DIY: Laying bricks for your next project!

DIY: Laying bricks for your next project!

We’ve put together a guide to laying pavers, to help you for your next project – whether for your own home or commercial project. Throughout the guide we’ll take you through all the steps to teach you how to lay brick pavers on concrete, which could work in your backyard, courtyard or front garden. Before you understand how to lay brick pavers it’s important to know what you need to start the process.

Ensure you have:

·      Krause Bricks in your preferred colour

·      Mechanical plate compactor

·      Rake, spade, wooden stakes, wheelbarrow, tape measure, string line, spirit level, and pegs

·      Bedding sand

·      Rubber mat or carpet

·      Screeding board

·      Screeding rails

·      Base layer

·      Cement and sand for edge restraints

·      Bolster or paver cutting equipment

·      Hardwood plank and rubber mallet

Now that’s out of the way, here’s our DIY guide to laying pavers:

Step 1: Careful planning

It all starts with planning, because without a careful plan in place, laying pavers can be an extremely perplexing task. The first step is to accurately draw a plan of the area that you want to pave. Include dimensions, access areas and understanding exactly what it’ll be used for.

Step 2: Ascertain the quantity of materials needed

Once the planning is done and dusted, you need to determine the material quantities needed for the job. It’s always a good idea to get extra quantities of some materials as backup just in case. For example, when organising your bricks, it's important to purchase a bit more than what is needed in case there are accidents or breakages.

Step 3: Site preparation

So, you’ve got your plan and materials, depending on your project or space, it might be time to do some excavation. If that’s the case, start by measuring from a string line for checking the depth and the level of the base. You must ensure even ground level when starting excavation. If there are soft, loose areas and/or wet patches, use a compacted road base or a sand cement mix for creating a stable base.

Step 4: Base layer

The base layer can either be well-graded crushed rock or road base material. Spread it on the prepared ground evenly. Remember to even the base layer's thickness before compaction. Use the mechanical plate compactor for the road base's compaction. Also, compacting should be done in 2 - 3 layers and not in one.

Step 5: Bedding layer

During this step, a well-graded washed river sand should be spread and screed. Use screeding board and screeding rails as guides for convenience. Once the screeding process is completed, remove the guides. Next, use bedding sand for filling in the tracks. End the step by smoothing off the layer.

Step 6: Lay the bricks

First, keep paving joints straight by using two string lines (right angles). Don't forget to add 2-3 mm to the pavers' widths. This will allow for gaps between each brick paver. Next, gently place the pavers on the bed of sand. At this stage, it's important that you do your best to not disturb the sand bed. If the pavers need to be cut, use a bolster and hammer (for rough cuts) or a water-cooled diamond blade saw (for fine cuts).

Step 7: Filling the joints

So, now you know how to lay brick pavers. However, the paving process isn't quite done yet. There are still 2 more steps to go. The first of those involves filling the joints. To do this, use dry fine-graded sand. To prevent paver staining, it's best to not add cement to the jointing sand.

Step 8: Brick compacting

The final step involves compacting the paving through the use of a mechanical plate compactor. Place a rubber mat or carpet under the compactor during the process. It will ensure that the pavers aren't damaged or scratched. After every pass, more jointing sand should be swept in. At the end of it all, sweep off the excess sand.

Tips for maintaining pavers

Now you’ve read through our guide to laying pavers, we have a few tips for maintaining brick pavers!

·      Use a stiff-bristled broom for regular paver cleaning. This will ensure that there is no debris build-up on them.

·      Post-installation, it's best to seal pavers using a penetrating sealer.

·      No matter how dirty your pavers appear, never use acid or high-pressure cleaning equipment to clean them.

For more advice for your upcoming residential or commercial project, just get in touch with us and we can help you out!