Originally Published In The Deseret News -- Sunday, May 10, 1998
Pavement Can Enhance Beauty Of Landscape
To enjoy outdoor living to the fullest, consider creating an exterior room surrounded by a beautiful garden.
Some might argue that putting down a hard surface detracts from garden planting. Unfortunately, any plant used as a groundcover - including grass - will usually become a muddy disaster area, particularly if it is shaded.
Make a concession that the "floor" of this part of the area will be some sort of hard surface. Then design it to blend or look as natural as possible in your landscape.
Choosing alternative materials is not always easy, as they fall into several classes. Soft organic materials include shredded bark, bark chunks and wood chips. Inorganic products that are laid loose include pea gravel and other stone products. Organic hard surfaces are wooden decks, and inorganic patios are constructed from concrete, flagstones, bricks or other materials.
Loose materials are easy to lay and do not suffer much damage from wind, rain or frost. Hard surfaces are more labor-intensive to install and are often more difficult to maintain. But they are usually easier to walk on and have fewer problems with weeds. (Be advised, however, that because they are more permanent they are also more difficult to move if you change your garden design.)
Bricks to walk on
Weekend handymen and handy-women often make bricks their choice for garden-paving materials - and they are popular for many reasons. Bricks come in more than 10,000 combinations of sizes, colors, shapes and materials. The colors blend well with the surroundings and do not usually glare or become too hot to touch. They are also not as harsh as poured concrete, and they are easier to use for winding or angled pathways.
Another major advantage of bricks is that you can lay them as pavers at a leisurely pace. Unlike concrete that must be leveled and finished soon after pouring, bricks laid on sand are much more forgiving. If the project is not finished this weekend, it will wait until the next. If the pavement is not quite level, you can remove it and straighten it before proceeding. Yet, a well-laid patio will last for many years with only minimal upkeep.
Bricks do have their limitations, however. They are not recommended for driveways that have heavy traffic, or that require routine snow removal. Most budding professional basketball players also take a dim view of the surface.
Remember, all bricks are not created equal. Common, facing and paving bricks have a place in building but be aware of the limitations when using ceratin types. Common bricks are readily available as both new and used. They are the least costly but may not be the best choice. Sometimes older, unfired, common bricks are available as buildings are demolished. These bricks were used to construct the inner walls of older buildings, where they were not exposed to the weather, and are often available for the hauling structures are torn down.
Despite their rustic and random appearance, such bricks are not good choices for garden construction, as they are soft and porous and take in water. When they freeze and thaw in the winter, they crumble. This makes short work of all your efforts as the patio becomes an unusable layer of colored clay. Newer bricks are fired or baked to help overcome these problems.
Even fired common bricks have limitations, however. Many are made with holes in the center for stronger mortar bonding. Because of these holes, they are only suitable to lay on edge. This requires 50 percent more bricks to cover the same surface area.
Perhaps the biggest drawback with common bricks is that they are sized to accommodate mortar joints, measuring 71/2 to 8 inches long, 31/4 to 31/2 inches wide and 21/4 inches thick. When they are laid into patterns, they are not twice as wide as they are long, which leaves gaps in the joints and makes creative patterns more difficult.
Facing bricks are used for commercial building. They come in many sizes colors and textures but they are not widely available through retail outlets. Some will work well for pavement but others are less satisfactory.
The best bricks to walk on are paving bricks, or pavers, which are made specifically for that purpose. Look at many different textures and colors, such as warm earth tones, or white and pink. Thinner bricks are made to be laid like tiles in cement, though this is not a job for the weekend builder. Rectangular bricks are twice as long as they are wide. This means they can be laid tightly without mortar and still come out even in most patterns.
Choose simple patterns that use full bricks. They can be cut, but without a saw it is difficult and time-consuming. Better to leave this task to professionals.
How many bricks will I need
for my project?
When figuring the number of bricks you need, remember that five standard bricks will cover one square foot. Add five percent more for breakage and for replacements. A 20-foot-by-20-foot patio will need about 2,000 bricks. Don't be overwhelmed by the number because bricks are often less expensive than other paving surfaces.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Build frame, then add the bricks
1. Build a permanent frame of decay-resistant lumber, the size that will hold the right number of rows of bricks. Level and compact the soil and put a 2-inch layer of sand inside the box.
2. Cover the level sand with a layer of landscape fabric. This will prevent weed growth.
3. Spread a 1/2-inch layer of sand over the fabric and start laying the brick in place. Use a rubber mallet to level them as needed.
4. Finish the project by sweeping dry sand diagonally across the joints to fill any gaps. After the joints are filled, water down the patio and backfill next to the boards to keep them from shifting.
© 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co.