Hey all,
This is my first time in the breaktime area.
I have a question I am looking to find an answer for.
I am working as a Home Repair Guy and I have a customer that wants me to poor a side walk out to a future Gazebo. the kicker is they want to use left over bricks in the expansion joints. What is the best way to do this? Also, I have tried to talk them into a paver tile that matches, the are insisting on the brick that they already have.
Any help would be great. Thanks
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Replies
If its not a brick rated for a paver type application it may disintegrate from severe weather.
Brick used either as a border or across the width of a walk is a nice looking touch to anotherwise bland poured sidewalk. The walk is placed in the usual maner but wood strips are inserted where the brick will be later placed. The wood strip has to be wide enough and deep enough to allow the brick to be bedded in mud and the edges grouted. Usually the area where the brick are to be placed are dug an additional couple inches deep to allow for a reasonable thickness of concrete under the brick. I would still put an expansion joint underneith each cross brick, if that is where it would normally fall. Be prepaired to have the expansion joint telegraph through the brick, possibly even cracking it in half, but more likely opening up one of the grout joints around the brick. Like the previous post mentioned, since the brick isn't new manufacture, it isn't likely to wear well but might look nice. And don't forget to pull the wood strips as soon as the concrete is set enough to hold shape, or the forms will be there forever.
Good luck
Thanks for the imput
These bricks will for the expansion joints. I am planning on tooloing the edges of the conrete next to the bricks.
They are new bricks. Less that 6 months, same age as the house.
One last question, is the morter enough to hold the bricks in place for the life of the sidewalk even holding up to riding mower trraffic?
I am concidering pouring a footing of concrete and standing the bricks on end on my prep day. then day 2 pour the conctete between the bricks. I am concedering covering the bricks with plastic to keep them clean. That way the briks will be encased in 4" of concrete below the walk. And thus, there forever.