Picture-perfect Paths & Patios

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If all this prep work seems unreasonable, let me convince you otherwise. Installing brick pavers isn’t easy. Cutting corners during installation won’t make the pavers any cheaper. And since gravity will always try to pull your path or patio out of alignment, it’s necessary to protect your investment with a foundation you can count on.

Footpaths age quite gracefully on top of a 6-inch-deep layer of fine, mechanically compacted crushed stone. For a driveway, or a patio that will see some vehicle traffic, you’ll need at least a 12-inch-deep compacted layer because of the extra weight involved. If your pathway ends at a driveway, consider increasing the depth of its foundation in that area. You never know when someone will drive over the end of a footpath by mistake.

The best foundation material varies according to where you live. In my region, limestone screenings are plentiful and cheap, so that’s what I use. This is a crushed stone product with the largest particles no bigger than about a quarter-inch across. Screenings also include very fine limestone dust in the mix. This ensures a rock-solid result by encouraging tight compaction. Crushed granite, limestone or sandstone might be more readily available where you live, depending on the geology of the area. Coarse, pit-run sand works, too.

Whatever you use, the purpose of the compacted base layer isn’t to get below the frost line in cold climates and prevent heaving. It would take at least a 3- or 4-foot-deep trench for that, and it’s not necessary. The real role of the foundation layer is to prevent settling and shifting of the bricks, and that’s why it must be mechanically compacted. This condition is non-negotiable. Don’t even think about installing pavers without using a powered compactor. Without exception, fresh, uncompacted fill will settle unevenly.

Plastic support edging isn’t essential for a brick pathway, but it does offer two big benefits. Besides supporting the outer bricks invisibly after backfilling, edging also makes it easy to smooth the bedding sand accurately before setting the pavers in place. This is essential for a flat surface that’s free of undulations. Some people install pavers without edging, but the benefits are so great and the cost so low (about 50 cents per foot), there’s no reason to omit it.

Estimating the amount of brick you need for a paving job is easy. Just figure out the square footage of the area you want to cover, then add 10 to 15 percent. Your brick supplier can translate those numbers in an order — it’s that simple. Often, the shape of the pavers will determine their layout pattern, but as the diagrams on the following pages show, you can create a variety of patterns using identical rectangles. Even if the pattern you choose includes several different brick shapes, the supplier will take care of all the math. Foundation fill and bedding sand are sold by the cubic yard, so just figure out the volume you need, then add an extra 20 percent for waste.

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