Brick Paver Walkways | Installing Brick Paver Walkways

Installing a brick paver walkway is a task you can complete easily once the ground preparations have been made. Brick pavers are easy to come by as they are sold by most home improvement supply centers. They can be laid out in different patterns to create nearly any desired effect. The installation of a paver walkway only cost a few dollars per square foot and this makes them an economical alternative to natural stone pavers or stamped concrete walkways. Although they are inexpensive to purchase and install, brick pavers or concrete pavers can provide a series of complex patterns to add a genuine touch of class to any walkway, and a choice to incorporate your own creativity.

Tools and Materials Needed:

Landscaping fabric
Sand or stone dust
A 3 or 4 foot leveler
Rubber mallet
Brick pavers
1x6 wood approximately 3 feet long
Broom
Hose with sprayer and a water source
Power saw
Vibrating tamper (Rented)

Installing Brick Pavers:

Before you install walkway pavers, you'll need to prepare the ground by excavating the area and adding stone dust or sand. Once the area has been leveled out, install your choice of edging. Plastic or metal edging is available but you may use pressure treated wood either 1 X 6 or 2 x 6.
Lay a layer of landscaping fabric on top of the prepared surface to retard weed growth. The fabric can be held into place with a few pavers around the edges to make it secure while you lay the walkway pavers.
Pour sand or stone dust over the landscaping fabric. Level it using a long, straight plank of wood and level. Be sure to slightly slope the walkway so water can drain off. Use enough sand or stone dust so that when the pavers are installed they should be about an inch above the grade and about a half inch above the edging.
Place the pavers and use a rubber mallet to tamp them into place. Lay several more square feet again and stop to carry out the leveling process again. Continue this process until the walkway is complete.
After several square feet of pavers are in place lay a 1x6 piece of wood on the worked area. Use the rubber mallet to tamp the wood to level out the pavers underneath. Do this over all the pavers that have been laid so far. This should help provide a level surface. Continue laying the pavers and stop to level periodically until all the pavers are in place.
Hire a vibrating tamper after all of the pavers are down and use it to tamp the pavers into place. This will compact the bed of sand or stone dust to ensure that the pavers have settled properly.
Pour sand or stone dust over the pavers and sweep into the joints. This is easily accomplished by using a broom to sweep the sand around. Be sure to sweep the sand into all of the cracks. Use a light spray of water to spray the entire area with water to compact the sand. It may be necessary to repeat this process until all the joints are filled in and completely compacted.

In place of brick pavers use cement pavers. They work just as well and can be purchases in different shapes and colors. The same technique described for installing a walkway can be used for installing a brick driveway or a brick patio. Again, driveway pavers and patio pavers can be either brick or cement pavers.

Stamped Concrete Design

Brick Pavers | Concrete Pavers