As with many projects, details are everything. I doubt that you could level
the soil enough to evenly support the bricks, so you'll need some sand.
I'm sure the book has the right procedure:
1. dig the soil deep enough to account for at least an inch of sand
2. remove any loose soil or tamp the soil so it is firm
3. screed the sand evenly, using lengths of 1" pipe to control the depth
4. arrange the bricks on the sand, keeping them tightly together
5. broom sand over the top of the bricks to fill the cracks
Using a edging will keep the layout tight and keep the edges from drifting.
Don't skimp on the prep work and you'll be happier in the long term.
-----Original Message-----
From: shop-talk-owner@autox.team.net
[mailto:shop-talk-owner@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Mike Lee - Team
Banana Racing
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 2:31 PM
To: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Paving a brick walkway....
Now that the weather is finally cooperative, I get the joy of putting in a
new walkway
and shed. It's not all bad; all the gardening/lawn stuff goes into the
shed, giving
me that much more room in the garage....
I'm in Portland OR. It doesn't snow (maybe 1"/year?) or dip below freezing
(maybe a
few days). The "soil" is heavy clay, and a portion of the walkway path
slopes significantly
(~7' drop over 50' run). I don't intend to put in any steps, as I'll need
to wheel the
mower, etc. up and down this path. I'm trying to keep the walkway as simple
as possible,
just so I can get back to building my car (and because I'm lazy.... =;^)
I've ruled out concrete, as I don't think I can make it slope very well.
Also, I'm
trying to avoid the need to dig out 4" of clay, add gravel, tamp it down,
etc....
I've been told by the fine folks at Home Depot that to install a brick path,
I only
need to tamp down the dirt and lay the brick on top. Is this accurate, as
their
own book says I need to excavate, add gravel for drainage, etc? Now, we all
know what
answer I *WANT* to hear....but what's the right answer?
About the shed, it's going to get built underneath out deck (remember the 7'
dropoff?).
Due to the spacing of the deck supports, I can only make it about 5'x4'.
I'm planning
on getting 4 pier blocks, and casting them into place on top of gravel with
concrete.
I'll be building a shed foundation using .4cca (?) pressure treated wood.
Other than
laying down a layer of landscape fabric and maybe a sheet of heavy plastic
sheeting,
there shouldn't be any need to add any additional drainage (i.e. excavating
and gravel),
should there?
Thanks!
Mike
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