2X4’s will be needed as guides to position the masonry line. This will be explained in more detail later.

It should be noted here that there are several popular brick pattern designs to choose from which you can investigate by purchasing a do-it-yourself book on the subject of porches and patios. For simplicity sake, I will discuss a design pattern known as “half-bond”. Half bond, also known as “running bond” pattern refers to the bricks being placed end to end in a straight line.

You’ll begin the first row (or course) with a whole brick, then the second course will begin with a half brick. Creating the typical pattern you see, especially in most brick walls. It should be noted, in most typical patio’s the type brick used are known as Pavers . Pavers are solid and are installed with the widest portion of it facing up.

In addition to the brick laying tools noted above, you’ll need to have a shovel, a hoe, and a wheel-barrel. These tools are necessary for mixing the mortar. Mortar is the ‘mud-like’ substance into which you will place your bricks. The raw materials needed to make 1 batch of mortar are 1-70 pound bag of mortar mix (available at your brick supply store), between 15 and 20 shovels of mason’s sand, (available at your local concrete company), and from 3 to 4.5 gallons of water. Conservatively, with one batch of mortar, you should be able to lie between 50 and 75 bricks depending on the thickness of the mortar bed into which the bricks are being placed. It is my recommendation that in the wheel barrel, you only mix ½ batch of mortar at a time. This is much easier, and a whole lot faster since mixing a whole batch of mortar will not only take longer, it will wear you out quickly. I also recommend that you mix the dry ingredients together prior to adding the water.

Preparing an area to accommodate a patio is quite simple. First, layout the area you intend to utilize with a garden hose. Then, if the area is covered with grass, use whatever means necessary to remove the sod. Once this is accomplished, it’s time to think about the height of the finish surface. It’s critical here for you to understand that beneath the finish surface, you have to remove enough soil to accommodate the brick, the mortar bed, a concrete slab, and the structure’s footing. So after removing the sod, some additional digging will probably be necessary.

The term ‘footing’ refers to an area or areas dug beneath a structure that is filled with reinforced concrete so as to provide additional stability and support as well as prevent heaving of its supported structure. Consult your local state agency for building codes and regulations.

What is concrete reinforcement? Concrete reinforcement is the material imbedded in wet concrete that augments both the concrete’s strength and its resistance to cracking. Reinforcement can be steel rods (re-bar), wire mesh (re-mesh), fiber reinforcement added at the factory by the concrete producer, or any combination there of.

It is recommended that you first pour a reinforced concrete slab to be used as a solid surface to lay your bricks on. The slab in this instance need not be nicely formed, or finished. In fact, if you have dug into the ground to accommodate this slab, the ground can be used as the form its self. A rough screeding with a 2X4 is sufficient here. The term ‘screeding’ refers to the process by which excessive concrete within a form is flattened out, and pulled into voids utilizing a 2X4 or an aluminum ‘screed’. Screeding concrete flattens and roughly smoothes the surface of your slab. This process may require two people if the area to be screeded is large.

After the concrete hardens, the next step involves laying your lead poles (2X4’s at least 8 feet long) on the ground, parallel to each other, with one on each end of your patio area.

With the line stretched from one end of your work area to the other. A line block on each end will attach the line to a lead pole, giving you a guide for laying the bricks. A line block is an ‘L’ shaped block of wood with a groove running along the center of the inside surface. A line block hooks onto a lead pole and holds the brick line in place.

Placement of the lead poles is critical since the line blocks will be moved toward you after the last brick in each row is laid. Think about how the line represents the height of the finish surface, then imagine the top of the brick being even with this line. Beneath each brick a space of between ½ inch to 1 inch will be needed to accommodate a bed of mortar. This image in your mind should help you to understand the necessity to raise each pole so that the required amount of space exists beneath the line along the entire length of your patio.

In addition, you should realize that your line will need to be pulled quite tight. (Note: The longer your patio, the tighter the line will need to be to prevent sagging.)
Enabling the line to be pulled tightly will require that you anchor each lead pole. A stake driven into the ground on each end of the poles will be sufficient. The stakes will allow you to both pull your line tight, and adjust the height of your finish surface. To adjust the height, Use ‘C’-clamps to attach the poles to the stakes. Using a level placed along the length of the lead poles will enable you to adjust the pitch of the surface accurately. (Note: This must be done prior to placing any brick). ‘C’-clamps can be purchased at your local hardware store.

So far, if you were building this patio, you would be looking at an area that’s ready to fill in with bricks. This is a brief rundown of what you should be looking at: A hardened slab of roughly smoothed concrete with a lead pole lying on each end supported by stakes and ‘C’-clamps. Additionally, you should have a line stretched tightly across the patio area with each end attached to a lead pole with line blocks.

