How to Build a Backyard with a Brick or Stone Deck

Having a brick or stone deck or patio area in a backyard setting adds value to your property and makes the outdoor space more usable. Brick or stone decking provides a clean, hard and stable place to use for seating arrangements or other backyard items like grills and hot tubs. Learn how you can build your own backyard brick or stone deck to take advantage of an open space. Building a deck requires few tools and is a simple project that can be completed by a single person.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 4 wood stakes
• 40-foot length of string
• Shovel
• Sand
• Hand-held compactor
• Bricks or stones
• Bag of 1/2-by-1/2-by-1 inch wood block spacers
• Broom
• Cement
• Trowel

1. Locate the area of the backyard where you want to put the deck. Mark the area where the deck will be built, using wood stakes and string to create an outline of the edge of the deck that measures 10-by-10 feet. Hammer in the 4 stakes using 1 stake for each corner of the square. Tie the end of the string to 1 of the stakes and run the string to the other 3 stakes to make the outline of a square.

2. Dig where the deck will be laid, using the shovel. Remove as much soil as necessary so that when you spread 2 inches of sand atop the soil and place the bricks or stones on top of the sand, the top of the bricks or stones are flush with the existing ground level. Scrape out the dirt to create as uniformly flat a bottom as possible. The sand will be spread on top. Spread sand at a depth of 2 inches, and cover the entire bottom of the dug-out pit. Smooth the sand using a rake to create as flat a surface as possible. Pack the sand using the compactor. Add more sand and compact as necessary to create a level base of sand.

3. Place the bricks or stones in place on top of the sand base. Align bricks using the ½-by-½-by-1 inch wood blocks as spacers. Align stones close to each other, leaving as small a space as possible between them, but no smaller than ½ inch.

4. Dump more sand on top of the bricks or stones once they are in place. Spread the sand over the bricks or stones, carefully forcing it into the cracks in between. Sweep away excess sand with a broom.

Tips & Warnings

• To help keep the bricks or stones tightly in place once set, apply cement with a trowel to the cracks in between. Use the shovel to dig a small trench around the entire outside edge of the deck. Make the trench 3 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Fill with cement to create a barrier frame around the bricks or stones which will help prevent them from shifting through the years.
• Never build a brick or stone deck without using sand or cement to fill the cracks because the deck will shift and spread apart.