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Tips & Techniques

Brick-Path Screed

By Charles Miller Issue 20

All walks, drives and patios should be constructed to ensure proper drainage. Concrete sidewalks are normally flat, but walks made of brick, tile or paving blocks should have a slight crown built into them. The crown promotes drainage, minimizing the effects of the freeze-thaw cycle, and eliminates puddling.

Before laying a brick path, I use a wood screed with a slight arch to contour the sand bed. The screed has a notch cut into each end, as shown in the drawing. The notches, which are 1/4-in. shallower than the thickness of the brick I’m using, ride on the path’s wood borders. Before I use the screed, I moisten and tamp the sand to minimize settling.

—Rod Goettelmann, Vincentown, NJ

Edited and illustrated by Charles Miller

From Fine Homebuilding #20

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