The most difficult part of laying patio brick (known as ‘flat work’ in bricklaying circles) is stooping, crouching, and being on ones hands and knees for extended periods of time. It is for this reason that a few preparations be made. First, you should have a mat of some sort to kneel on, or a set of good knee pads. Next, you should have allot of bricks within reach so that you don’t have to repetitively get up from your crouched (or kneeling) position, then down again. If possible, it is also recommended that you have a helper shovel mortar gently into the places where the brick will be laid, and as you use up brick, he/she can also keep brick within your reach. Again, this will keep you from getting up and down which will wear you out quickly. If you decide to take on a project like this you will find after an hour of being on your knees these precautions will be well appreciated.

You are now ready to lay bricks. Kneel down so that the line is positioned directly in front of you running left to right. A good number of bricks should be positioned behind you, within reach. You will begin on the left, and work toward the right . Start with ½ shovel of mortar in the space where the first brick will go. You will lay the brick on the far side of the line. That is, when the brick is laid the line will be between you and the brick. Next, with your hand, gently push the brick into the mortar. There should be a moderate amount of resistance, but the brick should sink into the bed. Stop pushing when the top of the brick is even with the line.

Now it’s time to add more mortar. Grab another brick and this time leave a space of about 3/8 inch between this brick and the previous one. The size of this space is standard, and should not vary by more than 1/8 inch. Repeat this process until the first row of brick is laid. (Note: you can increase the number of shovels of mortar you place behind the line and lay several bricks before needing more mortar. Now, determine the width of each brick. This measurement plus 3/8 inches will be used to determine how far to move the line. You will mark the lead poles with the measurement you come up with.

For example, if the brick is 31/2 inches wide, then you will measure from the original placement of the line 3 and 7/8 inches. Movement of the line will be toward you. After the line is moved the same amount on each end, you will take your brick set (that wide bladed chisel like tool) and use it in conjunction with your hammer to break a brick directly in half. You should be able to accomplish this with little experimentation. Then, start laying brick again beginning this time however, with a half brick. The next whole brick, and each subsequent brick must have the joint of the 2 bricks above it centered on its body. This will allow you to keep all the small joints lined up making for a more professional finished product. (Note: If the last brick in the first row doesn’t fit in that last space, you will have to end each course with a cut brick.)

As you continue working on the project, you will undoubtedly discover other ways of completing some steps that will increase your production efficiency. Since bricklaying is not an exact science, feel free to experiment with the steps once you get comfortable with the process. For instance, you could measure, and place marks along the entire length of the lead poles prior to beginning the actual laying. This will save time because you would not have to constantly keep track of where your ruler is.

The preceding process is repeated until the patio is finished. When you get to this point, it’s important not to let anyone, or anything (pets for instance) walk on it for at least 24 hours. Now, it’s time to fill in the joints (or cracks) with mortar. To do this, you will need to purchase one or more ‘grout bags’. Grout bags look like large cake decorating bags where the contents are squeezed from it into a targeted area. In this case, the material inside the bag is watered down mortar. It is squeezed out of the narrow opening into the empty void between the bricks. I recommend that you only complete a section of 25 square feet at a time so that the grout doesn’t have time to dry up on you before the finishing burlap sack rub.

This process is called grouting. It’s recommended that you purchase a pair of rubber gloves to use as inserts worn beneath cloth gloves since mortar will be getting on your hands and it’s very abrasive. This abrasiveness is magnified when squeezing mortar from that grout bag and without gloves, you’ll wear holes in your fingers quickly. Also recommended is to completely rinse your grout bag with water prior to each mortar refill.

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Okay, after you squeeze mortar into the joints, the excess mortar protruding from the brick will need to be cut off. You can use your trowel to cut the excess mortar flush with the brick, then, after the mortar has had a few minutes to rest, you should use a burlap sac to rub the joints . When rubbing the joints, you should do so by moving the burlap in a circular motion, as if you were waxing a car. If the mortar smears excessively upon rubbing, stop rubbing for a few minutes then try again. You can’t avoid all smearing, so don’t worry if there is some.

Finally, the last step is the final cleaning. For this, you will need a water hose, a 5 gallon bucket, a stiff brush with a long handle and a gallon of muratic acid. In the five gallon bucket, mix 5 parts water to one part acid. Wet down the surface of your patio well, with the water hose, then concentrating on one area of the patio at a time, pour a moderate amount of acid mixture on patio and scrub well with the brush. (Important: Rinse well with water hose)

This cleaning method is only a suggestion, since brick producers do not recommend using acid to clean their product. It is the claim of brick producers that acid can alter the color of the brick. It’s been my experience however that following my instructions has never yielded unwanted results.

Finally, although the process sounds complicated, with a little common sense, and allot of determination, I assure you, you can handle this project and be proud of your finished product.