Installing a Brick or Paver Walkway
By Mark Donovan

The use of Bricks or Pavers to create a walkway or patio complements a home in a way that is unmatched. It adds a level of quality and elegance to a home entrance that can not be achieved with either concrete or asphalt. Brick and Pavers also come in many different colors and shapes allowing for unique color schemes and patterns to be achieved. In addition, installing a Brick or Paver walkway does not necessarily require a pro. With some basic knowledge and a relatively simple walkway plan, a homeowner is capable of undertaking such a project.

The key to installing a Brick or Paver Walkway is to first properly prepare the area where the bricks/pavers are to be installed. The area should be dug out at least a foot down, removing all topsoil and clay soil. In addition, string lines should be strung on each side of the walkway. The string lines indicate the finished height of the walkway.

Once the area has been dug down, 3/4" gravel stone should be laid in and tamped down tightly. Then 2” of sand, or stone dust should be spread over the gravel. Again the sand/stone dust should be tamped down. Stone dust is preferred. The height between the tamped down sand and the stringline should equal the thickness of the brick or paver.

Now that you have a stable base, place a 1" pipe or ledger board the length of the walkway on either side of the walkway. Then using a flatedge, e.g. a 2"x4" board, slide it over the two lengths of the pipe/ledger board. In doing this you will create a level surface area to lay the bricks/pavers.

Now place on the level sand/stone dust strips of plastic brick borders. Install a run on both sides of the prepared area. These strips will act as your walkway border and help to maintain the integrity and shape of the walkway. You can get these plastic strip borders at most home improvement stores. The strips should be anchored down with 12" galvinized nails. You should sink these nails into the ground and through the strips every foot.

Once this is done, you can then begin to lay the bricks/pavers. There are many patterns you can lay. I particularly like the Herring Bone pattern. The key to laying the bricks/pavers is to ensure that they interlock with each other. Always stagger adjacent rows of bricks by 1/2 of a brick to interlock them. This will again help maintain the integrity of the walkway.

Inevitably bricks/pavers will need to be cut or split when building the walkway. Unless you want to buy or rent an expensive wetsaw, I would suggest purchasing a simple brick/paver splitter. It is basically a chisel with a wide end that is the width of the bricks/pavers. To actually cut/split the brick/paver, lay it in a bed of sand and place the chisel at a 75 degree angle over the spot where you want to break the brick. Then using a hammer strike the butt end of the chisel firmly. You may need to do this a couple of times. You may also want to flip the brick/paver over and strike the other side of the brick using the hammer and chisle. Within one or two strikes the brick/paver should break cleanly. If your walkway has curves you will need to buy/rent a wetsaw.

After installing the bricks, build up the outside edges with additional sand, and then shovel in the topsoil and pack down firmly.

Finally, spread stone dust over the new walkway and sweep into the cracks. Repeat this process a couple of times to ensure the cracks are fully filled. This will complete the interlocking of the bricks and help to eliminate any weed growth. Just add grass seed to the outside edges and you should have a beautiful entrance to your home within a couple of weeks.

Mark J. Donovan

me_Donovan@comcast.net

http://www.homeadditionplus.com

http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com

Over the past 20+ years I have been involved with building homes and additions to homes. I have completed many projects that have included: building a vacation home, family room additions, and a garage. I have also finished the upstairs on unfinished homes. My formal education and profession has been as an Electrical Engineer and Marketing Manager.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Donovan

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Creative Concrete Stamping
By John Morris

Stamping concrete is a great way for you to imitate the look and fee of authentic stone, brick, or pavement without having to spend as much. There are rubber patterns that create the impression of natural stone for this purpose. There are also ready-made patterns for such materials such as brick and cobblestone, however sometimes they can look artificial. One way to avoid this is to create your own patterns to be used in stamping concrete. If you can learn this you will soon find your inventory stock filled with varied patters that can be used for your various concrete stamping projects.

1. Be Innovative

You may even use design ideas you find around your home. For example, you could use an Indonesian batik design block. As long as it can make an impression on wet cement, and does not stick to the finished product, it will do. In good design, there are no limits to the imagination. So look around your area, you might even find an appealing pattern somewhere in your own home! You could consider looking at your garage, your attic, or even your uncle’s vacation gifts for potential stamp impressions.

2. Stamping

Commercial stamping produces great imitations. Sometimes, however, stampers are just overkill. You can bring out the beauty of concrete by being discreet at times with your stamping. You could use stamps that litter around your home, a batik woodblock or even a part of an auto transmission. Anything can be used to stamp the concrete as long it doesn’t stick and ruin the finished surface. It also has to be durable. A commercial stamp is perfect for improving a plain slab on concrete. You could also use this type of stamp if you desire a professional, standard looking concrete stamping.

