Brick Landscape Installation

Push garden stakes into the ground in the corners of the area where you want to install brick on the ground. Run string from stake to stake to mark off the area.

Measure the length and width of the area you've marked off in feet, rounding up to the nearest foot. Multiply the two numbers to determine the square feet of the brick area. Purchase approximately six bricks for every square foot of space you need to cover.

Lay out a few of the bricks into the pattern you want to create, such as herringbone, staggered or zigzag (see Resources for pattern examples). Measure the pattern of the bricks as they rest next to one another to make sure the marked-off area is large enough. Adjust the garden stakes, if needed.

Remove the grass sod layer from the marked-off area with a flat head shovel, or rent a sod cutter. Dig and remove the soil inside the area to 6 inches deep with a flat bottom and walls.

Line the soil by cutting strips of landscaping fabric to the width of the area plus 1 foot. Spread the strips over the width of the area and up the walls, overlapping strips as you add new ones by 4 inches to get full coverage over the soil.

Fill the area with gravel up to 2 inches deep over the landscaping fabric. Use a garden rake to smooth the gravel as level as possible. Pour 2 inches of sand over the gravel. Use the rake to smooth the sand and check it with a level in different areas for accuracy.

Place your bricks over the sand starting at one end and working toward the other. Follow your pattern as you lay the bricks next to one another, pushing each brick toward the one laid before it. Continue until the entire area is complete.

Spread an inch of sand over the bricks. Sweep the sand between bricks with a broom to fill in the spaces between the bricks. Sprinkle over the bricks with a fine mist of water to settle the sand. Add sand again after a week and sweep it before lightly spraying over the bricks with water.