How to Build a Border Between Your Lawn and Sidewalk

Use a tape measure to measure the width of the decorative bricks that you’re using to create the border between your lawn and the sidewalk.

Place a line of lawn flags into the soil running parallel to the edge of the sidewalk at the measured brick width plus an additional 1/4-inch. The added space allows room for an expansion gap between the sidewalk and the line of bricks.

Measure the height of the brick with the tape measure. Divide the height in half and add 2 inches to calculate the depth of the trench you need to dig for the border.

Dig a trench between the edge of the sidewalk and the line of lawn flags using a trench shovel. Make certain that you go down to the calculated depth to allow you enough space to bury half of the brick for stability, over a 2-inch layer of sand for drainage.

Compress the soil along the bottom of the trench with a tamper.

Pour a 2-inch layer of sand into the bottom of the trench, and tamp it down to add a drainage layer beneath the bricks. The drainage will prevent the bricks from sagging due to soft soil under the border.

Plant the decorative bricks into the trench on top of the sand. Leave a 1/4-inch space between the bricks and the sidewalk edge as you place the bricks. Put a carpenter’s level along the top of the row of bricks to check for level. Tap high bricks with a rubber-headed mallet to sink them further into the sand bed, or place additional sand beneath low bricks to level out the row.

Fill in the gap between the sidewalk and brick border with the masonry sand. Sweep the sand into place by pouring it along the sidewalk and then using a broom to push the sand into the gap.