How to Build a Brick Walk

Mark out the area you want to transform into a brick walkway with two long strands of rope as a guide to show you where to dig and, later, lay brick. Measure the width of the space between the ropes, adding 2 inches to the measurement. Use this figure along with the length of the walkway to make sure you buy an appropriate amount of bricks to complete your walkway. Remove dirt and grass from the walkway area to a depth of 6 inches with a garden spade. Place the dirt on a plastic tarp to prevent a mess on your lawn.

Fill the walkway with graded stone base to a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Spray the graded base with water and press it down with a hand tamper. Pour an additional 2 inches of graded base along the walkway and press it down with the hand tamper. Stick a measuring tape in the walkway at various places to ensure the depth of the base is 3 1/2 inches.

Create narrow trenches that are 1 inch wide along the sides of the base-covered walkway with the spade. Fill the trenches with 1-by-4-inch composite lumber to form a temporary border for the walk.

Construct a "screed," which is a piece of wood used to smooth out sand between the walkway edges, from a piece of 2-by-4-inch lumber. Using a hand saw, cut the 2-by-4 to measure 6 inches wider than the width of the walkway. Cut 3-inch-wide notches at each end of the screed. Fit the screed between the pieces of composite lumber on each side of the walkway to ensure the walk is evenly spaced throughout.

Hammer the composite lumber into the ground with a mallet until it is level with the graded base. Pound 18-inch wooden stakes into the ground next to the composite lumber every 3 feet to help hold it in place.

Use a level set on a thin piece of wood straddling the composite lumber on each side of the walkway to make sure your walkway is level throughout. Make adjustments to the base as necessary to create a thoroughly level walkway.

Pour masonry sand on top of the base until 2 inches of sand cover the entire walkway. Press the sand down with the hand tamper. Flatten the sand layer with the screed. Add more sand, and re-tamp it into low spots as needed.

Create a trench on the inside edge of the composite lumber on each side of the walkway; the trench should be 2-1/2 inches deep. Set brick paving stones down on their long sides, next to each other, until the trenches are filled. Pound the bricks into the ground with a mallet until they are even with the sand. Flatten the sand again with the screed between the brick-lined trenches.

Place brick paving stones in rows in a pattern that pleases you. Avoid pulling or dragging the bricks across the sand; set them down deliberately where you want them until the entire walkway is filled. Pound the bricks down with a mallet.

Pour masonry sand on the bricks, using a broom to push the sand into the cracks between the bricks until sand is flush with the surface. Wait one week for the sand to settle, then repeat this process. Let the path sit an additional week before removing the temporary composite lumber border.