Brick Pavers and Brick Paving Tips

Just like the home is a statement of the person who owns it, so do the driveways, walkways, and patios through which the world comes into your home. Hence, they need to be given the same kind of attention to detail as you give your home. One of the most important things you will need to decide about the paving areas of your home is choosing the right kind of paving product.

Brick Pavers Have a Timeless Classic Elegance

Brick pavers, meaning authentic paving brick made of clay, have an appeal that is timeless. Brick paving can bestow an impression of classic elegance to houses of any style, from the uber-modern to the totally traditional. As a matter of fact, some of the finest American homes are endowed with drives, garden paths, walkways, terraces, and courtyards made of brick paving. Brick imparts a soothing and stately ambiance. Plus it is imbued with warmth and an inherent comfort. It simply does not ever go out of style. Moreover, including a brick paving driveway or walkway will add a lot of value to your house.

How Brick Paving is Manufactured

Some of the primary elements of the earth, fire, water, and clay are combined together in order to form brick pavers. Since this paving material comes from the very earth, they imbibe a natural kind of harmony to any landscape design. Made of special blends of shale and clay, brick pavers are molded and pressed into shape by hand or by machine.

After the bricks are pressed into shape, they are first dried and then fired at about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, until the particles are fused together into a very strong bond. In fact, so strong are paving bricks that they have the ability to withstand loads that exceed 12,000 lbs per square inch. Part of the reason brick pavers are so strong is because of the density they achieve in the manufacturing process. And this density is also what makes them resistant to most types of stains.

Paving Bricks Come in Earthy Colors

Paving bricks have a natural tendency of having earthy blends or tones of colors such as brown, red, ten, greenish gray, and cream. These colors are typical of the various regions or areas that the clay is mined from. Brick pavers that have darker shades or blends of light and dark occur due to the flashing process, by which they get a permanent color. Because of the high temperature that is used to fire brick pavers the color they are imbued with lasts forever without ever fading.

Brick Pavers Come in Many Designs

One of the best parts about brick paving is the innumerable options of designs available because of the patterns that can be created by using various textures, colors, shapes, and sizes of bricks. Hence, there is a diversity of products that lie within the broad scope of brick paving, which range from the extruded brick of these days, well-known for the preciseness of their looks to the old-fashioned charm of waterstruck brick made by hand. Characterized by the rich colors of the earth, the patterns of brick paving can range from the intricate to the classically simple, and can be laid either by using mortar or even without it.

Here are some brick paving tips:

Mark Out the Brick Paving Area

Begin by outlining the path to be paved with marking paint. This will help you to view the flow of the pathway or driveway, which in turn will help you in planning the landscape plants around it. Since it will also demarcate the shape of the path to be paved, it will also give you an idea about how difficult the process will, to a certain extent. For instance, a curved pathway usually requires the need to cut many bricks.

How to Choose the Right Brick Pavers

One of the best ways to do this is to get some sample brick pavers from your local garden or stone center. Find out what colors they are available in and the styles that you feel will suit your home. It is best not to make the final decision until checking out the samples of the brick pavers at home. Take into consideration the color of your doors, shutters, and siding.

Dig the Paving Area Out

You will have to dig to a depth of 6-8 inches lower than the final grade of your pathway. This will enable you to have 4-6 inches for the compacted base, made up of stone dust and quarry-processed stone, that you need lay and level beneath the brick paving layer. Most brick pavers are about the thickness of 2¼ – 2½ inches. Also ensure preparing and extra 6 inches on either side of the pathway for the material that will be used as edging, in order to hold in the brick pavers.

Putting in the Base Layer of the Brick Paving

You will need a vibratory plate tamper for this part of the brick paving step. These are usually available on rent for about $100 per day, from any local rental shop. This layer of quarry processed stone needs to be laid in increments of two inches, and wetted and tamped as thoroughly as possible.

How to Create the Pitch of the Brick Paving Area

One of the most important factors while constructing your brick paving pathway is creating the correct pitch in order for water to drain out. If you do not deal with the pitch, there are high chances of your brick paving pathway getting damaged due to getting waterlogged. In order to preclude the brick paving from getting waterlogged you have to ensure that the pathway’s slopes away from the foundation of the house as well as off the brick paving. About two to three inches of pitch for each ten feet of brick paving would be about enough. By following this rule, the life of your brick paving pathway will be increased by years.

How to Lay and Cut the Brick Pavers

When you selected your brick pavers you would have probably already decided on the pattern you wanted to have. So, this is when you go about actually creating it. Using strings will be a helpful way to make straight lines, which you can follow along the length of the brick paving pathway. Once the brick pavers are laid, the bricks at the edge will probably need to be cut. You will require a concrete saw to carry out this process. You can check out with the local rental shop for information about the right kind of saw you will need for the job.

Laying Edging Material for Holding the Brick Pavers

Edging material is essential in order to help in holding the tightness and form of the brick paving. This is particularly required in climates that are colder, since the thawing and buckling can result in the bricks pushing apart, creating gaps. Mixed concrete can be used beneath the top surface, which can be an invisible edge, or use aluminum or plastic edging materials equipped with spikes, which you can find at the local brick supply store.

How to Stabilize the Brick Pavers

One of the latest materials used for filling in the joints in brick paving is polysand. When this material gets wet it get activated and becomes like glue, and hardens when it gets dry. This will create a very tough bonding agent for your brick paving and will also prevent weeds from growing.