3. Creative Stamping

Creating your own stamp tool is can be innovative and fun. You could even use a salvaged part from an old ceiling to create decorative stamp! When stamping on concrete, make sure you understand the risks this procedure entails. Commercial concrete stamps are designed to work well, and are engineered to be as easy to use as possible. They often leave a clean impression. If you were to use your own stamps made of everyday stamp-worthy items, remember that there is a risk that the concrete could be ruined. Commercial stamps are designed to consistently pull free from the concrete; this may not be the case with home-made ones.

- Even slabs with a deep-cut pattern must be jointed so that cracking can be controlled

- Divide the stamped concrete by using sawed joints

- Order correctly slumped concrete

- Lay out stamps before the concrete arrives

- Do as little hand tooling as possible

- Order proper amounts of concrete

Concrete stamping is neither for the inexperienced nor the faint of heart. For those who would like to learn this do-it-yourself art, learning concrete stamping is possible. For the hobbyists, masons, and even for those who just wish to make their homes better, this will truly be a worthwhile undertaking.

For more great concrete stamping related articles and resources check out http://www.the-concrete-site.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Morris

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Building Retaining Wall Without Mortar
By William Dittman

Do you want to add beauty and value to your home or business with a stone retaining wall? Yes it is so that a experienced stone wall builder can surely build the perfect stone wall - and it will last forever. But the installation of a stone wall can be performed by the adventurous do-it-yourselfer with relative ease and great success.

First you have to determine the length of the wall (in feet) and the height of the wall (in feet). If the wall is no higher than 4 feet high, you will be able to use stones about 1 foot wide. That will make the the retaining wall about 1 foot thick . If wall goes over 4 feet high you should contact engineer.

Let's start building our retaining wall

Dig a trench about 6-inches deep and about a 12" wide along the base of the proposed location of retaining wall. Fill it with crushed stone as a base. With the dry stack retaining wall you get away without building a elaborate footing system.

Sort your stone by sizes so you can easily find the size stone you are looking for. (This make installation much faster and less frustrating searching for that perfect stone). Exp. 6" pieces, 5" pieces, 4" pieces etc. Keep the attractive stones for the top row of retaining wall.

Place the largest stone in the trench, end to end. Lay all your stones flat as they would lie naturally on the ground. Make sure stone is below trench line so it wont slide.

Now, as you begin to stack the wall, working from one end to the other, you must remember to slope it back toward the high ground or batter the wall. This is accomplished by simply standing your level on end and measuring to the face of the wall.

As you build you retaining wall try to avoid continuous horizontal and vertical joints by breaking them up with larger and smaller stones. Place stones so they fit tightly together for strength and a nice appearance. Fill in the area behind your wall with dirt and compact it as you go. (Not clay) Every now and then , turn a long stone into the hillside to act as an anchor stone. This will help the stability of the retaining wall. Finally almost finished. Remember those nice pieces we saved for the top of the retaining wall we can add them now.

Take your time. The final results will be very much worth the effort in the apperance of your property.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED
1). Sledge Hammer
2). Tape Measure
3). 4' Level
4). Shovel & Rake
5). String Line
6). Crushed Stone
7). Select your stone

How to calculate amount of stone

Let's say we are going to build a wall 100 foot long X 3 foot high X 1 foot thick

Here is our formula:
100' X 3' X 1' = 300 Cubit Foot (CF)
The stone weight will weigh an average of 100 pounds per cubic foot.
300cf X 100 pounds/cf = 15 tons

Make sure you buy good quality stone material, all stone is not good quality. Good luck with your retaining wall project.

Bill Dittman owner of Custom Landscape & Irrigation

Contact Bill @ http://www.customlandscapeandirrigation.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Dittman

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Stone Work Tips

When having work done on your home that involves stone, it can be an expensive and time consuming task. Here are a few things to keep in mind when starting a stone project:

• Stone work is usually done by a mason.  Stone, as a material, is less common and not as readily available as other materials such as brick.  It can both take longer to acquire your materials and cost more money than other alternatives.
  
  
• There are many cheaper alternatives to actual stone, most commonly being other mixtures that look like stone.  These mixtures are usually cheaper and offer more options in style, colors and flexibility.
  
  
• When doing a project such as a patio that involves laying the stone on the flat, there can be hidden costs that come from having to level and even out the ground first.
  
  
• Stone has a very long life expectancy and thus adds to its value. Stone's longevity is also why it is imperative to find a qualified stone work contractor.  If the workmanship is poor you could be dealing with a long term mistake.
  
  
• Stone work is an ancient practice, and generally works best with the older techniques and practices. Problems today can arise when mixing such practices with modern building techniques. Be sure to talk this over with the contractor, understand the process.
  
  
• Sealing is very important when working with stone, as water can cause cracks and damage to stone. If properly sealed this won't be an issue.
  
  

Contractors that do this may also provide the following services:

• Patios
• Masonry

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