So I’m Building a Patio
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Planted by: Jennifer Tidwell
Date: Friday May 1, 2009
Planted in: Hardscape
I had some brick work done around my house last year and I have nearly a whole pallet of brick left. Instead of letting it sit in my yard for the next five years and attracting wasps, spiders and snakes, I decided to put it to use.
My dad is borrowing a small piece of digging equipment this weekend to remove some fence posts and invasive saplings from my property, so I’ve talked him in to excavating the area for the patio as well. I was seriously dreading digging that area with a shovel, no matter how nice and soft the ground is. Clay soil is never easy to dig with a shovel, and I envisioned hours of back-breaking, hand-blistering labor. Yeah, Dad!
The brick is a queen-sized brick with holes, so It will have to be laid on its face. It’s not much smaller than a regular paver. I’ve thought about cutting it in half to double the amount of brick and mixing it with concrete stepping stones for a sort of checkerboard design. That means buying or renting a masonry saw to cut with, and I don’t know that I want that kind of expense. There won’t be any concrete involved, but I have considered sweeping mortar between the bricks and wetting it just to set it a little better.
The back of the house faces North and is pretty shady and gets only minimal sun in the afternoon. In fact, I have a hydrangea planted back there that is doing really well. Even when the sun is at its highest point in summer, the backyard still stays pretty cool. Plans include adding a firepit or chiminea, furniture, and moving the grill back there. This is all down the road, as the budget allows.
Next steps will be adding a bed of gravel and sand and leveling that off. Laying the brick will be easy compared to leveling the sand, but I’ve learned a few tricks by looking on various landscaping web sites. This whole project depends on the success of the excavation, so I’ll keep you posted.
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