3 Important Steps In Building A Residential Brick-Paved Patio
Posted on: 13 September 2022
A brick-paved patio gives your home a more upscale look than a plain concrete patio does. If you want your patio to give your property a luxury or artsy look, then brick pavers are a good choice. You can choose traditional red bricks or bricks made of different shapes and in different colors. Here are some of the important steps in building residential brick-paved patios.
1. An Edging Frame Is Built To Hold The Bricks
Bricks are usually just placed on the soil next to each other without being secured with grout. They need a frame along the perimeter of the patio to hold the bricks together tightly. Otherwise, the bricks would start to drift. The frame edging may not even be noticeable once the patio is built.
Before the frame is installed, the contractor prepares the ground by removing grass and weeds. Then they create the patio base by adding gravel a layer at a time and compacting it. A layer of sand is added on top to hold the bricks.
With the base and edging in place, you'll be able to tell if the patio will be the exact size and location you want before the contractor goes through all the work of putting down the bricks.
2. Sand Is Forced Between The Pavers
The brick-paving contractor creates the patio by placing the bricks side-by-side in the sand. The bricks are then compacted by using equipment that pushes the bricks into the sand. Once all the bricks are down, sand is used to fill the cracks between the bricks to lock the bricks in place.
The contractor does this by covering the bricks with sand and then sweeping the sand off. Sand comes off the surface of the bricks while falling into the cracks. Having sand in the cracks keeps the bricks from moving around slightly when you walk on the patio.
3. The Contractor Finishes By Sealing Your Patio
Sealing is an important finishing step because it locks down the sand so it won't come out of the cracks. Plus, sealing helps prevent the growth of weeds in the paver cracks. Sealing is also good for the bricks since it makes the bricks easier to clean and keeps stains and spills from soaking into the bricks.
You might need to have your patio sealed periodically, especially if you clean the patio with a power washer. A power washer makes getting rid of dirt easier, but if you use one on your brick patio, you may need to add more sand and seal the sand and bricks afterward.
Reach out to a company such as KeyStone Pavers & Asphalt LLC to find out more.
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