How to Lay a Brick Patio in the Desert

Wear safety glasses and work gloves and set the blade of a garden tiller to only 3 to 4 inches, since the desert soil is very tough to loosen. Push the tiller to the area where you want to install the brick patio and start it. Push the tiller over the area to loosen the soil. Then increase the blade depth to 7 inches and retill the area again.

Hammer a 12-inch wooden stake into the ground at each corner of the area to designate the perimeter of the brick patio. Wrap string around each stake and tie off the ends securely. Place a level on the center top of each string side to ensure it is level. Slide the string up and down the stakes as needed to level all sides.

Walk to the side closest to the home and work your way to the opposite side using the level to drop the string downward to allow for water drainage. Drop the string 1/4 inch for every foot of patio space.

Unroll weed barrier fabric over the entire bottom of the area, overlapping the edges of the fabric by at least 2 to 3 inches to prevent weeds from growing through it.

Fill the area with 4 inches of gravel, smoothing the top of it using a bow rake. Compact the rock firmly using a hand tamper to repeatedly hit the surface. This also compacts the underlying soil.

Install brick or wood edgers along the entire perimeter of the area, pushing them down 1 inch into the gravel. Then add an additional 1 inch of sand to the entire area, smoothing it out until it is level to hold the edging in place.

Lay the bricks on top of the sand in any pattern desired, but leave a ¼-inch space in between each brick. As you lay the bricks, place a level on top of them and tap them with a mallet if needed to ensure evenness.

Shovel additional sand onto the surface of the patio and then use a push broom to move it into the gaps between the bricks, continuing until the sand fills the gaps. Wet the patio with water and apply more sand if it settles and creates depressions.