How to Install Brick Floors on Outdoor Dirt

Measure the length and depth of your bricks. Determine an approximate size for your floor with a length and width that is a multiple of the length of a brick. Calculate the size of your excavation by adding an extra inch for every 2 feet of length and width.

Pound a wooden peg into the ground with a mallet to mark each corner of the excavation. Connect the pegs with a length of string to mark the sides of the excavation.

Dig out the space inside the string outline to a depth 1/2 inch deeper than the depth of a brick. Use a large level to ensure the floor of the excavation is level.

Spread a 1/2-inch layer of sand in the bottom of the excavation. Spread it out with a rack and tamp it down lightly with the back of the shovel. Check to ensure the top surface of the sand is level.

Starting at one corner, lay out your bricks, side by side, as close as possible. You may arrange them in straight rows or make a checkerboard pattern by placing two bricks in a horizontal orientation next to two bricks in a vertical orientation. Alternate the orientation of the first set of bricks in each row. The bricks may not reach all the way to the opposite corner. If they do not, pack dirt back into the remaining space.

Spread sand over the bricks to the level of the top of the bricks. Set the nozzle on a garden hose to a light spray and thoroughly water the sand between the bricks to settle it. Spread another layer of sand and water it in also. Repeat the process until the wet sand is even with the top of the bricks, or slightly higher.

Allow the sand to dry overnight and sweep away any excess sand.