Winston-Salem, NC – August 7, 2002 – By Staci Dennis, correspondent--Looking to add character and curb appeal to any home? With some advance planning, a brick patio or pathway can easily be a weekend project. Brick is a durable building material that can last hundreds of years. It doesn't fade, peel or dent. It is not susceptible to water or termite damage and doesn't require painting or sealing. ``Brick is easier for the do-it-yourselfer to install. And clay pavers have a timeless look that only improves with age,'' said Ted Corvey, paver director of Pine Hall Brick based in North Carolina.

Most any brick will do for a path or patio. Just choose the color and texture that best complements the outside of the home. Bricks range in price, but start around $.55 for a basic brick and can cost more than $1 for interlocking or decorative pavers. It is best to buy in bulk - by the square foot - to save money.

One paver option is Pine Hall's Brick English Edge, a beveled-edge paver that includes spacer nibs, allowing the do-it-yourselfer to create flawless patterns in a variety of colors. The nibs on the brick create a 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch space between each paver, leaving no guesswork. There are a few tricks to creating a brick pathway or patio, said Mike Mowles, manager of the Chesapeake division of Riverside Brick & Supply that offers Pine Hall pavers.

First, follow all directions and don't cut corners. ``You really have to have a lot of patience,'' Mowles said. ``You can't get in a hurry or you will have to tear the whole thing up and start all over again.''

Karen Merritt, vice president of Masonry Paving in Virginia Beach agrees that patience makes the perfect patio. ``The most important part is making it level,'' she said. ``The base is essential and can't be rushed, especially if you have never done it before.''

Before getting started, gather all the materials needed for the job. Then, follow these steps: 1. Excavation: To prepare a new patio site, remove enough soil to allow for the following: 4 inches of packed crusher-run gravel, 1 to 1 1/2-half inches of concrete sand and the thickness of the paver. 2. Compacting/Tamping: Allow the excavated area to stand though several rains to compact the soil, or compact/tamp it with a vibrating plate compactor, available at equipment rental shops. After adding the gravel, compact it in the same way. 3. Sloping: Slightly slope the finished surface, about a 1/4 inch per foot, for proper drainage. This is accomplished by sloping the gravel base from the middle outward to allow water to run off. A level is a good way to indicate the measure of the slope. 4. Screeding: Add the sand on top of the sloped, compacted gravel. The bedding sand should be ``screeded'' level to a uniform height of 1 to 1 1/2 inches using a board and several long poles. Poles are placed on the ground in intervals smaller than the board length and the sand is placed all around. The board, resting on the poles, is dragged across the surface to provide uniform thickness. The poles are removed and the voids filled with sand. 5. Laying the brick: After choosing your pattern, start laying the brick from any corner. If a paved area is adjacent to a solid structure or house, then start from the structure. Use perpendicular string lines to keep the pattern on line. Place the brick snug against the other leaving a small gap 1/16 to 1/18 of an inch. The more uniform the spacing between the bricks, the more consistent the finished pattern will be. 6. Cutting brick: It is best to choose a pattern and dimensions where cutting can be avoided as much as possible. Brick can be rough cut using a board blade chisel and hammer. For finer cuts, a brick splitter or a power saw with a masonry blade can be rented from a local equipment store. 7. Edging: Edging is necessary to hold the motarless brick in place. The edging can be a brick stood on edge or a plastic or metal edging held in place with 10-inch spikes. 8. Sweeping sand: Scatter dry concrete sand over the entire area and sweep it into the small cracks between the bricks. The sand holds the bricks tightly into place creating an ``interlock.'' This may take several applications and a lot of sweeping, because the sand will slowly settle into the joints. However, the walkway or patio is ready to be used after the first application. A vibrating plate with a padded mat can be used to speed up the process and get a tighter fit.

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