How Tear Out a Brick Patio

You have a brick patio in your yard, and, it's not looking nearly as good as it did some years ago. Some of the bricks are cracked, while others are a bit loose, and you've decided it's time to tear the whole thing out a replace it. The biggest challenge you'll face is doing just that, which is not necessarily difficult, but, will require quite a bit of elbow grease. The good news is, that it doesn't take any real technical skill, though, it will be a lot of labor.

How Tear Out a Brick Patio

The first thing you ought to do is to enlist the help of a couple of family members and/or friends. You'll also need some lawn equipment. So, get a wheelbarrow, leather gloves, eye protection, a trowel, hammer, and chisel. If the patio does have a loose brick or two, that's where you'll start.

Concrete patio blocks and brick pavers are often set in beds of sand or stone dust to create outdoor walkways, patios, and shed floors. Although they are durable, occasionally a few will settle unevenly or crack in half. --This Old House

Put the wheelbarrow near your work area, and begin by taking up the loose brick(s). You can do this by using the trowel, chisel, and hammer. Once it is out, the rest will be easy to take up, but, will take quite a bit of time. You can pile the bricks into the wheelbarrow, or, stack them if you don't have a truck and/or trailer to haul them away. After all the bricks are up, then do the following if you aren't going to replace it with another patio:

  • Backfill the empty space. You'll need a combination of compost and topsoil to make it a suitable growing area for grass. The compost ought to be full of nutrients, with a healthy combination of green and brown organic materials.
  • Prepare the soil for new sod. Next, you can fertilize the area, and, then aerate the whole surface. You should do this when it is dry outside, and, early in the morning to take advantage of the fresh dew.
  • Level out the surface. Using a rake, level out the surface as much as possible, trying to keep it consistent across the whole area. A dirt rake will work best and if there are any tree roots, now is the time to take care of these.
  • Put down sod. Roll out the first row of sod against one side of the existing grass. Butt it up against the grass, but don't overlay it, or push it too closely. There should not be a gap, but, it also should not be shoved against the existing grass. Then, roll out the subsequent rows until the area is filled.
  • Water accordingly. Water the sod thoroughly and don't allow foot traffic over the newly laid sod. Water everyday, during the morning, for the first week, then, cut back to every other day the following week.

Mow the grass once it reaches three inches high, then, fertilize as recommended by the manufacturer. Mowing helps the grass to grow, encourages deeper roots, and, makes the lawn more lush.

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