How to Install Interlocking Patio Bricks

Once you have excavated the area, install a durable plastic edging around any perimeter area (directly beneath your marking lines) that does not come into contact with a rigid surface. Use tent nails to anchor the edging into the ground and make sure that the top of the edging is even with the surrounding ground level. Place a few stakes on the inside edge of the edging for extra support. Using string and a line level, run several strings across the excavated area by attaching them to the support stakes. Attach the strings at a height such that if you were to place a brick on top of it, the top edge of the brick would be even with the top of the edging. Make sure that the strings are level and attach them as tight as possible.

The next step is to prepare your under layment. Your patio will settle with time, especially if placed directly onto the soil. You can use concrete, lime or sand for an effective under layment, but I have found that lime provides the best results and is the cheapest. Fill the excavated area with lime until it is roughly even with your string. Even it out with a metal rake and then compact it. You can use something as simple as a cinder block to pound the lime into a hardened layer, or for best results rent a compactor. You will have to repeat this step several times as the lime compacts very tightly and will sink each time you use the compactor. To level the under layment, cut a length of 2x4 the length of your patio. Attach a level to the top center of it and slowly push it along making sure that it is level and even out the lime.

Once you have a hardened and level under layment, begin placing your bricks. Place the edge brick along the sturdiest side (if one or more sides of your patio connect directly to the side of the house). Place a few rows of interlocking bricks afterwards and then check to make sure they are level. Pound each brick a couple of times with a rubber mallet to be sure that they are tightly in place. They may sink slightly or seem a little uneven after this. Small adjustments can be made by adding lime underneath the brick and hitting it with the mallet again. Continue this process until you have used all of the full bricks you can. In areas where partial bricks are needed, you can make cuts in two ways. For straight cuts you can simply use a mason chisel to score and then cut. To do this, measure the brick that needs to be cut and make a pencil line. Place the chisel at a 45 degree or smaller angle with only the corner touching the brick. Using light taps, hit the chisel with a hammer and chip out small amounts of brick along your marked line. Once you have chipped out a quarter of an inch or more, place the full face of the chisel into the groove. With one hard hit of the hammer the brick should crack right along the score line. For complex and cleaner cuts you can rent a Wet Saw with a masonry blade and use it to cut the brick to fit.