Hardscape Brick Patio. Herringbone on a 45. Stone Wall Restoration. Lancaster P.A.

Here we have another example of the ever popular herringbone on a 45 degree pattern in this free form brick patio. While typically when I lay brick it is on concrete with mortar. From time to time a hardscape job comes my way. Hardscape does not offer the same durability that masonry does. However it is more cost effective. On this project there was an exhisting hardscaped brick patio that had degraded over time. The brick had moved from their origional locations due to years of freeze thaw cycles. In some locations the patio had sunk because improper base material was used. The low spots created a space where water could collect making the entire situation worse.

The first thing that had to be done was to remove the exhisting brick patio and the base material. The plan was to reuse as many brick as possible. So the one’s that were still in good shape were set aside and the bad one’s along with the origional base material was hauled away and disposed of. Once the brick were removed it was possible to access the stone wall that makes up the porch. The limestone wall was in pretty bad shape from years of water penetration, so that meant I had to dig down a few feet to get to where all the damage was. Once all the areas that needed to be repaired were exposed I had to relay the stone in several locations and the rest of the wall was repointed.

Now that the stone wall was repaired it was time to start adding back in the proper base material. The first product that goes down on top of the soil is a product called Geotex. It is a strong synthetic fabric that is designed to help prevent setteling. On top of the Geotex goes 6 inchs of compacted 2a modified crushed stone. On top of the crushed stone the final layer is about 1 inch of concrete sand. After the concrete sand has been applied it it finally time to lay brick.

The first step when laying the brick patio is to establish the boarder. In this case is a mitered row of soldiers that twist and turn down to a straight row where there is a step down to a lower section that is not in this photo. After the boarder is complete it is time to fill in with the herringbone on a 45 degree pattern. Once all of the brick are layed a low profile edging is installed all the way around the outside edge of the patio to help keep the brick from moving over time. The final step on this job was to install polymeric sand between the brick to hold them in place. This job is located in Lancaster city P.A.