How To Repair Brick Sidewalk

One of the problems / advantages of brick sidewalks is that they can move. Information technology is a problem because they tin can become a tripping take chances. It is an advantage because, unlike physical, brick is easy to repair. Believe me, this is not rocket scientific discipline. By the time you finish reading this short commodity, y'all volition be ready to tackle your start repair task with confidence.

The commencement things are the tools. Effigy one shows several basic things that volition make life a picayune easier. From the left:

• A margin trowel for slipping down between the bricks and working them loose.

•   A mason's hammer for chipping off pocket-size pieces of brick.

• A expressionless accident hammer or rubber mallet for convincing the brick to lie flat.

•   Ear protectors if you demand the item in figure 2.

• Not shown in the photograph, but very important if you lot intend to chip or cut brick, are protective glasses

If you need to cut brick, and yous probably will not, you may desire to purchase a masonry blade for your round saw. These are relatively expensive and I don't recommend it unless you really think y'all must have it. Like I said, you will probably non need it.

Figure 3
	Effigy 3   shows a section of sidewalk that has been pushed upwards by a tree root. The bricks are displaced nigh 1/2" upward and present a tripping adventure. The kickoff step is the most difficult; get that outset brick out. That is where the margin trowel or something similar is very handy. Piece of work it into the head joint (the short joint) at one end of a brick and lift up. It will not come all the style. You volition take to go to the other finish of the brick and repeat the procedure until you work it out. And then it is relatively easy to remove the residue of the brick.
Effigy iv
	Figure 4 Remove plenty brick to completely expose the offending root and cut information technology off. If your problem is that there is a depression in the walkway, remove all of the brick within the low. In the procedure of doing all of this, you have disturbed the sand or gravel bead on which the brick residuum. The adjacent affair to do is smooth out the sand (add more if yous need it) and compact it tightly. Use the flat side of ane of the bricks you removed and smack the sand to meaty information technology. If you lot don't, the bricks will settle and you volition be doing this all over once again.
Effigy v	Figure 5 The adjacent footstep sounds easy, but you might be surprised. Replace the bricks. Somehow, they only never want to get dorsum the mode the came out. Hither are some tips:

• If the final brick in the row simply will not go in, employ your rubber mallet and smack the last brick on the cease to tighten upward the row. Sometimes this is a expert idea subsequently you accept laid 2 or 3.

• Sometimes it is necessary to tighten up the rows from side to side. Over again, use the rubber mallet and tap them together. Be conscientious. You tin can knock the whole sidewalk out of alignment if yous go to aggressive with this.

• These aforementioned tips work no matter what pattern you are laying.

• What if there is too much space when you get to the end of the row? Using your margin trowel (or whatever flat bladed instrument you are using) go back several bricks, insert it in the joint and wiggle information technology until the joint opens upward. Try not to exceed ane/8" unless the rest of the brick joints are bigger than that. Do this between all the bricks in the row until you lot accept upwards every bit much space as you need.

• How do y'all know if the bricks are level? Use a direct border that is long enough to bridge the entire area y'all are repairing. If a brick is low, remove it and place some sand nether it. If the brick is loftier, tap it with the rubber mallet until it settles into place. If it volition not settle, remove some sand from under information technology.

• What if a brick breaks? The uncomplicated reply is "forget it". I am serious. A broken brick here or in that location will do no damage. If it is a matter of esthetics, use the trowel to remove it and replace information technology. Remember this, unless you take more brick of the blazon used in the sidewalk, replacing the brick will be more noticeable than a cleaved brick.
  

Effigy 6

Figure half-dozen The last, but as important step, is to fill up the joints between the bricks with sand. If the area is relatively pocket-size, I like to begin by working the sand in by hand. This will usually go much more sand into the joints than just sweeping with a broom. Make sure you remove the loose sand from the sidewalk to continue people from slipping. In a day or 2 the original sand will settle and it will be necessary to sweep more than sand into the cracks. By the way, Jed Johnson, my volunteer for this practise, completed the work from beginning to end in 20 minutes. If. After reading this article you accept the desire to install your own brick paving, I advise you read my commodity on that subject here on the Onetime Louisville Web site. You tin can also detect groovy data at the Brick Institute of America spider web site. www.bia.org

�2000-2002 Gary Kleier, OldLouisville.com

Webmaster's notation:

Gary Kleier is our resident One-time Louisville Architectural Conservator.  He lives on Floral Terrace and is i of those folks who was instrumental in the landscaping and adornment of that trivial jewel of a walking courtroom betwixt Sixth and Seventh Streets.  Gary specializes in restoration architecture and architectural forensic services and has a wide range of  talents which are described on his own web site at world wide web.KleierAssociates.com.  You can reach Gary by electronic mail at gjkleier@netscape.cyberspace

Other articles in this series:

Brick Structures - Oh What Damage We Practice Inflict "The well-nigh deadly enemy is human and what he does in the proper noun of maintenance and rehabilitation."

The Vinyl Lie  "Every day unsuspecting owners of historic homes, assertive they are actually making an investment in their dwelling, succumb to the vicious lies of an unscrupulous manufacture....."

A True Story  "The adjacent fourth dimension yous are thinking about doing something to your "onetime" house, think about this true story."

Brick Sidewalk Repair  A quick primer on repairing your brick walkways.

Brick or Concrete?  An illustrated discussion on the advantages of both brick and physical sidewalks.  Y'all determine.

Source: http://www.oldlouisville.com/circa1900/brick-sidewalk-repair.htm

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