How to Lay a Secure Brick Driveway

Establish the borders for the driveway site. Decide on the shape of the driveway and use a tape measure to measure the width. If the driveway is for one car, the minimum width is about 10 feet, while a two-car driveway should be 16 to 24 feet wide. Use landscaping paint to mark the borders, adding 2 inches to the sides for edge restraints.

Dig out the driveway site with a shovel until you remove 10 inches of soil. Slope the bottom of the site 1 inch deeper every 4 feet of distance beginning near the home. The slight slope manages water runoff and prevents car bumpers from hitting pavement when they enter or back out.

Pour 3/4-inch aggregate fill into the site and tamp it down with a tamping tool. Continue adding and tamping aggregate until you have a base 8 inches thick. The irregularly shaped pieces of rock wedge together when tamped, providing enough give to absorb tension while keeping the bricks from sinking.

Fit edge restraints along the sides of the foundation. Fix the restraints in place with a hammer and 9-inch lawn spikes.

Pour course sand over the gravel to fill in the surface so it's smooth. The sand bed should be about 1 inch thick.

Lay the bricks in the site beginning at the center of one side and working to the outer edges. Butt the edges against each other so joints are as narrow as possible. Adjust each brick in the sand to be level with adjacent ones before moving on to the next. A few patterns to consider laying the bricks include half basket weave, basket weave and herringbone.

Sweep sand across the driveway and between the bricks with a shop broom. Sand joints offer cushioning, keep bricks still and prevent debris from building up.