In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook explains how to repair a brick patio.
Steps for Repairing a Sunken Brick Patio
- Use a flat bar to pry all the full-size bricks from the sunken area of the patio.
- Number each cut brick removed from the edge of the patio using a crayon.
- Dig out sodden clay or soft mud from the patio with a pointed trowel.
- Use a 4-foot level to determine the finished height of the brick.
- Fill depressions in the sand bed with ground limestone.
- Use a hand tamper to compact the limestone.
- Add 1 inch of sand, then check with the level to ensure there’s a 3-inch space for the bricks.
- Set bricks back into place, tapping each one down with a rubber mallet.
- Sweep fine-grain sand into the joints between the bricks.
- After the first heavy rainfall, sweep more sand across the patio to fill voids between bricks.
