How to Replace a Deck With Brick Pavers & Retaining Wall Blocks

Remove screws from the hardware around the base of railings and bench-type fixtures that line the deck. Pull the hardware pieces, such as metal corner pieces, off the railing and other fixtures, and remove the railings and fixtures from the deck.

Unscrew the screws that secure the planks or boards that line the top of the deck. Remove the wood planks from the deck beams.

Use a socket wrench with the appropriate size socket to remove the bolts that hold the deck beams in place. Take the deck beams down from the posts. Take down the wood piece and flashing piece that line the sides of the house where the deck touched the siding by using a socket wrench or drill, depending upon the hardware used to install the piece.

Remove the posts that supported the deck by digging into the soil around the posts with a shovel and using a saw to cut the posts off just above the cement that holds them in the ground. Fill the holes left by the posts with soil, packing the soil down with a tamper to ensure a sturdy ground surface.

Mark off the area on the ground where the deck was located by hammering wood stakes at each corner of the space and tying string between them to create temporary “walls.” Measure the width of the retaining wall blocks you want to use around the outside of the brick paver patio. Create a second "wall" around the perimeter of the first "wall" in which the walls are separated by the width of the blocks. Use stakes and string to mark this second, outer "wall" so you end up with a large rectangle for the patio with a border running around the outside edges of it.

Use a sod cutter to dig up the sod inside the main, inner rectangle, exposing the soil beneath. Spread an even layer of builder’s sand over the soil, tamping it down with the tamper to create a solid base.

Dig between the two string “walls” you created to a depth that is approximately half the height of the retaining wall blocks. Lay retaining wall blocks along this trench to create an exterior wall. Fill in any spaces between blocks with sand.

Cover the sand in the main part of the rectangle with brick pavers, aligning them in any design you like, so long as they touch on their edges. Once you have all pavers in place, pour sand over the surface a little at a time and lightly sweep the sand over the surface to fill in gaps between the pavers.